WA Premier reveals awkward moment with Cleo Smith while visiting with her family

WA Premier Mark McGowan has revealed an embarrassing moment with Cleo Smith during an otherwise sweet meeting with the little girl.

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan had an awkward moment with Cleo Smith when he broke one of her new Barbie shoes during an otherwise sweet meeting with the “delightful” four-year-old girl.

Cleo was allegedly taken from the family tent while camping at Quobba Blowholes on October 16 and was rescued in the middle of the night on Wednesday when detectives stormed into a Carnarvon house.

The Premier visited Carnarvon on Thursday, holding two teddies — one for Cleo and the other for her younger sister Isla.

“Cleo was a delightful little girl, who was playing in the backyard and I gave her the two teddies, which we named,” he said.

Mr McGowan said they named the teddies Cameron and Rod, after the detective who rescued her and the lead investigator on the case, but he was unsure whether those names would stick.

“Cleo didn’t seem too enamoured with those names,” the Premier joked with reporters.

He also revealed an embarrassing moment for himself during the meeting.

“I unfortunately trod on her new Barbie shoes and broke one of them, so I owe her a pair of shoes,” he said.

Western Australia Premiere Mark McGowan departs after visiting the family of Cleo. Picture: Getty Images

Mr McGowan described Cleo’s family as “very humble” and “very well adjusted” considering their situation, and said he shared some high-fives with Cleo.

“It was a lovely experience to meet her. She was, I thought, very well adjusted considering and the family were very appreciative of everything that has been done for them,” he said.

“They’re ... fundamentally decent, honest human beings ... they’re really lovely people and it’s great to meet them and acknowledge what they’ve been through.

“Obviously, there’ll be a way to go from here but they’re certainly on the right pathway.”

Mr McGowan further described Cleo as a “very bright, upbeat, sweet little girl”.

“She’s just bubbly, playing, friendly, sweet,” he said.

“She was eating an icy pole. She spilt it everywhere. She told me it was very, very sticky, which I believed, and she was just delightful.”

Mr McGowan also gave some insight into how the family was going.

“They’ve done a lot of lying around together and cuddling, and just connecting as parents do with the little daughters,” he said.

While the family had been offered plenty of support and resources, Mr McGowan said they had made “no demands”.

“They weren’t difficult at all,” he said. 

Cleo Smith recovering in hospital. Picture: WA Police

Cleo Smith and her family slept in the same room “cuddling all night” after she was rescued by police.

She was allegedly taken from the family tent while camping at Quobba Blowholes in Macleod, in Western Australia’s north, on October 16 and was finally rescued about 1am on Wednesday when detectives stormed into a Carnarvon house.

WA Police Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch told 2GB radio on Thursday that Cleo’s mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon were relieved.

“Ellie and Jake had been through 18 days of hell and I know Australia have felt that with them,” Mr Blanch said.

“They had a small amount of hope but … they probably thought they were never going to give her a cuddle again.

“I’m pretty sure they all slept in the same room just cuddling all night.”

Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch announced Cleo had been found.

Mr Blanch said the officers on the case had been looking at Cleo’s face for 18 days, working 24/7 to solve the mystery.

“Four fathers walked into that room (to rescue her) … they might have been wearing guns and detective suits, but they were four fathers,” he said.

A 36-year-old man has been taken into custody and is being questioned by police, but no charges have been laid.

Mr Blanch said the man had been taken to hospital for a second time to treat his non-serious injuries.

The suspect has been filmed in the back of an ambulance with a bandage on his head.

Cleo Smith went missing on October 16. Picture: Facebook

Neighbours expressed shock on Wednesday following the man’s arrest, with several people describing him as a quiet person who kept to himself.

He only lives about seven minutes away from Cleo’s family home in Carnarvon but has no connection to them.

Neighbours said the man had been “acting weird” and “strange” lately and had been seen purchasing nappies despite not having a child.

One neighbour said the man’s dog was usually at the back of the house but had more recently been at the front.

Some people were woken by the sound of police barging into the suspect’s house in the middle of the night to rescue the little girl.

Henry Dodd said he saw the moment Cleo came out of the house being held tight on a detective’s shoulder.

“She looked at me and she was a bit scared,” he told 9 News.

Forensic officers remain at the house and have been collecting evidence from the scene, including a rug.

Heartbroken mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon spoke throughout the search. Picture: Flashpoint/Channel 7

Police Commissioner Chris Dawson told reporters on Wednesday that it was a “wonderful day” and one officers had been hoping for.

“I’m not going to elaborate further in terms of that (arrested) man, other than to saying he is a local man from Carnarvon, and we will be having something further to say later,” Mr Dawson told reporters.

“I once again want to reinforce my thanks to a great team, assisted by a great community — the town of Carnarvon can stand strong.

“Yes, we have one man in custody, but that is not the town of Carnarvon — that is one person.

“I want the town of Carnarvon and everyone else to come together as a community as we move forward.

“We can rejoice that this little girl has been found, but we need to move forward as a community as well.”

Police had spoken to more than 110 people at the campsite during the search for Cleo Smith.

Carnarvon Family Support Services protective behaviour co-ordinator Leticia Andreoli told NCA NewsWire that she used to work with Ms Smith and taught a behaviour program at Cleo’s school.

She said everyone in the community was shocked by Cleo’s alleged abduction but were equally relieved to learn that she was alive.

“Unfortunately, this is the reality that we live in and this is why we need to have conversations with our kids,” she said.

“Cleo and her family probably still have a tough road ahead of them.

“But they have the community support behind them.

“I don’t think they will ever fully recover from this. It’s pretty awful.”