THESE five children’s clothing tags are the latest clues police hope can help identify the little girl whose skeletal remains were dumped in a suitcase in the Murray Mallee.

Major Crime detectives yesterday revealed there were around 50 items of children’s clothing in the suitcase with the remains — with just these five brands remaining unidentified.

Eight retailers are now assisting detectives to identify the clothing, but public help is needed to trace the origins of the remaining five labels.

The five brands are Gaf, H.F., Miss X Australia, Sally and Haolailh or a similar name.

The latter is the brand of the distinctive Dora the Explorer top police released an image of a fortnight ago.

“We hope either a retailer or member of the public may be able to identify where the items have been or still are sold,’’ Major Crime officer-in-charge Detective Superintendent Des Bray said.

“The Dora the Explorer top is pretty individual and someone may remember this and remember seeing a little girl they once knew wearing it.’’

The top and the dark blue Tutu dress found with the skeletal remains are among the most recognisable of the 50 items found in the suitcase.

While detectives have releases images of more than a dozen, many of the others are so soiled and degraded they are unrecognisable.

Detectives are now trying to obtain the sales records for the 28 Tutu dresses sold at the five Cotton On Kids stores in Adelaide to locate their purchasers and hopefully identify the murdered girl.

“We have the data for all sales across Australia, but our initial focus will be on SA,’’ he said.

“We are in the process of tracing those transactions locally, but if anyone has purchased one of these using cash they need to contact us.

“We need to know when they bought it, where they bought it and what they have done with it.

“That will help us with this process. It is a very distinctive, individual item so hopefully people will remember purchasing it from one of these five shops.’’

Locating the purchaser of the Tutu dress is one of the major lines of inquiry being pursued in an effort to identify the little girl, whose remains and items of children’s clothing and a homemade quilt were in a Lanza brand suitcase dumped in bushes off the Karoonda Hwy, near Wynarka, most likely in late March or early April. The remains were not seen until July 14.

The little girl has been murdered, with police stating she died “a horrible, violent and deliberate death.’’

Her identity remains a mystery with Forensic Science SA still trying to obtain a DNA profile from the bones.

If successful, the profile will be uploaded to the national database in an effort to identify any family members who may already be recorded.

Dozens of police last week converged on the Murray Mallee, distributing posters and speaking with residents in towns and on farming properties in a bid to glean information in the baffling mystery and locate a man sighted carrying the suitcase in April and May.

Detectives have ascertained the Lanza suitcase was sold exclusively by retailer Strand Bags at its outlets in Murray Bridge, McLaren Vale, Rundle Mall, Salisbury and Elizabeth.

“We are in the process of obtaining the transaction records involving those suitcases from 2008 onwards,’’ Det. Supt. Bray said.

Detectives were still tracing the origins of the quilt found with the remains, but investigations had narrowed because of its “unique’’ characteristics.

“The fact the material components are octagonal and not square indicates it was made by someone with experience in this field. Novices start making quilts with squares because it is easier, someone proficient in quilt making has produced this,’’ Det. Supt. Bray said.

“We believe some of the material has been purchased from Spotlight stores, but some has also come from overseas.’’

One theory being considered by police is the little girl whose remains were found in the suitcase may be the victim of a violent domestic situation.

Det. Supt. Bray urged people to think who has lived around them in the past eight years, their children and domestic circumstances.

Latest on Wynarka suitcase mystery Detective Inspector Greg Hutchins from the SA Police Major Crime Investigation Branch speaks with the media about the work of Task Force Mallee near Wynarka on 5 August.

“This child has a mother and father. It is possible there are people who know what happened and who may be in an abusive and controlling environment with somebody they are scared of,’’ he said.

“They may be aware of what happened and played no role in it but are too terrified to come forward. We would encourage anyone in that situation to reach out to us either through crimestoppers or through a third person.’’

He stressed that “ultimately’’ police will find the parents of the child and they will have some difficult questions to answer if they have “done nothing wrong and not contacted us.’’