Authorities in Australia announced Thursday they have discovered a body they believe belongs to a 5-year-old Indigenous girl who vanished from her remote community home over the weekend.
The child, who is now being called Kumanjayi Little Baby according to Indigenous traditions, was reported missing late Saturday from her home in a secluded area of central Australia.
Officers located the body of a young Indigenous girl around midday Thursday approximately 3 miles south of where the initial crime occurred in the community, according to police statements.
Investigators have identified 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis as their primary suspect. Lewis had recently been freed from prison and was present in the area when the girl disappeared, police said.
“The focus right now is to locate Jefferson Lewis. It is our sole job in this investigation right now,” Northern Territory Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Malley stated during a press briefing.
“I say to the family of Jefferson Lewis that we believe he’s murdered this child. Do not assist him. Get him to the police station and we’ll look after him,” Malley continued.
“And I say to Jefferson Lewis, we’re coming for you.”
Malley revealed that investigators had collected evidence from the crime scene, including children’s underwear. Laboratory analysis of the underwear revealed DNA from both Kumanjayi Little Baby and Lewis.
An autopsy will be conducted to determine the exact cause of death, and a coroner’s investigation will follow, police announced.
The disappearance of Kumanjayi Little Baby captured national attention, with hundreds of volunteers participating in ground and aerial searches across difficult desert landscape.
Australia has faced ongoing challenges in addressing issues affecting its Indigenous communities, who have called the continent home for approximately 50,000 years but faced marginalization under British colonial rule.
Many Indigenous families reside in settlements called camps on the edges of Alice Springs, where adequate housing and essential services are frequently lacking. Old Timers Camp, where Kumanjayi Little Baby lived with her family, houses only around 40 people.
While Indigenous Australians represent roughly 3.8% of the nation’s 27 million residents, they consistently rank lowest in nearly all economic and social measures, experiencing disproportionately high suicide and imprisonment rates.
