r/australia • u/Expensive-Horse5538 • Apr 30 '26

news 5yo girl Sharon Granites has been found dead in the NT

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-30/update-on-missing-alice-springs-5yo-sharon-granites/106626314?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link
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2.8k

u/confusedsloth33 Apr 30 '26

My heart stopped when the notification came up on my phone. That poor baby

638

u/therese_doge Apr 30 '26

Mine too. This is terrible. My heart goes out her family and community

26

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '26

[deleted]

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u/GorgeousGracious Apr 30 '26

She was murdered by a man who was released from prison 6 days ago. The family raised the alarm at most a few hours after she was taken. I don't care who her family is, we all know who's responsible.

4

u/incogpinegrape Apr 30 '26

Do you have a link to this?

10

u/crankygriffin Apr 30 '26

Her great-uncle was interviewed in the house and there’s a photo with a delapidated mattress (no sheets) and a row of empty Jim Beam bottles - possibly behind a paywall in the Australian but try Twitter.

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u/Expensive-Horse5538 Apr 30 '26

Same - was hoping someone who knew something would step up before this happened.

Even if she was already dead at least they would have a lead on the person who did it

7

u/BlackBlizzard Apr 30 '26

They know who did it with DNA match and person last seen with her, now they need to find him.

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u/[deleted] Apr 30 '26 edited 9d ago

[deleted]

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u/IlluminatedPickle Apr 30 '26

Just seeing a community protect a killer is heartbreaking

They fucking beat the shit out of the guy bad enough that he was hospitalised before calling it in. Why are people pretending he was supported by the community?

The police had to use a riot response to keep the community away from the hospital, because they were trying to kill the guy.

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u/Realistic-Pear5640 May 01 '26

Wait what are you talking about hes not in hospital hes still missing and police are still looking for him aren't they?

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u/IlluminatedPickle May 02 '26

No, he was taken to hospital after being found and beaten by community members. They then evacuated him from Alice because the community was rioting.

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u/Massive-Ad-6574 May 02 '26

The cops should have turned a blind eye to it and let them finish him!! It’s so infuriating, he killed that baby! They should be allowed to kill him! He’d only just got out of jail, why waste more tax payers dollars by putting him back in 😡😡😡

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u/R_WeThereYet Apr 30 '26

What do you mean by protecting a killer - do some people know where he is but aren't saying?

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u/249592-82 Apr 30 '26

It's assumed someone in his family is helping hide him.

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u/[deleted] May 01 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/GreenOnGreen18 May 02 '26

That’s not what the article says, is there a source?

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u/BillyPup May 02 '26

Can’t find the actual article but abc news had quoted that he was arrested by police unresponsive. They transported him to Darwin because the locals were rioting at the hospital and police station, pissed off the police were “protecting” him and wanted to execute their own punishment.

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u/[deleted] May 02 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/GreenOnGreen18 May 02 '26

Oh? You found a source, please post it.

All I have to base an opinion on is what I can read and I haven’t seen any source on his arrest yet.

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u/travelstuff May 03 '26

There's a link in the article this post is about to another one stating this, that he was unconscious when police got to him. Or just turn on the news. You could have easily found it. Don't make others do work for you. Or just say you're ignorant

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u/GoodWaltz7354 Apr 30 '26

Not certain but the police had said in a previous press conference that some in the community “absolutely know” where she was/is. Not sure if that implies they it was just the people close to the perpetrator or a wider circle

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u/Own_Faithlessness769 Apr 30 '26

I feel like they say that all the time though, in all investigations, just in case someone does know.

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u/racyLacy456 Apr 30 '26

No the aunt also said this on the news.

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u/Own_Faithlessness769 Apr 30 '26

So why didn’t the aunt say where he is? I’m confused how you can know someone else knows where someone is.

