Cleo Smith’s mum posts TikTok plea, as stepdad returns to family house for first time since the disappearance
Cleo Smith’s stepdad returned to the family home for the first time since the four-year-old vanished, as her mum made another public plea.
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Missing girl Cleo Smith’s heartbroken stepfather has returned to the family’s home for the first time since the little girl vanished during a camping trip on October 16.
Forensic officers returned to the home on Tuesday for seven hours, where Jake Gliddon led investigators and spoke with detectives before they left in separate cars.
The police were seen leaving carrying two evidence bags and what is believed to be a large duffel bag, but did not reveal what was inside, according to the West Australian.
It is understood that this is the first time the inside of the home had been forensically examined for evidence.
Police do not consider Cleo’s parents in any way involved in her disappearance.
Over the weekend, forensic police swept the family home for prints amid reports they were looking for evidence of stalking prior to Cleo’s probable abduction.
However, the detective leading the investigation Superintendent Rod Wilde on Sunday said the search was part of the process with a major investigation.
Mr Gliddon on Monday also posted about the four-year-old’s disappearance for the first time since she vanished from the family’s tent in remote WA.
In an image shared to his Instagram story, he posted Cleo’s missing poster which offers a $1 million reward for any information.
Cleo was last seen by her family when they were staying at the remote Blowholes Campground in Macleod, Western Australia, at about 1.30am when she asked for water. When her mother Ellie Smith next woke, she was gone.
Ms Smith issued another desperate plea for her daughter on Tuesday, uploading a package to TikTok with photos and videos of Cleo accompanied by the song, Home, by Machine Gun Kelly, Bebe Rexha and X Ambassadors.
In her first post to the TikTok account, Ms Smith urged “bring my baby back home”.
‘WE WANT HER IN OUR ARMS’
It comes as the couple broke down in tears while speaking on Channel 7‘s Flashpoint on Monday night revealing that they had not returned to their home since they lost their daughter.
Only minutes after sitting down for the interview, Ms Smith wasted no time in getting the message that she wanted the world to hear, making a direct plea to the person who took Cleo.
“If the person who is watching has Cleo, we want her home with our baby. We want her in our arms,” Ms Smith said.
Police have now ruled out that Cleo could have wandered off and are treating the case as one of abduction.
Ms Smith described the past 10 days as “heartbreaking, heart-wrenching, completely scary”.
“I put her to bed, I tucked her in, I made sure her sleeping bag was completely tucked under her mattress,” she said. “I made sure she was warm, it was quite a windy night, it was overcast, we just tried to make sure she was safe.”
The mother said about 1.30am that night, she asked Cleo to “get back into bed” after she had a sip of water.
“I put my head through to check on (baby sister) Isla and that was it,” she said. “That was the last time.”
Ms Smith said she held onto hope police would find something to help at the house.
“If it’s someone that’s been watching for who knows how long, hopefully they pick something up that will help,” she said.
The parents were also quick to shut down rumours from “amateur detectives” who had pointed the finger at them. Both denied they had any involvement in their daughter’s disappearance.
“No, nothing,” Mr Gliddon said when asked if there was something he was not revealing.
“No way — we love our daughter and want her home,” Ms Smith said.
“I can’t imagine what it feels like for someone, if they’ve got kids, they know what it feels like to be a parent, and there is no way that either myself or Jake could’ve done anything to hurt our daughter.”
In her final plea, Ms Smith said she hoped that her girl was “out there somewhere”, despite no leads.
“Our daughter Isla needs her big sister, we need her home,” she said.
“I love you (Cleo). We miss you. And we want you home.”
SECRET TECH USED IN CLEO SEARCH
The Prime Minister has assured Cleo Smith’s devastated family that the Australian Federal Police are using secret technology and tactics to help find the missing four-year-old girl.
Cleo vanished from her family’s tent at the Blowholes Campground in Macleod, near Carnarvon in Western Australia’s north, on October 16 and Scott Morrison described the situation as “heart breaking”.
“I just want to assure everybody over there in WA, particularly the family and friends of poor Cleo, this is really capturing the minds of the country,” Mr Morrison told 6PR radio on Tuesday.
“It certainly has captured our minds here — our hearts just go out to them.
“But in terms of technology and tradecraft, the AFP have some very advanced capabilities, leading edge, not just here in Australia but all around the world.
“As much as I’d love to reveal exactly what some of those are, and how they’re being used, we certainly can’t talk about that on air.
“But the AFP are there, they’ve joined that process. I’m very pleased to say that they’re helping in every way they possibly can, through their intelligence capabilities, their technology and their forensics abilities.
“I just hope we can find Cleo, I just really do. I just think the whole nation is just waiting and hoping and praying — we certainly are.”
Premier Mark McGowan renewed his call for anyone with information to come forward.
“If people can find Cleo and bring her home to her family, the reward is there,” he said.
“We all would hate to think that we had some knowledge that could have saved the life of a little girl and we didn’t pass it on.
