Police have ended the search for the body of a 3-month-old baby after a fatal incident in South Australia involving the mother and her two children – and blasted the online rumours about the case.
Helena Wright fell from the cliffs at Cape Northumberland near Port MacDonnell on July 27
while carrying her children, Hazel, 23 months, and Lewis, aged 3 months.
Local fishermen found the bodies of Wright and Hazel in the water at the base of the cliffs. However, baby Lewis was not found despite extensive search efforts.
Investigators found Wright’s Isuzu SUV parked at the top of the cliff with the engine still running. Authorities have since confirmed they are treating the case as a murder-suicide investigation.
South Australian police announced today that the official search for Lewis had been suspended.
“There were a group of seven water operations members that came down last Thursday,” Superintendent Trent Cox told the ABC.
“They conducted three dives before weather stopped that effort. Unfortunately they were not able to find Lewis.
“The grim reality is he’s unlikely now ever to be found.”
Cox told the ABC police would still respond if they were called to check washed-up material.
“It doesn’t mean that from time to time we won’t get called to investigate something that may have washed up,” he said.
“But for now there’s no formal search effort underway.”
Cox asked the public to stop “rubbish” rumours circulating online.
“What I’d like to see happen is a lot of the community chatter that’s going on social media to stop,” he said.
“I know that’s probably pie-in-the-sky thinking.
“Where there are gaps in information where the community’s not in possession of [that information], for that to be filled with the rubbish that we’re seeing out there helps nobody and it’s incredibly distressing I’m sure for Mr Wright and the extended family.