Cleo Smith abduction not the first from remote campsite
A story of an earlier attempted abduction from the campsite four-year-old Cleo Smith went missing from has emerged overnight, suggesting her disappearance may not be an isolated incident.
According to a post that was made on a local Carnarvon chat page, a child was approached by a “male aged in his late 40s with a beard” who was driving a “small red car” at the Blowholes campsite in July 2014. The girl’s mother said that she reported the incident to police at the time.
The mother wrote, “The man asked her if she would get in the car and go for a drive. “She said no and took off straight back to camp. Sorry I don’t have a better description as she was quite freaked out. The police have bn [sic] notified. Good time to remind our precious one [sic] of stranger danger.”
Police believe Cleo was abducted from the campsite on October 16, after she disappeared from a tent she was sharing with her mother, stepfather and baby sister. When the family woke up at 6.30am, the tent’s zipper was open to a height little Cleo would have been unable to reach, and she was gone, along with her sleeping bag.
Authorities do not consider Cleo’s family to be suspects, and they did not find evidence of a stalker during a forensic search of the family home on Tuesday. The Western Australian government is offering a $1 million reward for any information that helps authorities find Cleo or leads to an arrest and conviction of any person or persons involved in her disappearance.
Premier Mark McGowan said at the time the reward was announced, “All Western Australians’ thoughts are with Cleo’s family during what is an unimaginably difficult time. We’re all praying for a positive outcome.
“We want to ensure police have everything they need to solve this case and that’s why my government has no hesitation in supporting police with this reward offer.”
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