Girl, aged 4, missing

Press, 20 September 1985, Page 1

Girl, aged 4, missing

About 40 police and Spencerville residents were combing Spencer Park beach late last evening for a girl, aged four, who went missing late yesterday afternoon.

Alicia May Saunders, who lives in a caravan with her parents at the Spencer Park Holiday Camp, was last seen at 5 p.m. near a paddling pool behind the camping ground shop. Her mother, Mrs Shelley Saunders, said that she went to sleep in the caravan about 3 p.m., because she was feeling ill. About 4.30 p.m. she woke up and noticed Alicia missing.

Mr David Saunders returned from work in Christchurch at 5 p.m., and went looking for her. A camper said he had seen her near the pool. The police were called in at 7 p.m., after residents failed to find Alicia. A big search was made of the beach and area surrounding the camp. The man co-ordinating the search, Sergeant Max Paton, said it was possible the child had gone to sleep. Searchers shouted Alicia’s name as they looked for her in thick scrub and pine trees.

About 9.30 p.m., a search team found some small tracks about IV2 km south of the camp. A police dog followed the tracks for a short distance, and about 40 searchers began a sweep from the site of the tracks towards the camp.

A further set of tracks, made by a child’s jandals, was found near the beach about 750 m south of the camp at 10.45 p.m. Searchers were investigating the area round the tracks. Alicia has blond hair, blue eyes, and is about 100 cm

tall. She was wearing a red-and-blue jersey, with crimson tracksuit pants and jandals. It was planned to leave a small search team in the area overnight, some of whom will drive four-wheel-drive vehicles along. the beach sounding horns. Air Force helicopters will be called early this morning to help with the search if the child has not been found.