Outback mystery: Boy missing as three found dead

Northern Territory Police and Emergency Services are doing land and air searches of the Willowra area, 300km northwest of Alice Springs. Photo / Google Maps

A desperate search is under way to find a missing 12-year-old boy after three people he was possibly in a car with were found dead in central Australia.

Northern Territory Police and Emergency Services are doing land and air searches of the Willowra area, 300km northwest of Alice Springs, after the group was found dead near their broken down car yesterday.

Police were alerted to the deaths of two adults and a child after a man raised the alarm at the Willowra Health Clinic just before 12.30pm Wednesday.

Investigators arrived on scene late yesterday. They said the three people may have died from exposure a couple of days ago and not as a result of the crash.

They said the deaths were not being treated as suspicious and a report will be prepared for Coroner.

Further inquiries indicate it is possible another child, the 12-year-old boy, was a passenger in the car.

"One of the avenues of inquiry that we're looking at is if people walked away from a broken down vehicle and may have suffered as result of that," duty superintendent Sean GIll told the NT News.

Duty Supt Gill said the two adults and the child may have died several days ago.

Family members have not authorised the release of the child's name, however have advised police that members in the surrounding communities of Ali Curung, Ti Tree and Willowra are aware of his particulars.

Police are appealing to members within those communities to contact police immediately on 131 444 should they locate or have information on the child's whereabouts.