Australia CLEO SMITH: Missing from Blowholes Campground, Carnarvon, WA - 16 Oct 2021 - Age 4 *Found Alive**GUILTY PLEA*

Search continues for missing girl in WA

The disappearance of a four-year-old girl from a WA campsite is "extremely concerning" and police say a search...

www.inverelltimes.com.au

Search continues for missing girl in WA​

The disappearance of a four-year-old girl from a WA campsite is "extremely concerning" and police say a search has yet to turn up any answers.

Cleo Smith was last seen about 1.30am on Saturday at the Blowholes campsite on the coast at Macleod, north of Carnarvon.

An air, land and sea search resumed on Sunday morning with help from the SES and community volunteers.

The girl was wearing a pink one-piece sleepsuit with a blue and yellow pattern when she was last seen.


Earlier, Ms Smith posted that she had woken at 6am on Saturday to find her daughter wasn't in their shared tent.

She described Cleo's disappearance as "very very unusual".

WA police Inspector Jon Munday said the family arrived in the area late on Friday afternoon.

Insp Munday said he was "fairly confident" police were able to get the identities of all the people who were in the campsite at the time she disappeared, as well as gathering intelligence from dashcams and CCTV cameras in the vicinity to "paint a picture of who was around here".

"We are greatly concerned for the safety of Cleo and we aren't leaving anything to chance or ruling anything out," Insp Munday said early on Sunday afternoon.

"We are going as hard as we can for as long as we can."

Insp Munday said detectives from Perth and Geraldton had arrived at the search area and despite the harsh environment, the weather was so far "conducive to someone surviving exposure to the elements", but there were still no answers or major breakthroughs in the search.


MEDIA - CLEO SMITH: Missing from Blowholes Campground, Carnarvon, WA since 16 Oct 2021 - Age 4

 

[GrandmaBear]

I can only think of two legitimate reasons for a sleeping bag to be missing... Her being abducted from the tent (parents would have had to be away from the tent - far too much noise otherwise). Or something like blood or urine on the bag and it being disposed of.

Wondering about any vehicles. But LE seems to be on top of surveillance. Also wondering about a younger sibling appearing in family photos...was this child also present?

Wondered about the sibling myself or if only the missing child was along.

The sleeping bag is definitely a hmm...

 

[GrandmaBear]

I was wondering if they were talking to the bio dad to see if there had been any issues with the mother and her boyfriend.

That's what I was thinking and/or asking him if his daughter liked the bf, etc., what custody arrangements are and I'm sure finding out where he was too just to cover their bases....

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Search for missing four-year-old girl resumes as wild weather eases near WA campsite

The land search for Cleo Smith resumes after it was temporarily suspended due to extreme weather, four days after the four-year-old girl disappeared from her family's tent north of Carnarvon in WA's north-west.

www.abc.net.au

Search for missing girl Cleo Smith resumes near Carnarvon after bad weather hits WA coast​

The land search for missing four-year-old girl Cleo Smith has resumed after it was temporarily suspended due to extreme weather pounding WA's Mid West coast.

Emergency services combing the area around the Blowholes campsite in Macleod, north of Carnarvon, were met with heavy rain and strong winds this morning, as they entered day four of the large-scale search.

The search was called off with police saying it was not safe for State Emergency Service volunteers to carry on. But shortly after 11:30am weather conditions had eased and the search was back in full operation.

"Mounted Section officers will be arriving today to assist with the search," a WA Police spokesman said.


Inspector Munday confirmed investigators had spoken to Cleo's biological father in Perth, but that was normal police practice to help build a victimology profile.

 

[Kimster]

So it looks like they were interviewing bio dad for the reasons that we figured.

 

[Kimster]

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF LITTLE CLEO: Everything you need to know as parents speak for first time

The four-year-old’s parents, friends, and police all have one simple question: Where has Cleo gone?

7news.com.au

They were all in the same tent? And nobody heard a thing? That sounds so odd to me.

 

[Guess Who]

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF LITTLE CLEO: Everything you need to know as parents speak for first time

The four-year-old’s parents, friends, and police all have one simple question: Where has Cleo gone?

7news.com.au

They were all in the same tent? And nobody heard a thing? That sounds so odd to me.

either it didn't happen the way it's being reported or the adults were not in the tent when it happened or they were under the influence of something if they were.

 

[GrandmaBear]

So odd to me. So the zipper was open but they heard nothing? They didn't get there until 6:30 and she was asleep by 8, that's not a lot of time for someone to have even noticed her nor plan to kidnap her and honestly, I have trouble thinking that someone would take such a chance to unzip a tent, reach for and manage to pull a child out without a parent awakening. It's so unusually bold. I'm not accusing anyone, just simply am a bit bewildered.

