Father’s agony as grim search for missing baby continues after the child’s mother and sister plunged to their death in the ocean from a remote clifftop
Detectives have spoken to the father of a missing baby boy as hopes fade after the bodies of the man’s wife and their toddler daughter were pulled from the ocean.
Emergency services were battling vicious weather in the hunt for the two-month-old tot in rough seas off South Australia as search teams also scoured the shoreline.
Fishermen found the bodies of 36-year-old Helena Wright and her young daughter in the waves at the foot of cliffs at Cape Northumberland near Port Macdonnell on Monday.
Ms Wright and her family were from Compton, a semi-rural community on the outskirts of Mt Gambier, 30km north of where they fell to their deaths.
She was described as a much-loved member of the community, and was on the committee of the Mt Gambier Toy Library, and was originally from Estonia.
South Australia Police are still investigating whether the tragedy was a suspected murder-suicide, but are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.
Police were called to Cape Northumberland car park – at Australia’s most southern point – at 11.30am, after the mother’s white Isuzu M-UX was found abandoned with its engine running.
The body of Ms Wright – who has been described as a much-loved member of the South East community – and her daughter were soon spotted floating in the water – but there has been no sign of her infant son.
Helena Wright has been identified as the mother who plunged from a cliff on Monday
A massive search operation is underway in South Australia for a missing two-month-old boy
Waterway searchers battled high winds, poor visibility and heavy swells
Ms Wright’s white Isuzu SUV (pictured on the back of the flatbed truck) was found with its engine running near the clifftop
It’s understood she was on the committee of a local charity, the Mt Gambier Toy Library.
SAPOL Commissioner Grant Stevens said police were ‘operating on the basis’ that the baby was still in the shark-infested waters.
A ground and waterway search continued on Tuesday, with boats navigating monster swells around the treacherous cliff base.
‘Despite the weather today, which is not good, the searching is continuing for the infant,’ Commissioner Stevens said on Tuesday.
‘There are no indications at this point of any specific location to search, so the CFS, SES and police and volunteers are doing an exceptional job to try and locate the small child.’
SES workers were seen scouring the shoreline between Cape Northumberland and Port Macdonnell – a holiday and fishing village with a population of just 660, 466km south of Adelaide near the Victorian border.
Local boaties volunteered their vessels to help search for the missing baby, but some were forced to return to port due to high winds and poor visibility.
A Port Macdonnell resident told the Daily Mail things that ‘go into the sea over at the Cape usually wash up in the town’ because of the local currents.
Ms Wright, originally from Estonia, lived in South Australia with her husband and children
SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said investigators believe the baby is still in the water
Police and volunteers are scouring the shoreline near Port Macdonnell
The waters surrounding Cape Northumberland are treacherous, shark-infested, and freezing
The woman held grave fears the child would never be found due to strong rips and sharks that patrol the area.
They confirmed they had been speaking with Ms Wright’s husband, the father of the dead girl and missing boy.
It’s understood police have ruled out any possibility of someone else being involved in the fatal fall.
Locals in Compton were reeling from the events
Several residents told the Daily Mail they were aware of the tragic incident but did not know the family involved.
‘Compton used to be a place where everyone knew everyone, it was just a few small farms,’ said one longtime resident.
‘But there are lots of new builds and new people here now and people you’ve never seen before.’
Another said they had seen the Isuzu M-UX around town in the past.
Police are appealing for dashcam footage that may show the woman’s 2015 vehicle, SA registration S592BJR, before the tragedy to try to piece together her final movements.
Social media has been alight with speculation over how a young mother and her toddler were found dead in the ocean – prompting SA Premier Peter Malinauskas to call for people to ‘not jump to conclusions’.
‘It’s very difficult at this point in time to understand exactly what transpired here. There are a number of theories that police are actively investigating,’ he said.
‘Wherever we see the loss of anybody, it’s a tragedy.
‘When it involves children, that breaks your heart – particularly when we know there’s currently a two‑month‑old baby missing.’
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