A four-year-old Australian girl was found "safe" today, Wednesday, inside a house, approximately three weeks after she went missing on October 16 while attending a camping trip with her parents, according to police. Cleo Smith had been lost while with her parents at a campsite in Western Australia. Authorities mobilized significant resources by air, sea, and land to search for the girl, involving hundreds of police officers.
The police found the girl inside a locked house in Carnarvon, near the location where she was last seen 18 days ago, the police reported. Assistant Police Commissioner Col Blanch explained that "one of the officers took her in his arms and asked her what her name was," to which the girl replied, "My name is Cleo."
The police, who stormed the house around 1 AM, indicated that a man had been arrested for questioning. Cleo was later reunited with her parents. Mother Ellie Smith shared a message on Instagram alongside a photo of her daughter, stating, "Our family is whole again."
She described the feelings of despair that overcame her when she discovered at 6 AM that the family tent was open and her eldest daughter had gone missing. Her statements sparked a wave of solidarity across Australia. The assistant police commissioner described the rescue operation as "incredible," saying, "This is very rare; it was something we hoped for with all our hearts, and it became a reality." The police did not provide further details regarding the circumstances of Cleo's disappearance or how she was found.
