Developing·Case the developing record
#DC-0142

Port MacDonnell baby search

A missing baby case linked to the deaths of Helena Wright and her young daughter off South Australia's south-east coast.

Missing person
last updated 18 August 2026 · 8 sources
Confirmed facts
11
Open questions
5
Latest source
30 Jul 2026
Search status
Formal ended
This case is still developing. Get an email when the file updates.
Audio brief · automated narration of the sourced record
Transcript

Case file Port MacDonnell baby search, reference D C zero one four two. ABC News reported that on twenty-six July twenty twenty-six, South Australia Police said Helena Wright attended the Mount Gambier Police Station and spoke with police. ABC News reported that the next morning, a call from a friend led police to conduct a welfare check at Ms Wright’s home, where no-one was located. The Guardian reported that about eleven a.m. on twenty-seven July, emergency services were called to Cape Northumberland near Port MacDonnell after a vehicle with its engine running was found near cliffs. ABC News reported that police said the bodies of thirty-six-year-old Helena Wright and her twenty-three-month-old daughter were spotted in the water after Ms Wright’s car was found abandoned. ABC News reported that a baby under twelve months old remained missing. ABC News reported that searches resumed on twenty-eight July, then were suspended because of dangerous weather. ABC News reported that on twenty-nine July, police said they were treating the deaths and disappearance as a murder-suicide investigation, and that the formal search ceased after expert advice. The file’s open questions include where the baby is, the exact circumstances, what Ms Wright discussed with police, when coronial findings may be received or released, and the baby’s precise age. This has been an automated reading of case file D C zero one four two at developing case dot com. Every fact you heard names a public source.

Timeline of what's confirmed11 entries
26 July 2026
South Australia Police said Helena Wright attended the Mount Gambier Police Station and spoke with police.
ABC News
27 July 2026, 9:28am
South Australia Police said a call from a friend led a patrol to conduct a welfare check at Ms Wright's home address, where no-one was located.
ABC News
27 July 2026, about 11am
Emergency services were called to Cape Northumberland near Port MacDonnell after a vehicle with its engine running was found near cliffs.
The Guardian
27 July 2026, 11:13am
South Australia Police said members of the public reported Ms Wright's car at Cape Northumberland near Port MacDonnell.
ABC News
27 July 2026
Police said the bodies of 36-year-old Helena Wright and her 23-month-old daughter were spotted in the water after Ms Wright's car was found abandoned with its engine running near Port MacDonnell.
ABC News
27 July 2026
ABC News reported that a baby under 12 months old remained missing after the bodies of a woman and a toddler were recovered from waters off Port MacDonnell.
ABC News
27 July 2026
Police called off the search for the missing baby for the evening and said it was set to resume the next day.
ABC News
28 July 2026
South Australian Police resumed searching for the missing baby off Cape Northumberland, with support from emergency services and local fishermen.
ABC News
28 July 2026
Dangerous weather conditions forced police to suspend the search near Port MacDonnell in the afternoon, with no sign of the missing baby boy.
ABC News
29 July 2026
South Australia Police said they were treating the deaths of Ms Wright and her toddler, along with the disappearance of her baby, as a murder-suicide investigation.
ABC News
29 July 2026, 4:30pm
Police said the formal search for Ms Wright's missing baby ceased after expert advice that the infant could not have survived the elapsed time in the water or on land.
ABC News
Open questionsunconfirmed · not conclusions
Where is the missing baby?unconfirmed; police said the baby remained missing when the formal search ended · unconfirmed
What exact circumstances led to Ms Wright and her daughter being in the water and the baby being missing?unconfirmed; police and coronial investigation · unconfirmed
What did Ms Wright discuss with police at Mount Gambier Police Station on 26 July 2026?unconfirmed; police said coronial proceedings limited further comment · unconfirmed
When will the coroner receive or release findings about the deaths and disappearance?unconfirmed; coronial process pending · unconfirmed
What was the baby's precise age?unconfirmed; trusted reporting described him as under 12 months, three months old, and two months old · unconfirmed
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