There are grave fears for a missing baby after a mother and her young child were found dead in the water near a popular South Australian tourist destination.
The search resumed at first light on Tuesday morning as major crime detectives investigate what led to the bodies being discovered floating west of Port Macdonnell, in the state’s south-east, about 11.15am on Monday.
The bodies of a mother and her young child have been pulled from the water near Port Macdonnell. 9News
Officers from the police water operations unit, volunteers from the Country Fire Service and the State Emergency Service are scouring the water for the infant.
Superintendent Trent Cox said police held “grave concerns” for the missing baby’s welfare.
“The child is less than one year old,” he told the media on Monday night.
“In any conditions, that would cause great concern about the child’s ability to survive, if not in the water.
“So we’re keeping an open mind about everything, but I don’t hold out great hope.”
Police were called to the car park near Cape Northumberland when a white Isuzu MUX was found abandoned with its engine running.
They launched a search of the area, and found two bodies in the ocean: that of the 36-year-old mother, said to be from nearby Compton, and her toddler.
Police were called to the car park near Cape Northumberland when a white Isuzu MUX was found abandoned with its engine running. SA Police
“I can’t imagine what the family are going through,” Cox said.
“It’s tragic for them. It’s an awful thing for emergency services and the community to have to deal with.”
Police, along with units from the State Emergency Service, Country Fire Service and a significant number of professional fishers, spent Monday afternoon and evening scouring the surrounding coastline.
A search and rescue plane from Melbourne, as well as a helicopter and drones, also assisted.
Cox said it was “incredibly hard” to call off the search as night fell and conditions became too dangerous for those on the water.
A helicopter, plane and drones were called to the scene to help with the search. 9News
“We all want to find the missing child,” he said.
“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.
“The conditions were not easy for the waterborne assets, and I’m led to believe that tomorrow is not going to be an easy day either.”
Cox said police had not confirmed that the baby was with the mother when she entered the water with her toddler.
“The baby is known to have been with the mother earlier that day but as to whether the baby was still with her when the vehicle was left, that’s open to speculation,” he said.
“I honestly don’t know.”
Superintendent Trent Cox said police held “grave concerns” for the missing baby’s welfare. 9News
Major crime detectives and specialist forensic officers are involved in the investigation into how the woman and child entered the water and what led up to the discovery of their bodies “a good deal offshore”.
At this time, they do not believe any other people are involved in this incident.
Police have asked for anyone who saw a white Isuzu MUX with South Australian registration plates S592BJR, or who may have captured dashcam footage of the vehicle, to contact authorities.
Located on the state’s Limestone Coast about 25 kilometres south of Mount Gambier, Port Macdonnell is the southernmost town in South Australia.
The former trading port is now a popular destination for fishing tours and is close to a series of walking tracks and sinkholes.