Police investigation focused on 18 days Cleo Smith was missing

The investigation into Cleo Smith’s abduction has become a search for clues about the 18 missing days before her rescue.

Terence Darrell Kelly is flown to prison in Perth from Carnarvon Airport. Picture: Colin Murty

The investigation into Cleo Smith’s abduction has become a search for clues about the 18 missing days before her rescue on Wednesday.

Detectives were talking to business owners who say they saw the man accused of Cleo’s abduction after she vanished on October 16 and before she was rescued from a locked house in the small town of Carnarvon at 12.46am on Wednesday.

Cleo’s parents yesterday issued a plea for privacy, with Ellie Smith and stepdad Jake Gliddon releasign their first statement thanking the community for their help in finding the four-year-old.

“We are humbled by the love and support that we have received from not only our local community but the whole of Western Australia and across the country,” they said.

Cleo Smith with mother Ellie Smith and step-father Jake Gliddon. Picture: Colin Murty

“We are so thankful that our little girl is back within our arms and our family is whole again.”

They also asked for privacy following the intense media attention the case attracted.

“As we try to get on with our lives, we ask that you respect our privacy.”

The man accused of abducting Cleo — Carnarvon local Terence Darrell Kelly, 36 — has been transferred to the Casuarina maximum-security prison in Perth.

Details have emerged of Mr Kelly’s online activities in the lead up to the alleged abduction, including a fantasy life he appeared to have created for himself on the internet.

In at least one instance, he ­appeared to use photographs from the profile of a woman and her daughters and use them for the profiles of his fake family. He tagged many of the posts as being in Cronulla, a continent away from Carnarvon.

The investigation moved so fast on Tuesday afternoon, when Mr Kelly became a suspect, police sources say they are yet to piece together precisely where he was each day after Cleo vanished.

The work since his arrest includes speaking to a vet who said Mr Kelly brought his gravely ill dog in on October 29. Police are also examining CCTV from shops on the main street.

Mr Kelly is thought to have come to the attention of Operation Rodia when profiling was broadened from the approximately 20 people in the vast Gascoyne region who are registered sex offenders. However, that new group was large. Mr Kelly is believed to have been added to a smaller group of people who were potential suspects because of data from a mobile phone tower nearest to the Blowholes Campground where Cleo was last seen in the family tent at 1.30am on October 16.

When her mother, Ellie Smith, woke to give Cleo’s baby sister, Isla, a bottle around 6am, Cleo and her sleeping bag were gone.

While police were ready by Thursday afternoon to charge Mr Kelly with kidnapping Cleo, they have been open in saying they want and need information from anyone who saw him between October 16 and November 2.

Terence Darrell Kelly, 36, allegedly collected dolls.

The investigation began as a land, air and sea search around the campground where Cleo was last seen. The response from locals was overwhelming.

While the possibility that Cleo was lost somewhere nearby was a priority, homicide squad detectives were dispatched from Perth within hours. The first police on the scene turned the family tent into a protected forensic area to preserve any evidence a kidnapper may have left behind.

Mr Kelly was in prison in Perth after riot squad officers led him barefoot and shackled on to a plane in Carnarvon on Friday.

The squad does not ordinarily transport prisoners but Mr Kelly was considered high risk because between his arrest on Wednesday and his court appearance on Thursday afternoon he had twice been taken from the lockup to Carnarvon hospital after harming himself.

The first time, he repeatedly banged his head against a wall. The Weekend Australian has been told his behaviour in custody on Thursday night caused serious concerns about how to safely manage his transfer to Perth.

Late on Friday, Cleo’s family released a statement thanking all those involved in the rescue of Cleo. “In particular, we would like to thank WA Police, all those involved in the initial search, the Carnarvon community, local businesses and of course our family and friends,” the family said.

“We are humbled by the love and support that we have received from not only our local community but the whole of Western Australia and across the country.

“We are so thankful that our little girl is back within our arms and our family is whole again.”