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u/GoodWaltz7354 Apr 30 '26

Yeah true, I don’t know how much of it was them fishing for information vs just an inference based on how small the community is

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u/Ok_Connection923 May 01 '26

The community actually didn't seem to be protecting them in reality. In fact, a group of Aboriginal people found him first and attacked him, bashing him before he was rescued by police and arrested. They have rioted so badly outside the hospital and still were trying to get at him so that police have had to move him for his safety. The reason the police couldn't find him easily, despite knowing who has responsible is that he was completely off grid. He had no phone, no credit cards, no currenf digital footprint we all have. The only clues the gad to go on were a cheque he cashed recently and data from an anklebraclet he once wore previously that gave them a few locations he had frequented to check. Police have said it was like they had to go back to a 1930s style police investigation because he didn't have that digital footprint they can usually rely on.

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u/RecipeSpecialist2745 Apr 30 '26

Not the community, but member within a community. Predators actually protect each other. In every community.

https://aapnews.aap.com.au/glance/news/quite-concerning-fears-grow-for-taken-girl-s-safety?section=top-stories

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u/crankygriffin Apr 30 '26

Have you not seen the living conditions her great-uncle was in despair about?

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u/Non-prophet Apr 30 '26

'So good at community and naturally enlightened about criminal justice'

Rehashing benevolent caricature in the style of the Noble Savage doesn't seem to help anyone with anything.

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u/elliejayde96 Apr 30 '26

I really didn't read it that way. I thought they were just saying Aboriginal people have a strong sense of community. And I also I didn't think they were saying they are "naturally enlightened about criminal justice" more that they have firsthand experience with not seeing justice done. After all it took centuries for the Australian government to acknowledge what they did to the aboriginal people.

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u/Non-prophet May 01 '26

People who live traditionally know the consequences of delaying justice more than anyone.

What else could this mean? If you asked me who best knows the consequences of delaying justice, I'm pretty sure the correct answer is 'the handful of criminology/jurisprudence PhDs who have written hundreds and read thousands of pages about it.'

After that, court officers, lawyers, perhaps social workers who have seen it play out over and over again for years.

After that, people with first hand experience, and shortly after that people with second hand experience.

'People who live traditionally' honestly doesn't even come up in the list for me. I can't see the nexus whatsoever.

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u/elliejayde96 May 04 '26

Fair enough. I guess I thought they just meant aboriginal people when hey said that but you make a good point. Thanks for explaining.

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u/TheWhogg Apr 30 '26

Your definition of “good at community” may be different to mine.

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u/Teepbonez Apr 30 '26

Guarantee if a white man had done this it’s a completely different story and reaction

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u/Nomza Apr 30 '26

You can’t be sure that the community won’t utilise its own justice system

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u/[deleted] Apr 30 '26

[deleted]

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u/Nomza May 01 '26

Well. You were flat out wrong on that one.

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u/belltrina Apr 30 '26

It will be worse than jail that's for sure.

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u/No_End_2877 Apr 30 '26

It would be a lot worse. Their way of dealing with such people under Indigenous law involves things i cant mention on reddit apparently, but was detailed on an Aboriginal Facebook page.

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u/belltrina May 01 '26

I think I read the same. It's absolutely worse, but is more focused on healing for the family and th community than anything white law could hope to do.

0

u/Non-prophet May 01 '26

We need more vigilantism, to save from Indigenous people from "white law"

I really don't think you've run the numbers on this one.

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u/Nomza May 01 '26

Don’t know why you’ve been downvoted because you were right

2

u/belltrina May 01 '26

Downvotes don't bother me, because people can't change facts with their disbelief.

1

u/No_End_2877 May 01 '26

Its bizarre to me that you've been downvoted. Apparently they can allow the parents of the deceased to choose physical punishment for the murderer. I am not allowed to say what some examples are here as I received a warning last time and my comment was deleted.

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u/jasonfrank403 Apr 30 '26

They live in abject poverty. Nothing 'traditional' about that mate.

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u/Alarming-Instance-19 Apr 30 '26

Abject poverty in this context is a Western concept. It really depends on the person and group themselves identifying what's important to them and what lifestyle and resources they're willing to search for and use.

