The girl was reported missing from her home in a remote community in central Australia on Saturday
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenReutersPublished: 5:25pm, 30 Apr 2026Australian police said on Thursday they have found a body believed to be that of a missing five-year-old indigenous girl and were searching for the man who allegedly murdered her.
The girl, now referred to by her family as Kumanjayi Little Baby in line with Indigenous customs, was reported missing from her home in a remote community in central Australia late on Saturday.
Police said they located a body of a young Indigenous girl they believed was hers shortly before midday on Thursday about 5km (3 miles) south of the original crime scene.
News of Kumanjayi Little Baby’s disappearance has made national headlines and hundreds of people have been involved in land and air searches across harsh desert terrain in the Alice Springs region.
“Our hearts are broken that the case of the little girl missing in Alice Springs has had such a tragic ending,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement on social media.
“No words can measure up to the immensity of the grief her family is going through. In their time of terrible loss, all Australians hold them in our hearts.”
