South Australia Police have released images of a quilt that was found in the suitcase that held a little girl's remains in a bid to help identify the child.
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The degraded quilt was located with the remains at Wynarka earlier this month.
Task Force Mallee investigators released the images on Sunday morning following its forensic examination.
The quilt, which measures 90cm by 90cm, was found with a suitcase containing the child's remains and items of clothing.
It is believed to be home-made, though machine-stitched, and could hold the key to the identity of the deceased child, believed to be a girl aged between two-and-a-half and four years old at the time of her death.
Detective Superintendent Des Bray, who is in charge of the Major Crime Investigation branch of SA Police, said the distinctive quilt could be a one-of-a-kind.
"It has been suggested this is a so-called i-Spy quilt which is especially constructed to allow a parent to play i-Spy with the child using the images stitched into the blanket," he said.
"Someone loved that little girl and either made her, or gave her, that quilt. I would appeal for whoever loved her to get in touch with us."
Filled with a light coloured polyester material, the quilt is quite badly degraded, however the fabric which is still intact reveals a wide border of black material illustrated with musical notes along with images of a pumpkin patch, a camel and dragonflies.
Det Supt Bray said on Friday the child could have died up to eight years ago and she was killed at another location, not near the Karoonda Highway just west of Wynarka in South Australia's Mallee region.
At some stage she was placed in the suitcase before it was left at the Wynarka location – sometime since mid-March.
Investigators believe the suitcase and its contents – including the child - were left at the location by an unknown person behind a bush and that at some stage someone tipped most of the contents out behind a nearby bush and left the suitcase near the roadside.
Among those items was the quilt.
SA Police have so far eliminated 25 children from the investigation who have been nominated as potential victims, but determined to be alive.
Police are still appealing to a man seen in the area about six to eight weeks ago with a dark suitcase to come forward. They have confirmed sightings of him with a suitcase near Karoonda on both 13 April and May 26.
Described as being aged about 60, of Caucasian appearance, average height, lightly built, clean cut and neatly dressed, he was seen by a number of locals in the area and investigators are seeking to identify him and potentially exclude him from the inquiry.
Anyone who saw the man or has seen the suitcase by the highway, or who has any information that may assist the investigation, is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at https://sa.crimestoppers.com.au.
