Police are searching for a missing baby under one year old after the bodies of a 36-year-old mother from Compton and her toddler were recovered off the South Australian coast near Port MacDonnell following a Monday morning alarm.
An emergency search spanning the ocean and surrounding cliffs of South Australia’s Limestone Coast was called off as night fell on Monday after conditions became too hazardous for rescue crews. Authorities launched the operation after an officer responded to reports of a car left with its engine running in a car park near Cape Northumberland.
Cape Northumberland Discovery and the White Isuzu MU-X
The alarm was raised at about 11am on Monday when emergency services arrived at an area near Cape Northumberland Road, west of Port MacDonnell. Officers located a white Isuzu MU-X with South Australian registration S592 BJR abandoned with its engine still running in the car park.
Photo: News.com.au
Upon inspecting the area near the cliffs, police spotted two bodies floating some distance offshore. Major crime detectives and specialist forensic officers were immediately called to investigate how the mother and child entered the treacherous waters off the former trading port, located about 25 kilometres south of Mount Gambier.
Search Efforts Suspended as Superintendent Trent Cox Cites Dangerous Waters
Speaking to the media on Monday night, Limestone Coast Region officer in charge Superintendent Trent Cox confirmed that investigators hold grave concerns for the infant whose whereabouts remain unknown. He noted that while the baby was known to be with the mother earlier that day, it remains open to speculation whether the child was still with her when the vehicle was left.
“The child is less than one year old. In any conditions, that would cause great concern about the child’s ability to survive, if not in the water.”
Photo: Nine.com.au
Superintendent Trent Cox, officer in charge of the Limestone Coast Region
State Emergency Service (SES) crews, Country Fire Service personnel, a search and rescue plane from Melbourne, a police helicopter, thermal imaging drones, and a significant number of professional fishers and local volunteers assisting with their boats scoured the coastline throughout the day. Superintendent Cox described the decision to suspend operations as incredibly hard as darkness and dangerous swells took over.
“We all want to find the missing child. We wish incidents like this didn’t happen, but we’ve got to maintain the safety of not just emergency services, but we’ve been assisted by a number of volunteers as well, with their boats. We need to be very much aware of their welfare.”
Superintendent Trent Cox, Limestone Coast Region officer in charge
Major Crime Investigation and Appeals for Dashcam Footage
Authorities are actively working to reconstruct the movements of the 36-year-old woman prior to her arrival at Cape Northumberland. Police have urged anyone with relevant information or dashcam recordings to step forward to assist investigators.
Latest on search for missing Elk Grove mother and her baby
“Anyone who does have dash cam footage or information about that vehicle’s movements yesterday in particular but also today — we’d be very grateful for that information.”
Superintendent Trent Cox, Limestone Coast Region
The search is scheduled to resume on Tuesday morning at first light, weather and water conditions permitting. Police ask anyone who saw the white Isuzu MU-X bearing registration S592 BJR to contact Crime Stoppers immediately.
