A five-year-old girl was abducted from her home in Alice Springs late on Saturday night, police believe.

Investigators are hunting for a recently released prisoner with a history of domestic violence convictions who they believe can help with the search.

The girl, known as Sharon, was last seen by her parents when they put her to bed about 11.30pm on Anzac Day inside her home on Marshall Court in the Old Timers Camp Aboriginal community. The community is about five kilometres south of the Alice Springs town centre.

“It’s a terrible situation to have such a young child go missing,” said Northern Territory Police Acting Commander Mark Grieve. “We’re over 24 hours now, so it’d certainly be my worst nightmare as a parent. We’re wrapping [our arms] around the mother.”

Sharon’s mother reported her missing about 1.35am on Sunday after going to check on her and finding her missing from her bedroom. The child was last seen wearing a dark blue short-sleeve T-shirt with white cuffs and neckline, and a pair of black boxer-style underwear. The front door was open, and its fly screen was unlocked when she went missing.

Grieve said Jefferson Lewis, 47, a recently released prisoner, was known to the family and likely “in and around the house” at Old Timers Camp at the same time as Sharon.

“He’s the only person who we haven’t been able to locate and speak to who was in and around that area at the time,” he said. “Considering himself and Sharon went missing at around the same time, it certainly brings about those suspicious circumstances.”

Grieve said Lewis had a history of assault and domestic violence charges that were not child-related. Lewis was not directly related to Sharon, but there might be a “peripheral link”, Grieve said.

Up to 50 police, emergency service workers and volunteers searched the area, including the nearby Todd River and bushland. They used horses, a canine unit, ATVs, a helicopter and drones on Sunday.

“We’re doing everything within our power to [find Lewis],” Grieve said.

Police originally believed Sharon might have left her bedroom and wandered out of the house on her own.

They urged anyone who might have dashcam or CCTV footage from their home to contact police on 13 14 44 and quote the reference number P26120934 with information