WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this story includes the name and image of an Indigenous person who has passed away.
This article may be distressing to some readers.
Northern Territory police believe they have found the body of a five-year-old girl from Alice Springs who went missing on Sunday.
NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said in a press conference on Thursday that she had talked with the mother of the girl, whose family have asked for her to be called Kumanjayi Little Baby, "and offered our sincerest and heartfelt condolences on the loss of her beautiful little baby girl".
"It is fair to say everyone is feeling this loss acutely; everyone is incredibly devastated. As a mother, as a member of our community, dark days like this rock everyone," she said.
The girl was reported missing from her Old Timers town camp residence in the early hours of Sunday after being put to bed.
'A grieving Northern Territory'
Finocchiaro said that "around 200 people have worked tirelessly around the clock in searching for this beautiful little girl".
"And for five days every Territorian has had their heart in their throat waiting for the moment when we got the announcement that she had been found safe and well, and that news did not come," she said.
Police said earlier in the day that the body was found 5km south of the town camp, and her family had been formally notified. The police did not disclose the cause of death.
"Now we are focused on a grieving family, a grieving town and a grieving Northern Territory," Finocchiaro said.
She added that the police and authorities will now focus on "making sure we find the person who did this and bring them to justice".
Earlier on Thursday, police said the hunt for 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis, a recently released prisoner whom they have been trying to locate after the girl's death, is still ongoing.
Lewis had been staying at the home where Sharon lived and went missing at the same time, according to the police.
'We're coming for you'
In response to a question on whether there will be a reward allocated to find Lewis, Finocchiaro said "absolutely everything is on the table for us as a government".
"We will throw every resource we have available at this, and we'll be led by the police investigation," she said.
About a potential policy change, she replied: "It's still early days. But as I said, everything is on the table.
"We never want this to happen, not now and not again in the future."
NT assistant commissioner Peter Malley said the next step for police will be to arrange an autopsy and work out "what the cause of death is".
"Police are now going to work hard to catch this person to catch the offender because this is a very dark day. Police are now doing the work to stop this from happening [and] to make sure the person who did this is caught," he said.
Earlier on Thursday, Malley said that the police believe Lewis "murdered this child".
"We believe he's murdered this child. Do not assist him. Get him to the police station, and we'll look after him. And I say to Jefferson Lewis, 'We're coming for you.'"
This story was produced in collaboration with NITV.
Readers seeking support can ring Lifeline crisis support on 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14, visit lifeline.org.au. Resources for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders can be found at Headspace: Yarn Safe.
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