Australian police say another person may have been involved in Cleo Smith abduction
Senior detectives requested that anyone with information about the suspect to contact Western Australia police
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Your support makes all the difference.Detectives investigating the abduction of four-year-old Cleo Smith have returned to the site she was found to probe whether someone else may have been involved in the alleged kidnap.
A team of detectives from the Western Australia Police landed in Carnarvon on Monday aiming to investigate the home of alleged abductor Terence Darrell Kelly, 36, who has been charged with Cleo’s disappearance from the campsite she visited with her family.
Speaking to reporters after landing at Carnarvon airport, detective senior sergeant Cameron Blaine, who was part of the team that rescued Cleo, said police still have “more work to do”.
“Our focus this week is for us to ascertain whether there was anyone else involved. That's why we are still here,” Mr Blaine said.
“So, we just ask that if there was anyone that had any contact with Mr Kelly, whether you saw him, whether you met with him, whether you spoke to him on the phone during the relevant period to please make yourself known to police.”
Mr Blaine was part of a team of detectives who returned to Carnarvon on Monday to continue with their investigation after spending the weekend back in Perth.
He said the team was expected to stay in Carnarvon for at least a week.
Cleo Smith was found alive and well after disappearing from her parent’s tent at Blowholes campsite in Western Australia on 16 October.
Investigators raided a house in Carnarvon in the early hours of Wednesday 3 November, finding the child alone and unharmed to the relief of her parents and the police force involved in the hunt.
Since his arrest Mr Kelly has twice been taken to hospital for self-inflicted injuries before being interviewed, police said. One unconfirmed report said a fellow prisoner “beat him black and blue” while another said the suspect had tried to self-harm.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that he is a reclusive “loner” obsessed with Bratz dolls, frequently posting on social media about his extensive collection of the toys. Police officers were reportedly seen leaving the home Cleo was rescued from loading brown paper evidence bags into forensic vehicles.
Mr Kelly remains in a maximum security prison in Perth as he awaits his next court appearance in December.
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