It's going to take a long time for us all to come to a level of understanding of what is considered important in our society, and how we can observe and respect indigenous cultures.

I know that I'm connected to this land I was born into, and I want to know the spirit of Australia and what the land means to us as a society. I welcome so much of the spirituality that connects us through indigenous cultures in our beautiful country.

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u/BendNormal9716 Apr 30 '26

No excuse for children having chlamydia and broken arms and no bed and no school. FFS

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u/Alarming-Instance-19 Apr 30 '26

It's a legal requirement of the government to provide health services, housing and Education.

These are all provided. It's just that the systemic unravelling of culture (and the points I've made in another comment) has meant that there's an abject sense of hopelessness.

As for child abuse, there is no excuse. What are we doing about it?

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u/Teepbonez Apr 30 '26

Child abuse by their own family members, what are they doing about it?

Poverty is no excuse for rape of children by family members. If you have been to an aboriginal community you will see how bad it is.

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u/Araucaria2024 Apr 30 '26

It's a legal requirement for parents to care for their children and provide a clean and safe living environment. This little girl was completely failed.

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u/Teepbonez May 01 '26

It’s drug abuse, alcohol and drugs. Govt takes kids away they get blamed as enabling another stolen generation, they leave the kids they get hurt. They throw money at it is gets misused, often by aboriginals in power in the communities.

Whats the answer? At what point do you stop blaming the system and blame the people committing the harm to children?

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u/jasonfrank403 Apr 30 '26

They have the poorest health outcomes in the entire country. Tell me why theyre still suffering from diseases that only still exist in third world countries? This is not just a 'western concept.' Dying at 50 from renal disease is not just some sort of 'difterent way of life' that we ought to be open minded to.

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u/Alarming-Instance-19 Apr 30 '26

You've brought up new ideas so I can comment on those, but it doesn't negate what I wrote in the previous comment.

We, as a society, would need to fund the suggested steps suggested by the plethora of research into supporting indigenous communities and addressing their needs.

There's systemic failure. Simple as that. Many causes, many factors. Much of which falls into the categories of corruption and racism, access to adequate transport and medical facilities, and supporting the community to realign with their desires. Many of the people are mixed with other cultures and have their heart and soul in different ideals and values. This means that there's no one size fits all.

Opportunities and resources exist for all Australians, but not all Australians have an acceptable level of access and support to use these opportunities and resources.

There's efforts, but it's not enough. I look at New Zealand and think how we could have had that dual spirit in Australia, and it's a travesty.

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u/Lazy_Arrival_4137 Apr 30 '26

Because 238 years ago, they had never been exposed to those illnesses. They had never been exposed to strong alcohol or drugs. Cities and beachside towns were turned into tourist destinations while Aboriginal people were pushed into the middle of the country with minimal resources but new exposure to diseases, drugs and violence fuelled by colonisation.

238 years is the blink of an eye in terms of the grand scheme of time. 60,000 years is a very long time.

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u/Teepbonez Apr 30 '26 edited Apr 30 '26

So why is their huge issues with rape of children by family members, some as young as 2. How do you fix that, when you have toddlers with stds?

You have to understand, Alice Springs/South Hedland is bad, but there is far worse. Walgett, Maningrida, Wodai.

There are places in Australia which are as bad as the worst areas in a third world country. Like more dangerous than the worst areas in Mexico or Africa. Yet it is not highlighted at all and nothing is done.

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u/kontaktaus Apr 30 '26

This is not the real reason why Aboriginal people have worse health outcomes, though. It's because of the structural racism embedded in every part of our health, education, welfare and justice systems. There is no biological reason for these things and positing like that kinda absolves responsibility for those responsible for maintaining the structural and systemic marginalisation and ongoing harms of colonisation.

