The family of a missing five-year-old girl say they are desperate for her safe return after she was allegedly abducted from a home in a town camp on Anzac Day.

Sharon Granites was last seen before 11pm on Saturday at a family friend’s house on Marshall Court in the Old Timers Aboriginal town camp in the town of Alice Springs.

Grandparents Peggy Granites (rear left), Robin Granites (right), and Karen White wait for missing five-year-old Sharon Granites outside her home at the Old Timers Camp in Alice Springs, Northern Territory.Sam Mooy
Northern Territory Police suspect she was abducted by Jefferson Lewis, 47, who had been released from prison six days earlier and was staying at the same address as the little girl.

The search has now entered its fourth day, with no signs of the little girl or Lewis, who is understood to be a distant relative of Sharon’s through marriage.

Sharon’s mother is currently being cared for by mental health professionals, while her father – who is incarcerated at a nearby jail – is being informed about the search.

Sharon’s grandfather Robin told this masthead they were praying for Sharon’s safe return, and asked for all Australians to keep their missing girl in their hearts.

The lounge room that housed missing five-year-old Sharon Granites at the Old Timers Camp in Alice Springs.Sam Mooy
“There was nothing I could do – just cry,” he said. “She was a really nice, little, good, quiet girl.”

Robin said he found out his granddaughter was missing while watching the Anzac Day memorial nearby.

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“I heard it was my granddaughter who was being snatched up and [had been] taken off by a man from prison,” Robin said.

Lewis had been imprisoned multiple times in the past decade for serious assaults and domestic violence-related offences. He has no prior convictions for child-related offences.

Lewis had been released from his latest stint in prison just six days before the alleged abduction, and this masthead understands he was not welcome back in the community of Yuendumu because of his previous offending. Instead, he was directed to go to Lajamanu where he had family.

Lewis opted not to travel to Lajamanu, and instead went to the town camp to see his extended family.

On the night of Sharon’s disappearance, Lewis had been drinking at the property when Sharon’s mother arrived in order to do a load of washing. Family told this masthead he had acted “strangely” in the days prior to the incident, and was unusually quiet.

Lewis was seen holding Sharon’s hand at the property about 11pm, right before she was put to bed in the family’s loungeroom.

Her family realised she was missing about 1.30am and reported her missing to police.

Family members of missing five-year-old Sharon Granites, Ian Darkie and wife Nicole, wait at her house at the Old Timers Camp.Sam Mooy
Robin said he believed her alleged abductor had walked through the house and taken her through a gap in the fence at the rear of the property, which backs on to the Todd River bed.

Police confirmed on Wednesday child’s underwear and a man’s T-shirt have been found by a river bank.

Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole said they had cordoned off the back of the property while police investigated, and have sent a number of items off for forensic testing. The testing is set to be completed on Thursday.

“We’ve seized a number of items from that crime site, being a doona, a doona cover, the shirt that Jefferson Lewis was wearing – a distinct yellow one – and we seized a pair of child’s underwear from that location,” he said.

Robin said he wished to deliver a message to Lewis through the media.

“I want you to listen to me,” he said.

“I want you to send that baby back. She is our baby. It’s our kid … she is just too small. Please, can you bring her back? We want to be back safe.”

Robin said anyone who saw the pair should contact him or police as soon as possible, and warned Sharon had difficulty communicating at times.

“She didn’t have really have a voice … she’s just been using a hand signal,” he said.

The search continues

On Wednesday, NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole confirmed that despite extensive resources being poured into the disappearance, and more than 100 volunteers and police joining the search, there had been no trace of Lewis or Sharon.

Dozens of police officers and volunteers – including Indigenous trackers, a regiment of the Australian Army Reserve, drones, helicopters, motorcycle, the canine unit and the mounted division – have been scouring the outback.

“It’s very unusual that we’ve got absolutely no contact, no trace and no location of Mr Lewis,” he said.

“So we absolutely firmly believe that there are members of the community that know where he is, where he went, and how to contact him, and we implore those people to come forward and give us that information.”

The search has has covered five square kilometres by foot and 80 square kilometres by air and vehicle.Sam Mooy
Malley said survival experts had warned police that if Sharon wandered off into the bush, she may not survive much longer.

“I think we’re right on the threshold of [her not surviving] if she’s wandered away, hence the urgency,” he said.

“As time goes on the chances of finding little Sharon alive and well reduce.”

Authorities still believe Lewis is in the Alice Springs area and is being helped by others to remain undetected.

NT Police Commissioner Martin Cole and NT Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Malley addressing the media in Alice Springs on Wednesday.ABC News
The search has so far covered five square kilometres by foot and 80 square kilometres by air and vehicle.

“It’s pretty difficult [search conditions]; it’s long grass, it’s soft sand, rocks, large trees, it’s really overgrown, so it’s a tough slog out there for the people searching,” Malley said.

“It’s like we’re going back to 1930s policing without a digital footprint; this man doesn’t have a telephone, he doesn’t have a bank account, he doesn’t have a car, so some of the usual practices that we do in 2026 aren’t applicable, hence the amount of resources we have on the ground.

“We’re knocking on doors, we’re going through houses, it’s old-school policing, and it’s a hard slog.”

Dole said Sharon’s family were incredibly distressed and being supported by NT Police.

“Our priority and immediate focus is to find Sharon,” he said.

“She’s a very affectionate little girl, loved by her family, so it’s a horrible thing that they’re going through at the moment.

“We are employing the entire community, anybody who may have information, no matter how small, that could help us locate Sharon, to contact police.

“Information can be provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. We will follow up every single piece of information we receive, the smallest detail could be the one that unlocks this investigation.”

The Granites family are spread through Northern Territory’s remote communities, with Sharon’s immediate relatives mainly living in Old Timer’s Camp.

Others are in Yuendumu, about two hours north of Alice Springs.

Lewis’ wife and children live in Balgo, a remote Aboriginal community in Western Australia, which has been attended by local police at the request of NT Police.