Cleo Smith update: Police investigate whether four-year-old was in one place whole time she was missing
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Police investigating the abduction of four-year-old Cleo Smith say they are trying to establish whether for the entire time she was missing she was at the home where she was found.
Officers say a key focus of their investigation will be on tracking Terence Darrell Kelly’s movements in the days leading up to her rescue in Carnarvon, Western Australia.
The suspect charged with her abduction was moved to a maximum-security prison in Perth for threatening a reporter.
The Australian reported that he also looked a reporter directly in the eye and said: “I’m going to get out of here one day. I’m coming for you.”
His arrest followed a massive search for Cleo after she vanished from her family’s tent in the early hours of 16 October at the remote Blowholes Shacks campsite in Macleod.
Ellie Smith and Jake Gliddon, Cleo’s parents, said they were “humbled by the love and support” they received throughout the search for their daughter. The pair also thanked those involved in Cleo’s rescue.
“In particular we would like to thank the WA Police, all those involved in the initial search, the Carnarvon community, local businesses and of course our family and friends,” they said in a statement.
“We are so thankful that our little girl is back in our arms and our family is whole again.”
Police who found Cleo Smith applauded at local pub
Locals to a Carnarvon pub gave a spirited round of applause on the arrival of the large team of police officers who helped find Cleo Smith.
The 50-strong team of officers packed the bar as Commissioner Chris Dawson gave them a debrief on what could be the biggest case of their careers.
Constable Kurt Ford, among the officers, said: “I don’t think we had really any expectations going in — we didn’t know what we were going into.
“If anything, our expectations weren’t great. It was an emotional experience going in, and it was a good result.
“I just saw a little girl sitting there and didn’t think about anything else than picking her up.”
Man wrongly identified as Cleo Smith abductor intends to sue Seven News
A man wrongly identified as the abductor of Cleo Smith plans to sue Seven News.
Terry Flowers told Ngaarda Media that he was in the hospital with his baby when he was told that he had been identified as the kidnapper of the four-year-old, who was found in the small hours of Wednesday morning after 18 days of search.
“My sister rang me and told me they’ve got my photo up for the person who took the girl,” he said. On seeing his photo on a social media post, Mr Flowers went to the local police station for help. While the post was taken down, it was picked up Channel 7.
Mr Flowers says that he went into the police station again where he got a panic attack and had to receive medical treatment. “I ended up getting more upset and I had a panic attack in the police station.”
While on Wednesday night, Seven News published an apology for the mistake, Flowers says he still wants to bring a legal claim against them.
“I want them to do their job more seriously, and professionally and I’m gonna end up suing them anyways, cause it’s not the right thing for them to be doing,” he said.
Police trying to establish movement of accused in Cleo Smith's abduction case
The police will now be shifting the focus of the investigation to tracking the movement of a 36-year-old suspect days before Cleo Smith was rescued from inside a house in Carnarvon.
Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde said that the police were not sure if Cleo had been inside the home for all 18 days since her disappearance from her parents’ tent at the Blowholes campground.
“That’s still something that we’re going through and trying to establish,” he was quoted as saying by ABC News.
Police are now asking people from across the town in WA’s Gascoyne region to supply all the CCTV footage from a day before the alleged abduction to 2 November, when Cleo was found.
“Now that we have knowledge of a suspect, I’m asking businesses and people within Carnarvon to provide to the investigative team any CCTV that they might have between Friday the 15th and Tuesday the 2nd,” Detective Senior Sergeant Cameron Blaine said yesterday.
‘I’m really stoked’: Helicopter pilot describes moment Cleo was found
A 22-year-old helicopter pilot, who spent hours searching for Cleo, said that his “heart stopped” when he learnt that the four-year-old had been found unharmed.
“I never really lost hope during this time... and now that they’ve found her it’s just amazing,” Dave Ammann told the West Australian.
“I’m stoked, I’m really stoked. The whole town is.”He said he couldn’t believe when he was told that Cleo was rescued as “you don’t expect stories like these to have happy endings”.
“There really aren’t any words to describe how we are feeling.”
