Hundreds tell police they have seen Cleo Smith

Police have investigated and discounted more than 200 reported sightings of missing four-year-old Cleo Smith in the 13 days since she was believed to have been abducted.

Police have investigated and discounted more than 200 reported sightings of missing four-year-old Cleo Smith in the 13 days since she was believed to have been abducted from a remote campsite.

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde, the detective in charge of the investigation, ­arrived in Cleo’s hometown of Carnarvon, 890km north of Perth, on Thursday to meet officers working on the ground and speak to the girl’s mother and stepfather.

Mr Wilde said that while the 200 reported sightings not been fruitful, he was “very grateful” for the public’s assistance. “We still want the public to come forward and give us information which we can follow,” he said.

Two people last week reported seeing a passenger vehicle driving away from the Blowholes campsite where Cleo and her family were staying between 3am and 3.30am on the day she disappeared.

Mr Wilde said police had not made any progress in identifying the person or people in that car.

Cleo Smith.

“We still want those people to come forward,” he said.

He said he had spoken to Cleo’s mother Ellie Smith and her stepfather Jake Gliddon on Thursday morning to reiterate the WA police force’s commitment to finding out what had happened to their daughter. Neither of Cleo’s parents are considered suspects. “Understandably they’re upset, it’s been a difficult time for them,” he said. “Fortunately they are being looked after by family and friends.”

Police have made multiple visits to Cleo’s family home this week, collecting evidence and looking for any signs that a ­stalker may have visited the property in the lead-up to the girl’s disappearance.

They have also collected ashes from campfires at and near the site where Cleo was staying.

Mr Wilde said those efforts were a standard part of major ­investigations.

Cleo arrived at the Blowholes site with family on October 15, with motion-activated CCTV from a nearby shack capturing the sound of the girl’s voice.

Ms Smith has described how she woke in the family tent at 6am the next day to find Cleo gone. Her sleeping bag vanished with her and police say the tent flap closest to where Cleo was sleeping was open to a height that she could not have reached.

Earlier, WA police commissioner Chris Dawson said investigators had received support from the Australian Federal Police and international law enforcement agencies.