“So just pass on whatever you have in your knowledge and you could be in receipt of $1m, but more importantly, you can save the life of a little girl.”
After a frantic and extensive search of the water and rugged terrain around the campsite, police believe Cleo was likely abducted while her mother Ellie Smith, stepfather Jake Gliddon and younger sister Isla were asleep.
Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde revealed police were seeking information on a car seen turning off Blowholes Rd in the early hours of October 16.
Two witnesses, described by Superintendent Wilde as “credible sources”, were travelling together for work north along the North West Coastal Highway and spotted a car turning right off Blowholes Rd between 3am and 3.30am.
Witnesses at the campsite also reported hearing tyres skidding about 3am, however, detectives were still trying to track down the car believed to have turned out of Blowholes Rd.
Deputy Police Commissioner Col Blanch said a “significant amount” of Crime Stoppers reports had flooded in since the $1m reward was announced last week.
It comes a group of bounty hunters have joined the search for Cleo Smith in the hope of securing the $1 million reward for information that brings the missing four-year-old home.
West Australian Police said the entrance to the tent nearest to where Cleo was sleeping was found unzipped at a height the young girl could not have reached.
Deputy police commissioner Col Blanch welcomed assistance from anyone who can help find the toddler and said that the official search in the vicinity of the campground had concluded.
He was asked whether people searching for Cleo to claim the financial reward were a help or a hindrance to police.
“We do welcome anyone who can help find Cleo. I will ask that people not put themselves in danger or at risk in doing so,” Mr Blanch said.
“We would ask everyone (in the area) to check their sheds, their cars, their old cars, locations that might be abandoned — that’s something that I would encourage.”
On Monday, the mother of Cleo Smith issued another desperate plea for her daughter as detectives ruled out a major line of inquiry their investigation.
“We all need her home,” Ms Smith wrote on Instagram.
“Where are you baby.”
Her plea comes after detectives investigating the disappearance of Cleo ruled out a major theory saying there is “no evidence”, after a search of the family home over the weekend.
Over the weekend, forensic officers combed through the home of Cleo’s mother, searching the property for any potential evidence that may help police crack the mysterious case.
The officers were reportedly looking for signs of a break-in, and for evidence of anyone lurking around the vicinity in the days leading up to Cleo’s disappearance.
However, the detective leading the investigation has revealed there were no leads on a stalker and the search of the family’s home was “standard practice”.
“We do that as part of a thorough investigation but that’s not indicating they’ve been stalked, nothing like it,” Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde told The West Australian.
“In actual fact, if she has been taken, it’s more likely to have been a random event. There is no indication and no evidence that anyone was being stalked.”
A police source added that the forensic examination would help implicate or eliminate Cleo’s parents as suspects.
Police have repeatedly stated that while they are not ruling out any possibilities, they are not treating Cleo’s parents as suspects in this case.
Cleo and her mother Ellie lived in the small coastal town of Carnarvon on Western Australia’s northern coast before the four-year-old went missing eight days ago.
WAS CLEO STALKED DAYS BEFORE ABDUCTION?
Between 10 and 20 registered sex offenders live in the Carnarvon area but police said that there were no suspects.
Cleo disappeared from her family’s tent at the coastal Blowholes Campground in Macleod, near Carnarvon, and was reported missing about 6am last Saturday.
After a week of searching the rugged terrain for the preschooler, police confirmed it was likely she had been taken from the tent.
The tent zip had been opened higher than Cleo could have reached. Her sleeping bag was also missing.
Detectives have revealed there are still witnesses from the crime scene who are yet to come forward.
Police believe there are people who were staying at the campsite who have not identified themselves and are urging the mystery campers to make contact.
Authorities have now ceased their search of the campsite area and are appealing to the wider community for help in locating the missing girl.
A message is being broadcast across stations in WA imploring residents with any information to come forward to assist police.
“This is an urgent announcement from WA Police Force, police need your help to find Cleo Smith,” the announcement said.
“In the early hours of Saturday the 16th of October, little Cleo vanished from her tent at the Blowholes, near Carnarvon.
“Now the state government is offering $1 million reward. Can you help find her?
“The four-year-old was wearing a Pink onesie. She was wrapped in a sleeping bag. Now she’s gone.
“Please help us find her. Any information, call Crime Stoppers.”
Police are asking anyone who was within a 1000km radius of the Blowholes campsite to send through any dashcam and security footage they have.
Footage of motel check-in and communal areas, service stations, fast food outlets and bakeries, truck stops and camping areas, children’s clothing stores, pharmacies and cosmetic and camping store are particularly important.
The requested footage or image should be from 6pm on Friday October 15 to 6pm on Sunday October 17.
Footage can be uploaded online or discussed with Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Anyone with other information is urged to call police on 131 444.
Originally published as Cleo Smith’s mum posts TikTok plea, as stepdad returns to family house for first time since the disappearance
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