I mean how would anyone know when they unzipped the tent they wouldn't first encounter a parent laying near the door? That's how I camped, children go on the inside, parents near the doorway for obvious reasons.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Their tent does appear to be a "multi-room" tent. My brother has one. In his, each "room" can be separated by a zippered "wall" or left open. Generally he and his fiance sleep in one side room, the middle is left open for their stuff, and the boys sleep in the other side room.

If they were heavy sleepers (or drinking/drugs) and the kids were in the other "room" of the tent, theoretically it's possible that she (or someone else) could have gone in/out without being heard. In a one room tent I'd say it's nearly impossible. But in a large tent? Maybe.

 

[Guess Who]

Their tent does appear to be a "multi-room" tent. My brother has one. In his, each "room" can be separated by a zippered "wall" or left open. Generally he and his fiance sleep in one side room, the middle is left open for their stuff, and the boys sleep in the other side room.

If they were heavy sleepers (or drinking/drugs) and the kids were in the other "room" of the tent, theoretically it's possible that she (or someone else) could have gone in/out without being heard. In a one room tent I'd say it's nearly impossible. But in a large tent? Maybe.

we have one similar and you still hear the zippers very loudly, so I am still leaning that either the story is being reported incorrectly, the parents weren't anywhere near the entrance and/or impaired, no matter if she wandered away or was taken.

IF she wandered away with a sleeping bag, looking at the sandy soil, there would be drag marks from the sleeping bag. No way is a toddler going to be able to carry one without dragging it at least partially.

 

[GrandmaBear]

I'd like to hear that others in the campground actually saw the girl show up there with her family... I guess it's Australia but haven't actually heard from other campers in any media sources that others saw the child after they arrived and before she went to bed....

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

we have one similar and you still hear the zippers very loudly, so I am still leaning that either the story is being reported incorrectly, the parents weren't anywhere near the entrance and/or impaired, no matter if she wandered away or was taken.

My brother's fiance would wake immediately if the boys got up, tried to leave the tent, someone was entering, etc.
But my brother? Nope. He'd sleep through a hurricane trying to rip the tent down. He once slept through a fire alarm right outside his bedroom door...

IF she wandered away with a sleeping bag, looking at the sandy soil, there would be drag marks from the sleeping bag. No way is a toddler going to be able to carry one without dragging it at least partially.

Absolutely. IF she wandered away, she wouldn't have taken the bag. You can't walk in one... IF she did, it would have been found pretty near their tent, I'd think.

 

[GrandmaBear]

My brother's fiance would wake immediately if the boys got up, tried to leave the tent, someone was entering, etc.
But my brother? Nope. He'd sleep through a hurricane trying to rip the tent down. He once slept through a fire alarm right outside his bedroom door...


Absolutely. IF she wandered away, she wouldn't have taken the bag. You can't walk in one... IF she did, it would have been found pretty near their tent, I'd think.

I can't picture a perp having necessarily the easiest time with a sleeping bag either. I mean of course an adult could pick up her and the bag but he also has to get in, locate her, pick her and the bag up and maneuver back out, not caught not seen... Was it dark or was he trying to hold a light, etc...

This one just isn't making much sense to me.

 

[Guess Who]

I can't picture a perp having necessarily the easiest time with a sleeping bag either. I mean of course an adult could pick up her and the bag but he also has to get in, locate her, pick her and the bag up and maneuver back out, not caught not seen... Was it dark or was he trying to hold a light, etc...

This one just isn't making much sense to me.

it makes sense if the parents were impaired, absent, etc and a perp knew that. That is IF she was taken.

 

[GrandmaBear]

it makes sense if the parents were impaired, absent, etc and a perp knew that.

Yeah, that's exactly it though, it only seems to make sense "if" this and "if" that...

I'm waiting for more info on this one. They seem to have not a single hint nor trace of her. Did other campers see anything?

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Mounted police join search for Cleo on day five

The search for missing four-year-old Cleo Smith has entered its fifth day, with teams of police, State Emergency Service volunteers and mounted police joining the search at first light.

thewest.com.au

Cleo Smith search: Mounted police called in as search enters fifth day​

The search for missing four-year-old Cleo Smith has entered its fifth day, with teams of police, State Emergency Service volunteers and local community members resuming the desperate effort from first light.

Police facing mammoth task in investigation into Cleo Smith’s whereabouts

An “urgent” police message has been broadcast across radio stations throughout WA after it was revealed Cleo Smith was likely snatched from her tent.

www.news.com.au

Police confirm the investigation into car tyre ‘screeching’ before Cleo Smith’s disappearance​

Police have confirmed investigators are looking into a camper’s report that a car was heard screaching in the hours after Cleo Smith was last seen.

Assistant Commissioner for Regional Western Australia Police Darryl Gaunt revealed Wednesday morning that someone had reported hearing the screeching of car tyres about 3am Saturday.

