Police in Australia announced on Thursday that they have found a body believed to be that of a five-year-old Indigenous girl who had been reported missing from her home in a remote central Australian community late on Saturday. Her family refers to her as Kumanjayi Little Baby, in keeping with Indigenous customs.
Authorities said the remains were located shortly before midday on Thursday, roughly 5 km (3 miles) south of the original crime scene within the community. Northern Territory police identified a 47-year-old man, Jefferson Lewis, as the prime suspect in the case and said he had been recently released from prison and was in the area at the time the child disappeared.
At a news conference, Northern Territory Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Malley said the force was concentrating resources on locating Lewis. He stated:
"The focus right now is to locate Jefferson Lewis. It is our sole job in this investigation right now,"and added:
"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."He finished with a direct warning:
"And I say to Jefferson Lewis, we’re coming for you."
Police said they had seized items from the scene, including a pair of child’s underwear. Forensic testing of that item detected DNA profiles belonging to Kumanjayi Little Baby and to Lewis, according to investigators.
An autopsy to determine the child's cause of death was to be scheduled, police said, and a coronial investigation would follow. The discovery and subsequent developments have kept the case in the national spotlight, with hundreds of people participating in land and air searches across the desert terrain surrounding the community.
Officials and community members have stressed the difficult conditions under which searches have been conducted. The remote location, described by authorities as harsh desert country, required coordinated efforts using both ground teams and aircraft to cover wide areas.
Background information provided by authorities highlighted long-standing social challenges faced by Indigenous Australians. The piece of community where the girl lived, Old Timers Camp, is a tiny settlement of about 40 residents on the outskirts of Alice Springs, where housing and services are often described as inadequate. More broadly, Indigenous Australians comprise about 3.8% of the nation's population of roughly 27 million, and according to officials track near the bottom in many social and economic indicators, with disproportionately high rates of suicide and incarceration.
Police reiterated that the investigation remains active and that their immediate priority is to find Jefferson Lewis and bring him into custody so the legal process can proceed and the family can be given answers through the autopsy and coronial processes.
The discovery of the body and the ongoing search for the suspect underscore both the immediate criminal investigation and the broader social issues raised by the case. Authorities have not released further details about the circumstances of the child's disappearance beyond the information on the location, the seized items and the DNA testing results.