Heartwarming update for Cleo Smith nearly three years after abduction
Cleo Smith made international headlines in 2021 when she was miraculously rescued following a horror abduction.
Heartwarming pictures have been shared of Cleo Smith nearly three years after the young girl was miraculously rescued following a horror abduction.
Cleo was just four years old when she was snatched from a tent while camping with her mother, stepfather and baby sister at the Blowholes campsite, about 960km north of Perth, on October 16, 2021.
A massive search operation was launched in the hope of finding the little girl.
After a gruelling 18 days, officers busted into a home in Carnarvon during a late-night raid and rescued Cleo who had been held captive by Terence Darrell Kelly.
He was sentenced to 13 years and six months behind bars for the kidnapping.
Almost three years after the harrowing ordeal, Cleo has been pictured alongside her little sister and parents.
In the pictures, which were shared by 60 Minutes on Wednesday, the now seven-year-old appears to have adjusted back to normal life.
She is smiling in a picture holding a pink cupcake during a birthday celebration and on a boat trip next to her sister Isla.
“Cleo Smith, all grown up. The seven-year-old is enjoying life in Western Australia, loving school and being a big sister to Isla,” the caption read.
The post was flooded with comments many sharing well wishes for the family and for Cleo.
“Bless your heart, so glad you are living your best life,” one person wrote.
“Beautiful to see the family so happy and healthy,” wrote another.
Cleo’s harrowing rescue
Cleo’s story made headlines across the globe when she was found after an 18-day search.
The little girl had been sleeping next to her mother Ellie Smith while on a weekend family holiday at the Blowholes campsite.
Ms Smith had woken at 6am to find the young girl missing.
A land, air and sea search failed to find any trace of Cleo.
On November 3, police found Cleo alive and well inside a locked house at Carnarvon just minutes from her family home.
Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch said at the time police had broken into the locked house and found the girl.
“It’s my privilege to announce that in the early hours of this morning, the Western Australia Police Force rescued Cleo Smith,” he said.
“Cleo is alive and well. One of the officers picked her up into his arms and asked her, ‘What’s your name?’ She said, ‘My name is Cleo’.”
She was reunited with her parents a short time later.
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