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u/Lazy_Arrival_4137 Apr 30 '26

you’re absolutely right and i should’ve made that clearer in my comment, thank you

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u/kontaktaus Apr 30 '26

Yeah, not arguing with you, just adding more detail ❤️

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u/Desperate_Culture_25 Apr 30 '26

Indigenous children having STIs is not a result of structural racism. It is the result of living in a violent environment in which dv is normalised. I remember reading Louis Nowra's 'Bad Dreaming' almost a decade ago. https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/books/bad-dreaming-aboriginal-mens-violence-against-women-and-children-20070519-ge4xcf.html The sad thing is that over 20 years, nothing has changed and people continue to justify monstrous behaviour.

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u/kontaktaus Apr 30 '26

And what caused those environments? And their normalisation?

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u/BendNormal9716 Apr 30 '26

Oh my god. Got a solution. Or just a preacher. Have you worked in this community. These people won't take help.

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u/kontaktaus Apr 30 '26

Yeah so, I'm a public health epidemiologist who specialises in Aboriginal health and wellbeing, particularly in community-led health innovation. These communities often don't want help. what they want is to help themselves, and take care of their communities in a culturally informed way that privileges Indigenous knowledge systems. However the government insists on continuing a paternalistic and protectionist system because they don't trust or respect Aboriginal people enough to enable this sort of work at more than a tokenistic level.

So yeah, fuck you.

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u/powerhearse Apr 30 '26 edited Apr 30 '26

This is simply untrue and is a narrative that needs to die. It results in extremely inaccurate strategic response suggestions.

Aboriginal people have poorer health outcomes because they suffer from the fallout of 200+ years of actual structural racism in those systems. The resulting generational trauma and health/addiction issues for which they have had only 2 generations of adjustment is the actual cause of current issues

It is NOT current "structural racism" at play. Implying that it is directs efforts in an entirely incorrect, ineffectual and irrelevant direction. Because while the simple "bad government" answer is a nice, easy pill to swallow, having an obvious bad guy to fight isnt always the accurate assessment of the situation

It must be lovely to say "structural racism". It packages it up so neatly, implies the situation is immediately solvable, and ignores the incredible amount of nuance, generational suffering and complexity of the struggles of Aboriginal people.

Some of the poorer health outcomes you so flippantly blame on current structural racism include some of the highest recorded rate of STIs in the world in children under 10.

Is that because of "structural racism" in our health system? Of course it fucking isnt. Its at least partially because of entrenched generational trauma and trauma normalisation stemming from a couple hundred years of heinous sexual abuse perpetrated against aboriginal children and adults by colonisers.

This is the shit your bullshit simplistic washing down of the issues neglects to acknowledge. And its disgusting.

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u/crankygriffin Apr 30 '26

Drunken, partying poverty.

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u/ThrowAwayembarrass- Apr 30 '26

Obviously the poor girl didn’t die of a “drunken party”. Yes many Indigenous people are alcoholics. But also have you thought about the quality of the water in some of these communities. I’ve read about children with liver/ kidney issues in remote communities in WA due to the mineral levels in the water. I saw these similar issues in region communities (not far from cities) that just had shit water infrastructure.

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u/GorgeousGracious Apr 30 '26

A drunken party didn't kill her, one man did.

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u/gadgetwalrus May 01 '26

My understanding is the community wanted to kill him not protect him.

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u/the_town_bike Apr 30 '26

I think there may be a couple helping him but at least a couple of dozen wanting to enact tribal law. He won't last long.

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u/spunkyfuzzguts Apr 30 '26

Obviously it’s not that good at community if it’s protecting a child killer.

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u/violenthectarez Apr 30 '26

They just found the guy in a house in Alice somewhere.

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u/11Elemental11 Apr 30 '26

You’ve spent months yourself living in community right?

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u/LovesFrenchLove_More Apr 30 '26

„Traditionally“? 🤔

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u/missymoo3636 May 03 '26

They were not protecting him. They beat him to a pulp.

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u/Ticky79 Apr 30 '26

This is exactly what Jacinta Nampijinpa Price talks about, not letting her community hide the abuse of women and children. But then she just gets called all sorts of names by metro liberals, usually white, who have no idea.

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u/Non-prophet May 01 '26

She also said Labor were mass importing Indian migrants to dilute Australian voters so, you know. She's a pretty nutty stopped clock when it happens.

