A photograph of a smiling and waving Cleo Smith eating an ice treat in her hospital bed has been released by Western Australia police after the four-year-old was rescued from a Carnarvon house more than two weeks after she vanished from a remote campsite.
WA police on Wednesday afternoon said a 36-year-old man taken into custody following Cleo’s discovery was yet to be charged but they expected that to occur “probably” later in the day.
Investigators have said the man had no connection to Cleo’s family and he only became a suspect in the alleged abduction on Tuesday night.
The miracle we all hoped for. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/zOd5WDTA1A
— WA Police Force (@WA_Police) November 3, 2021
In a press conference outside the Carnarvon police station on Wednesday afternoon, the commissioner, Chris Dawson, held up the picture of Cleo declaring “it is a wonderful day”.
The picture was taken earlier on Wednesday when Cleo was in hospital where she had been taken for medical tests. She had since been discharged and was back with her parents.
Police also released footage from an officer’s body camera showing the moment Cleo was carried out of the Carnarvon house.
The moment Cleo was rescued 👏 pic.twitter.com/arusYi9kCa
— WA Police Force (@WA_Police) November 3, 2021
“It is a really special day for Western Australia,” Dawson said. “I’m just the proudest police commissioner I think in the world at the moment.”
Det Sgt Cameron Blaine, who was one of the four officers who raided the house in Carnarvon and was the one to ask Cleo what her name was, described the four-year-old as “very trusting and open” with officers. He also said she was energetic.
“She’s a little Energizer bunny,” he said. “How she has that much energy. I wish I did. We all wanted to take turns holding her.”
Blaine said Wednesday morning was “the best moment” of his career. He described the moment Cleo was reunited with her family and said the four-year-old exclaimed “mum”.
There were “big hugs, kisses and lots of tears”, Blaine said.
Det Supt Rod Wilde, who led the investigation, said Wednesday morning’s news came as an “absolute surprise” to Cleo’s parents and “they were ecstatic”.
Cleo’s mother, Ellie Smith, posted on Instagram about 6am local time about her daughter’s discovery with the caption “our family is whole again”.
Dawson said chocolates and flowers had been left at the police station throughout Wednesday.
The WA police minister, Paul Papalia, said: “If you feel the need to thank God today, thank God for the West Australian police force. Cleo’s rescue wasn’t the result of an accidental sighting or a suspicious event, it was the result of hard police grind from the moment this incident began.”
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, said Cleo’s disappearance had “captured the hearts of Australians” and “I just thank God that Cleo is home and that she is safe”.
“The fact that that nightmare has come to an end and our worst fears were not realised is just a huge relief and a moment for great joy,” Morrison said during a press conference in Dubai on Wednesday.
The West Australian premier, Mark McGowan, said Cleo’s discovery was a surprise. “It often is a tragic outcome [in such cases] but this is great news and uplifting for the entire country,” McGowan said.
Police officers found Cleo about 1am local time on Wednesday morning alone in a room at a house in Carnarvon, a town roughly 900km north of Perth on WA’s north-west coast, and just 75km from where her family was camping when she disappeared from their tent in the early hours of 16 October.
Investigators said they received information on Tuesday that, together with previous findings, led them to the Carnarvon address where Cleo was found.
Deputy police commissioner Col Blanch, speaking to the ABC on Wednesday evening, said police had prior “information on our records” about the 36-year-old.
Police earlier said they did not expect anyone to claim the $1m reward for information about Cleo’s whereabouts that had been offered by the WA government – the equal largest reward ever offered by the state.
Cleo’s family live in Carnarvon and the house she was found in on Wednesday morning was just a seven-minute drive from her family’s home.