Mr Gaunt told 6PR radio that car screeching was one of several reports received from people in the area who noticed odd activities and noises overnight.

Without expanding further, he confirmed police were not in a position to exclusively rule the car tyre noises in or out as a crucial part of the investigation.

“It’s a little bit unsubstantiated but we’re not ruling it out,” he said.

He said of the reports of odd sounds and activities, police had “investigated and responded to the vast majority” and had been able to explain “most of them”.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Leading criminologist tells of ‘strange’ details in case of toddler who vanished from tent

“You wouldn’t expect a four-year-old to take the sleeping bag with them.”

7news.com.au

Criminologist Dr Xanthe Mallett weighs in on disappearance of Cleo Smith​

University of Newcastle Criminologist Dr Xanthe Mallett told Sunrise that while police will “be looking at every possible scenario,” it’s “unlikely” she went walkabout.

“You’ve got to think, four days later, it’s unlikely that a child has wandered far enough that she has simply wandered off into the bush and hasn’t been found,” she said on Wednesday.

“This is very inhospitable terrain that we’re talking about.

“They initially did a search of about 5km around the area and she wasn’t found, so now you’ve got to be thinking possibly she has been taken.”

Dr Mallett said it’s “quite strange” Cleo’s mother Ellie Smith and her partner Jake Gliddon did not hear anything on the night the girl disappeared.

“You would think at night if a sleeping bag is moved and the child is moving around, that may have woken the parents,” she said.

“But they may be very heavy sleepers, we just don’t know.

“Somehow that tent has opened and that child has vanished. With the sleeping bag, which is strange as well.

“You wouldn’t expect a four-year-old to take the sleeping bag with them.”

There is no suggestion Cleo’s mother or her partner are involved in the girl’s disappearance.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

 

[GrandmaBear]

Just because it is a common question in all such cases and I have seen nothing in this case to indicate it, I'd like to know the last time anyone outside of the mother and her partner saw this child. That's not accusatory nor anything else, it just seems to be flat out missing here. Did anyone see them when they arrived, eating dinner, taking her to go potty before bed, etc.?

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

FULL INTERVIEW: Cleo’s devastated family speaks

Cleo Smith’s mum Ellie has given a heartbreaking interview, describing how she has barely slept since the four-year-old disappeared from her tent at the Blowholes.

www.perthnow.com.au

Cleo Smith’s mum Ellie has given a heartbreaking interview, describing how she has barely slept since the four-year-old disappeared from her tent at the Blowholes.

In their first interview since Cleo Smith disappeared from the tent she was sharing with her family at the Blowholes, Cleo’s mum Ellie Smith sat alongside her partner Jake Gliddon as she told how she did not believe she had wandered off alone.

She awoke at 6am on Saturday to find their tent was open and Cleo missing.


“She’s lazy when it comes to walking,” she said.

“She’d never leave the tent alone.”

Ms Smith said as soon as they realised Cleo was missing, they searched for her on foot and then by car, before calling police.

“We haven’t really slept,” she said.

“I guess the worst part is we can’t do anything more. It’s out of our hands now and we feel hopeless and out of control.

“We sit and watch the sand dunes and think she’s going to run down it and back into our arms — but we’re still waiting.”

Asked if they feared someone had taken Cleo, Ms Smith said they were still clinging to hope that she was nearby.

She said someone had to know where Cleo was: “Someone has to, it’s been four days.”

The couple said they had been inundated with messages from the community, but asked people to tell police if they had seen anything.

“If you see something report it, doesn’t matter if it’s small or big,” Ms Smith said. “We want our little girl home.

“We’re going to find her, we have to.”

She said she felt “terrified” and would not want any other mother to go through her experience.

Ms Smith described her little girl as “beautiful, delicate and funny”, with “the biggest heart”, who loved make-up and collecting rocks.

“Every day she wants to wear a princess dress,” she said. “She’s so sweet — everything you’d want in a little girl.”

Although she was “terrified of the ocean”, Cleo had been looking forward to building sand castles on the beach.

 

[Kimster]

My brother's fiance would wake immediately if the boys got up, tried to leave the tent, someone was entering, etc.
But my brother? Nope. He'd sleep through a hurricane trying to rip the tent down. He once slept through a fire alarm right outside his bedroom door...


Absolutely. IF she wandered away, she wouldn't have taken the bag. You can't walk in one... IF she did, it would have been found pretty near their tent, I'd think.

I used to live in orange county California and there was a fire on our street in the middle of the night. It was lined with palm trees and the tops of the trees were catching fire and the wind was blowing it to the next palm tree. Woke up the next morning and saw the scorched palm trees and wondered what happened! My husband and I at the time slept through the whole thing! Our neighbors were shocked we slept through it. True story.