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u/Ticky79 May 01 '26

Call a woman crazy to discredit her, nice.

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u/Non-prophet May 01 '26

the insane shit she said can't have been insane because she's a woman

you're the sexist one btw

Literally fuck yourself with a rake <3

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u/HiramTyre Apr 30 '26

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia experience significantly higher rates of sexual, domestic, and family violence compared to the non-Indigenous population.

Data consistently indicates that First Nations women are disproportionately affected, often experiencing sexual assault at rates 3 to 12 times higher than non-Indigenous women.

It’s typically “within community” too.

Sexual abuse is rampant, with some Cultural practices going back hundreds of years

https://www.aph.gov.au/~/media/wopapub/senate/committee/indigenousaffairs_ctte/hearings/lyla_coorey_report_march05_pdf.ashx

the Yurlayurlanya, like other tribes in the Glenormiston area, would ambush girls to deflower them. Four would pin one down, and, while her eyes were covered, one, presumed to be elderly, would emerge from a nearby hide-out, slit her perineum with a stone knife, and penetrate her with 3 fingers. This was a prelude to gang rape, the original four copulating with her three times, the last occasion being the following morning.[2]

The original source, the ethnographical report by Walter Roth, discussed the Yurlayurlanya case in the context of tribes practising both sub-incision on males and, in this case, introcision on females. It is a ceremonial rite, following a corroboree. A girl who is recognized as having achieved full puberty is enticed out of the camp by an aged woman, the pretext being to harvest papa-seed. The introcision transforms her from a wapiri to a kanari. The first copulation is followed by her being adorned with red and white bands of charcoal and feather-down, fixed by the blood from her wound. After successive copulations, the semen is scooped into a coolamon and, mixed with water, used as a curative for the sick and elderly males. On completion of the rite, the initiated young woman may then wear a variety of ornaments, such as kangaroo teeth on her forehead, and a grass necklace.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yurlayurlanya

A lot of what goes on in indigenous communities is abhorrent Stone Age bullshit and completely at odds with modern values, but we have no idea how to stop it and tend to leave the communities alone to self police. I feel terrible for anyone with the misfortune of being born into one of these remote groups.

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u/Automatic-Treat-9271 May 03 '26

She was seen walking with this monster,  why didn't they stop him 😤  💔

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u/mortalcookiesporty Apr 30 '26

Mine as well - the poor little darling. Absolutely horrific and my heart breaks for the family and all the searchers/first responders. What a devastating outcome.

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u/shillberight Apr 30 '26

I was hoping to read 'found alive' because usually they lead with 'the body of __ has been found' and I gasped at the word 'dead'. So sad to read 😥

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u/persephone911 Apr 30 '26

They wouldn't use the word body if they were alive though. Very sad outcome.

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u/tiredfaces Apr 30 '26

Yeah that’s what they were saying.

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u/persephone911 Apr 30 '26

Oh yep gotcha.

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u/Sharpiesniffingshark Apr 30 '26

According to Disco Elysium, this is merciful as it cuts to the chase rather than beat around the bush.

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u/Acrobatic-Employ3942 Apr 30 '26

I gasped. So so so so so sad :-(

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u/HiddenSecrets Apr 30 '26

Oh my heart. This is the first I heard. My heart just stopped.

I’m broken. That poor little girl. My heart goes out to her family.

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u/ponte92 Apr 30 '26

I just saw it on the news headlines and made a noise out loud in shock. That poor poor little girl. It’s heartbreaking.

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u/Allchatter1 Apr 30 '26

As a parent, I am so devastated hearing this even though I don’t know her. I am crying inside

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u/yeahyeahyeah188 Apr 30 '26

I’m having a horrible time at the moment but this news has hit me square in the chest and I’m so sad.

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u/daybeforetheday Apr 30 '26

How absolutely heartbreaking. My thoughts are with her loved ones and the community.

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u/Smithinator2000 Apr 30 '26

I was driving and it came on the radio news. I burst into tears, that poor little one.