Search for missing 9-year-old girl enters second day
A desperate search for a missing nine-year-old girl has entered its second day with police combing through dense bushland in the Blue Mountains.
Charlise Mutten was reported missing at 8.20am on Friday from a home at Mt Wilson, deep in the Blue Mountains national park. She was last seen on Thursday.
Acting Superintendent John Nelson said Charlise is from Queensland and has been holidaying with her family in Mt Wilson over the school break.
NSW Police confirmed the house was being searched and that a car had been seized for examination.
A full-scale operation involving hundreds of officers, helicopters, the dog squad and emergency response volunteers was launched on Friday.
The search was temporarily halted as heavy storms lashed the region before officers resumed on Saturday.
Video: Search underway for boy who ‘slipped and fell’ in water (9News.com.au)
Charlise is described as being of Caucasian appearance with thin brown hair. It is not known what she was wearing when she disappeared.
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It is understood the police homicide squad was called in on Friday afternoon, 9News reported.
NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia that officers would continue ‘sweeping the area’ through the night but that PolAir helicopter, which was using ‘thermal imaging technology’, was forced out of the operation by thunderstorms.
A command post was established at the Mt Wilson Rural Fire Service Station with members from the Rural Fire Service and State Emergency Service assisting police from the Blue Mountains Police Area Command, Police Rescue, the Dog Unit, and PolAir.
The crews are searching dense bushland around Mt Wilson, which is approximately 30km northeast of Blackheath.
It is understood search teams are checking tents and bins in the area.
NSW police sent out a geo-targeting text message to all local residents in the area on Friday evening to inform them of Charlise’s disappearance.
They also asked social media users to share the missing girl’s photo widely. The police post was shared over 6,000 times in three hours.
Police are appealing for anyone with information about her whereabouts to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Source: Thanks msn.com