Another child seen with the woman earlier yesterday morning remains missing, with grave fears for their safety as searching resumes today.<\/p>\n
“The child is less than one year old. In any conditions that would cause great concern about the child’s ability to survive,” said Superintendent Trent Cox, officer in charge of Limestone Coast Region.<\/p>\n
He said it remained unclear how the woman and the toddler came to be in the water.<\/p>\n
“We can’t tell exactly how the woman and the young child have entered the water,” he said.<\/p>\n
“We’re keeping an open mind as to how they’ve come to be in the water and that will be part of the investigation.”<\/p>\n
Police said detectives from the Major Crime Investigation Branch and specialist officers from the Forensic Response Section had also travelled to the scene.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/33dda85f08d597d701cc9df9d9203686.jpeg\")
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Emergency services conducted an extensive search over waters near Port MacDonnell. (ABC News: Aiden McNamara)<\/p>\n
Community comes together<\/p>\n
Tom Egan is a local fisherman and member of the Port MacDonnell Offshore Angling Club.<\/p>\n
He told ABC South East SA he was concerned weather conditions could significantly hamper the resumed ocean search.<\/p>\n
“Conditions weren’t great visibility wise, but I would say it would be nigh on impossible today to do anything via the ocean just with conditions,” Mr Egan said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“There were waves breaking out towards Cape Northumberland probably a mile offshore, that means it’s probably a 3-plus-metre sea but I believe it’s going to get up to round that 5, 6 metres even possibly later on this afternoon.”<\/p>\n
If you or anyone you know needs help:Suicide Call Back Service<\/a> on 1300 659 467Lifeline<\/a> on 13 11 14Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander crisis support line 13YARN<\/a>\u00a0on 13 92 76Beyond Blue<\/a> on 1300 224 636Headspace<\/a> on 1800 650 890MensLine Australia<\/a> on 1300 789 978<\/p>\n Mr Egan said the police search area was along a notoriously dangerous stretch of coast.<\/p>\n “History will tell you it’s one of the most treacherous coastlines in Australia \u2026 it’s just rugged and there is lots of reef,” Mr Egan said.<\/p>\n “It will be very tough today \u2026 when you get over a couple of metres swell it makes it impossible to get within 500 metres of the shore.<\/p>\n “The community will get around each other and help in any way they can as [with] most communities around the Limestone Coast if anything goes in the town everyone bands together.”<\/p>\n ‘It gets around a small town quickly’<\/p>\n Port MacDonnell local and lobster fisherman Tom Ryan said the town was mourning the loss of the woman and her child.<\/p>\n “Anything like this, it gets around a small town quickly and people are pretty upset by things like this,” Mr Ryan said.<\/p>\n The incident occurred less than a kilometre from Mr Ryan’s home.<\/p>\n “It’s pretty confronting having something that serious happen that close to your house, especially when you hear that there’s children involved; that also brings a whole other dimension to what’s happened.”<\/p>\n Cape Northumberland near Port MacDonnell where the bodies of a woman and toddler were recovered.\u00a0 (ABC News: Josh Brine)<\/p>\n![\"Cape](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/9eef47bd7ba0b834f5520079a9ac4ccd.jpeg\")
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