Terence Darrell Kelly winks at media during prison transfer
The man charged with the abduction of Cleo Smith winked at the media while being moved to a maximum-security prison, reported news.com.au.
Terence Darrell Kelly was being transferred from Carnarvon to Perth, while being surrounded by heavily armed prison squad officers. Photos later showed Mr Kelly offering a wink to media as he boarded the plane.
The Western Australia Department of Justice confirmed his transfer. “Officers from the Department of Justice’s special operations group will undertake the escort and transfer of the prisoner from Carnarvon to Perth,” it said.
Police yet to interview Cleo Smith
The police are yet to interview Cleo Smith in the probe about her abduction, said Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch, adding that they’ve go to be “really careful” with the four-year-old.
“We wanted to give them time as a family, that’s really important. We will be talking to Cleo but we have to do it very carefully. We’ll try to get information out of her about those 18 days – that’s a really hard, slow process and it is OK if she doesn’t want to tell us.”
Specialist police officers work with Cleo Smith to build victim statement
Two child specialists, accompanied by two detectives, arrived at Cleo Smith’s family home on Friday morning, to work on building the four-year-old’s victim statement, Perth Now reported.
The news website reported that this was the second time that specialist officers had spoken with the young girl about what transpired over the 18 days following her disappearance, and it is understood that they spent about an hour with Cleo.
On Thursday, the detectives on the case, who are working to build a case against alleged abductor Terence Darryl Kelly, advised Cleo’s parents not to ask their daughter about the ordeal, to avoid tainting her memory.
Detective Senior Sergeant Cameron Blaine said: “We have given them advice around that. And that must be incredibly hard for them.
“We certainly appreciate their assistance and cooperation with that.”
Adding: “Ellie and Jake couldn’t have been more cooperative and more understanding of the police work that has gone on.
“We want to see a successful prosecution at the end of the day for the person responsible.”
Detectives return to the scene of the crime
Two of the detectives who busted through alleged abductor Terence Darryl Kelly’s front door to rescue four-year-old Cleo Smith have returned to the scene of the crime.
Detective Senior Constables Kurt Ford and Drew Masterson arrived at the property on Friday afternoon, where they met with colleagues and forensic officers.
The Tonkin Crescent home remains under police guard, and continues to be searched for evidence. The pair of detectives did not enter the property.
Jesinta Franklin deletes post that questioned whether Cleo would have been found if she was Indigenous
Model Jesinta Franklin deleted a social post that questioned whether Cleo Smith would have been found if she were Indigenous.
In an Instagram Story posted shortly after Cleo was found on Wednesday afternoon, Ms Franklin wrote: “Without taking away from the joy of finding a missing child alive and well, I can’t help but think about the disparity that exists in this country between missing children who are white and indigenous children when it comes to the visibility and coverage of the case,” News.com.au reported.
The Story continued: “I have read so many heartbreaking stories of missing indigenous children that garner hardly any media coverage or the social media coverage that a case like Cleo’s did.
“I have no doubt the widespread broadcasting of information in regards to the case assisted the phenomenal efforts of the WA police force in locating this beautiful little girl and reuniting her with her family.”
While Instagram Stories remain live for 24 hours, News.com.au reported that as of Thursday morning it was no longer visible, noting that the 30-year-old had faced backlash for her post, some of it racially charged.
In 2019 it was reported that despite accounting for just three per cent of the local population in Western Australia, Indigenous people made up 17.5 per cent of all unsolved missing persons cases in the area.
Cleo Smith’s parents release statement
On Friday, Cleo’s mother and stepfather spoke for the first time since their four-year-old daughter was rescued on Wednesday.
In a short statement issued by the police, Ellie Smith and Jake Gliddon said that they were “humbled by the love and support” they received from “not only our local community but the whole of Western Australia and across the country”.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved in the rescue of our daughter Cleo Smith.
“In particular, we would like to thank WA Police, all those involved in the initial search, the Carnarvon community, local businesses and of course our family and friends.
The statement added: “We are so thankful that our little girl is back within our arms and our family is whole again. As we try to get on with our lives, we ask that you respect our privacy”.
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