Police won’t reveal crucial details in the disappearance of Cleo Smith
Police have revealed new details and photos in the case of Cleo Smith, but there are some crucial clues they are refusing to speak about.
WA News
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Police are refusing to confirm some of the crucial details about the disappearance of Cleo Smith — including what was taken from the campsite, whether her tent was left open and whether a car was indeed heard speeding off in the early hours of the morning she vanished.
The search for the missing girl has been temporarily suspended because of bad weather, as the hunt continues into its fourth day after she vanished in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Cleo was last seen about 1.30am on Saturday at the Blowholes Campground in Macleod, about 50km north of Carnarvon in Western Australia’s north.
Today, police posted several new photos on social media, including the kind of pyjamas Cleo was wearing, and the sleeping bag she was in - which has also vanished.
However, over numerous interviews, officers have said they are not at liberty to discuss crucial details about the case — including what else was missing from the campsite.
In an interview with Sunrise today, Inspector Jon Munday wouldn’t say whether the tent was she was sleeping in was zipped up when police arrived or whether there were footsteps on the ground nearby.
He would not comment on reports a car had been heard speeding from the campsite in the early hours of the morning.
“What I can confirm is that the four of them (the family) were in the family tent, Cleo was spoken to about 1.30am when she woke up to get a drink, everyone went back to sleep,” he said.
“The parents woke up at 6.30am and no sign of Cleo since.”
Family friends of missing four-year-old Cleo say there is no way she would have wandered off into the night.
The shocked Carnarvon community has rallied around the young family, who have remained at the camp site in the hope their little girl returns.
“She is an intellectually advanced little girl,” a family friend told PerthNow. “She is a smart little girl and she would not have wandered.”
It comes as the sense of urgency in the desperate search for Cleo has stepped up dramatically today as a strong cold front, bringing heavy winds and rain, bears down on the desolate coastline where search parties are trying to find her.
Ground and aircrews were stood down in some areas on Tuesday morning after it was deemed too unsafe to continue searching in the consistent heavy wind and rain.
Cleo’s dad interviewed by police
The increased pressure on search parties comes as Cleo’s biological father has reportedly spent three hours talking to police.
Seven News reported that Daniel Staines was asked to give a statement at Mandurah Station, 1000km south of where Cleo vanished.
He reportedly did so willingly and appeared with his parents by his side. There is no suggestion he has anything to do with his daughter’s disappearance.
Police have also released footage of the campsite where Cleo disappeared.
Her parents woke up a few hours later at 6am and realised she was gone, and set about raising the alarm with other campers before contacting police.
Her sleeping bag had also disappeared, and other campers in the area reportedly heard a car screeching away from the area about 3am.
The remote campsite, popular among Carnarvon families, is surrounded by sand dunes, shrub lands and rocky terrain, with a few surrounding beach shacks owned by locals.
Apart from the small cluster of shacks and caravans, the area is desolate, with a pristine beach the only thing disrupting the otherwise sparse landscape.
The grounds are named after nearby blowholes, which can be observed about one kilometre north of the campsite when waves smash against the cliffs and shoot through rock holes, sometimes up to 20 metres high.
Adjacent to the campsite is a white sandy beach and coral-filled lagoon, which is popular among families for snorkelling and picnics.
While picturesque, the area can also be deadly, with ‘king waves’ – powerful, unexpected waves up to 10 times bigger than the waves before them that come without warning, a frequent occurrence.
The Carnarvon Shire Council closed the Blowholes observation area in July this year due to dangerous king waves after a person was nearly swept into the ocean.
“There is a well-documented history of multiple fatalities and injuries on the Quobba coastline from king waves,” the council’s warning read.
“King waves inundate areas of coastline far above the normal expectations of most people. Extreme caution is advised visiting this coastline at present.”
A Malaysian man was killed slightly north of the blowholes in 2013 after being swept off a rock by a freak wave while fishing with a friend.
The incident sparked calls for multilingual signs to be erected in the area to warn the public about the frequent occurrence of the brutal phenomenon.
While the swell in the area has been low over the past few days, ‘very rough’ waves are expected to hit heights of 4m tonight.
Police ‘not ruling anything out’
WA Police Inspector John Munday revealed that in the search for Cleo, authorities were “throwing everything we can at this search in these initial stages”.
Inspector Munday said on Monday extensive assets had been deployed in the search for Cleo, with authorities determined to not rule out any cause for her disappearance.
An Australian Maritime Safety Authority jet had been brought in, along with other patrols including drones, helicopters and SES crews.
Police were investigating the possibility that Cleo had been abducted, revealing that her red sleeping bag was also missing from the campsite.
“It’s a very tough environment there, we feel desperately for the family in this very unusual situation where we don't know where Cleo is,” Inspector Munday said.
“We have extensive assets there; police, local rangers, the SES, and community members.
We’ve brought in forensic examiners from our homicide and crime division as well, we’re not ruling anything in or out.”
He said on Sunday crews were “going as hard as we can, as long as we can, to try and find Cleo.”
Police are also investigating the prospect that Cleo had wandered off and became lost.
So far, three nautical miles south of the camp has been covered in the marine search, as well as one nautical mile north, and one nautical mile out to sea.
Land searches had covered one kilometre north, one kilometre south, and 800 metres inland from the campsite.
Inspector Munday said he was confident rescue teams had covered the land area that Cleo could have realistically travelled on her own.
He remained hopeful the young girl would be found alive, noting the mild conditions were conducive for survival, given it hadn’t been warmer than 24 degrees or colder than 15.
Cleo was last seen wearing a pink/purple one-piece sleepsuit with a blue and yellow pattern.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police immediately on 131 444.
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