Cleo Smith update: Police investigate whether four-year-old was in one place whole time she was missing

Madeleine McCann’s parents have said they have been given “hope” after the four-year-old Australian girl was found alive on Monday after being missing for 18 days.

Cleo Smith was found “alive and well” on Monday after vanishing from her parent’s tent on a camp site in the town of Carnarvon, Western Australia. The disappearance triggered a massive search which led to police recovering the child in a home more than 60 miles away from the campsite.

The four-year-old’s case was labelled “Australia’s Madeleine McCann” due to similarities to Madeleine’s disappearance while holidaying in Portugal 14 years ago with her family.

Thomas Kingsley has more:

Police have released an audio recording of the moment missing four-year-old Cleo Smith was found at a house in Western Australia.

An officer can be heard saying “I’ve got you bubby, you’re alright” as another asks the child “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

After being asked a third time, the child finally responds: “My name is Cleo.”

Chiara Giordano reports:

Cleo Smith is said to be back to her “laughing, bubbly” self as she played in the backyard of her family home.

Detective Senior Sergeant Cameron Blaine, who was among the team of officers who rescued the four-year-old on Wednesday, said he was “amazed” at how well-adjusted she was.

“I can only see her on the outside, but from that point of view, I'm amazed that she seems to be so well-adjusted and happy, and it was really ... heartwarming to see that she's still bubbly and she's laughing," he said.

"I'm sure that it has had an impact, but just to see her behaving quite naturally like a four-year-old girl should do and just enjoying being in the presence of her little sister and her family was good.”

Mr Blaine was part of a four-member police team that used a battering ram to smash into a locked house in the town of Carnarvon in the early hours of Wednesday to rescue Cleo.

The lights were on and she was alone playing with toys in a house less than a 10-minute drive from her own, police said.

Specialist child interviewers have travelled 560 miles to Carnarvon from the state capital Perth to interview Cleo Smith as the police investigation into her alleged abduction continues.

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde, who is leading the police inquiry, said of the interview: "The main concern around that is Cleo's welfare.

"We have experienced people that will undertake that and it'll take as long as it takes. We'll sit down with the family and work out the appropriate time.”

Police would not comment on whether Cleo was interviewed before Kelly was charged.

Wednesday was the first full night Cleo Smith spent at home with her mother, Ellie Smith, stepfather Jake Gliddon and her baby half-sister Isla Gliddon since the family's ordeal began.

As they slept, public buildings in the Western Australia capital Perth were illuminated with blue lights to celebrate the success of the police investigation.

In Carnarvon, balloons were raised on buildings and signs were posted welcoming Cleo home.

The hashtag #CleoSmith has also been trending on Twitter since Wednesday, with a picture posted by police showing a smiling Cleo waving from her hospital bed drawing nearly 54,000 "likes".

Xanthe Mallett, a criminologist at Australia's Newcastle University, said finding a victim of stranger abduction alive after more than two weeks was rare.

"Sadly, they're normally killed quickly, usually during the first three hours," Ms Mallett said.

The Carnarvon community's willingness to help police find Cleo was probably a key factor in the investigation's success, she said.

Police had offered a one million Australian dollar (£545,000) reward for information, but do not expect the money will be claimed.

"I always thought that this was going to be somebody with local connections because it was somebody who knew that campsite, so the fact that she was so close to that campsite and so close to Cleo's home wasn't a surprise to me," Ms Mallett said.

Police "engaged so well with that community and had them on board, they had the whole community's eyes on everyone, reporting anyone suspicious. I think that was really key in this investigation - just great, old-fashioned, boots-on-the-ground police work.”

Police searched for Cleo Smith for 18 days before she was found.

Here’s a timeline of how the hunt for the missing four-year-old unfolded day by day:

Madeleine McCann’s parents say they have been given “hope” by Cleo Smith being found.

The four-year-old’s case was labelled “Australia’s Madeleine McCann” due to similarities to Madeleine’s disappearance during a family holiday in Portugal 14 years ago.

Kate and Gerry McCann are reportedly “thankful” that Cleo has been found well, a source close to the family told the Sun.

A neighbour says he observed the suspect in the abduction of four-year-old Cleo Smith acting strangely, including buying nappies just two days before police swooped to rescue the missing Australian girl, leading to some calls online that he be rewarded for this information.

Henry Dodd lives on the same street where Cleo was found alone but “alive and well” in a locked room in Carnarvon, Western Australia.

In an interview with Australia’s 7 News, he said: “The other day, I think it was Monday, we saw him buying Kimbie’s in Woolworths but we didn’t click on why he was buying them or who he was buying them for. Up until now…”

He added: “He’s been acting a bit strange lately. He will get in his car, drive that fast. He doesn’t have his dogs at the front [normally], he has his dogs out the back, but through this week he had his dogs out the front and he has been acting weird.”