Sydney, Nov 3 (UNA): A 4-year-old girl who went missing from a remote Australian camp more than two weeks ago has been safely returned to her parents after being rescued by police from a locked house. Wednesday.
Reuters reported that police stormed a house in the town of Caernarvon, 100 km south of the camp site, early Wednesday morning and found Cleo Smith in one of the rooms.
“One of the officers took her in his arms and asked her ‘What is your name?’,” Western Australian Police Deputy Commissioner Cole Blanche told local television. “She said ‘My name is Cleo’.” He said a man had been arrested in connection with the disappearance.
Cleo was last seen in her family’s tent around 1.30 a.m. local time (1730 GMT) on October 16 at the remote Blowholes Shacks camp site in Macleod, about 900 kilometers (560 miles) north of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia. When her parents woke up the next morning, she was gone.
Australian police feared the girl had been kidnapped and offered a reward of A$1 million ($743,000) for any information leading to the girl’s whereabouts.
“What a great day,” Western Australia Commissioner Chris Dawson said in a separate televised press appearance. “We have now returned Cleo to her loving parents. It’s a wonderful day for this little girl and her loving family.”
A 140-person team was working on the case with police sending out more than 1,000 tips from the public.
Police said the kidnapping appeared to be opportunistic and expected charges to be filed later in the day.
“She’s physically fine. That was clear from the start,” said State Police homicide squad 1st Sgt. Cameron Blaine, who was one of four people who rescued the child.
“We took her to the hospital, we got assurances of that from people who know what they’re doing.”
He said finding her was “without a doubt” the best moment of his career.
“She’s a very nice girl, energetic, very confident, and very open with us,” he said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison also welcomed “the wonderful and comforting news”.
“Cleo Smith has been found safe and sound at home. Our prayers are answered,” Morrison said on Twitter.
FKN