Police are searching for a recently released aboriginal prisoner with a long history of violence in relation to the suspected abduction of a five-year-old girl from Alice Springs.
Sharon Granites was reported missing from her home in Old Timers Camp at about 1.30am on Sunday after going missing between that time and when she was put to bed at 11.30pm.
She was last seen wearing a dark blue short-sleeve T-shirt with a white ring stripe around the neck and a white ring stripe around the end of the sleeves, and a pair of black boxer style underwear.
After an extensive search Northern Territory Police on Monday named Jefferson Lewis, 47, as a person who may be able to assist with their enquiries, and Acting Commander Mark Grieve confirmed he was staying at Sharon’s home along with her mother and other family members.
“Police believe Mr Lewis can assist with inquiries at this point in time. We can confirm that he is believed to have been in the area around that time and staying at the residence,” he said.
“He currently remains one of the few people who were in Old Timers Camp at the time and who has not made themselves known to police, nor have police been able to locate him at this point in time.
“We do believe Sharon has been abducted and we believe Mr Jefferson may be able to provide us with some information in regards to that.”
Police also released images of Mr Lewis wearing army camouflage pants and a yellow shirt that were recorded on bodycam when officers attended the town camp in response to an unrelated incident on Saturday night, ABC News reported.
Mr Lewis has linked to remote aboriginal communities across the NT and Western Australia, and was recently released from prison, but not for child-related crimes.
He was jailed for 18 months in October 2024 for aggravated assault and domestic violence order and bail breaches, and then sentenced to a further three months’ imprisonment while locked up for resisting police and another domestic violence order contravention.
In 2022 he served eight months of an 11-month sentence for aggravated assault charges, in 2018 he was sentenced to 19 months for aggravated assault, in 2016 was jailed for 12 months, also for aggravated assault.
Header image: Left, Jefferson Lewis. Right, Sharon Granites (NT Police).
