In short:

Robin Japanangka Granites, the grandfather of Kumanjayi Little Baby, says the family is grateful for community support after the five-year-old’s body was found on Thursday.

Alice Springs residents have laid tributes outside Old Timers town camp and dropped donations of food and blankets at Hidden Valley, where the family is holding sorry business.

What’s next?

Charges are expected to be laid against suspect Jefferson Lewis in the coming days.

The family of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby, whose body was found on the outskirts of Alice Springs on Thursday, has thanked the community for their support as tributes flow in from across the country.

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the image of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of her family.

Hundreds of volunteers and police spent five days combing dense scrubland for the child after she went missing from a home at Old Timers / Ilyperenye town camp on the outskirts of the town last weekend.

Senior Warlpiri Elder and kinship grandfather of Kumanjayi Little Baby, Robin Japanangka Granites, said the family was appreciative of the efforts from authorities and volunteers.

“We’re really grateful … it made us think we have people who really supported us,” he said.

Northern Territory police arrested 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis on Thursday night in relation to the child’s death, but charges are yet to be laid.

Mr Granites reiterated calls for community members to remain calm following an outburst of violence in the aftermath of Mr Lewis’s arrest.

“It is now time for sorry business and show respect for our family and to have a space and time to have grieving and remembering of her,” Mr Granites said.

“We are feeling angry and hurt about what has happened.

“We must let justice take its course.”

Pink tributes flood community

Alice Springs residents have laid pink flowers, teddy bears and messages of condolence outside Old Timers town camp to show support for the grieving family.

A sunset vigil is expected to be held next week, with attendees encouraged to wear pink in honour of Kumanjayi Little Baby’s favourite colour.

Locals have also been dropping off donations out the front of Hidden Valley town camp, where members of Kumanjayi Little Baby’s family are carrying out sorry business.

Mr Granites said he was “very thankful for those people” who have been providing food, clothes and blankets.

Joshua Keomuongchamh was among hundreds of volunteers who helped in the search for the girl earlier this week.

“As the days went on, we had the feeling of going into recovery mode,” Mr Keomuongchamh said.

“As a father of five daughters, having a granddaughter, the thought of finding a little five-year-old body is absolutely heart-wrenching.”

Mr Keomuongchamh said he hoped the community could remain united in the weeks ahead.

“Hopefully the community comes together in recovery in the same way we came together to find her,” he said.

There have been reports of unverified Go Fund Me pages being set up on social media; however, the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC) has established an official donation portal to provide direct funds to the family.

The member for Gwoja, Chansey Paech, is also taking donations for the family at his office in the main mall of Alice Springs.

Suspect yet to be charged

Mr Lewis was transported from Alice Springs to Darwin on Friday morning for safety reasons.

NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole said, despite being subjected to a “sustained assault”, Mr Lewis’s injuries were not significant enough to warrant him staying in hospital.

The 47-year-old was taken into police custody to be interviewed, and charges are expected to be laid in the coming days.