Cleo Smith: Search for 'Aussie Madeleine McCann' as public told to check bins for missing girl, 4

Did anyone see the video of the moment Cleo was rescued by the Police?

She looked very relaxed and was smiling - not how you'd expect a four year old to behave after being abducted by a stranger, locked up, and away from her mother for a couple of weeks.

Hmmm.....

I'm not buying it.

Shannon Matthews indeed Doug.

And as Peter said "There is much more to come out here"

eta:

If the police find clothes for a young boy in the abductor's house, it was possibly an 'opportunist' abduction. But he seems to have been supplied with a hair brush and clothes for a girl. Add the go fund me money, and it all seems very fishy.

I've watched loads of video footage so far (I don't get out much) about this news, you tube is flooded with reports direct from Australia.

Very early days but Sharon Matthews - nah, not so far. I can't see any similarities nor any reason to suspect foul play within the family unit.

The bloke in hospital, who reportedly had been on a mission of self destruction, appears to be a bit of an oddball. Although a small community, I don't see any reason to connect the suspect with Cleo's family.

Time will tell, main thing is Cleo is safe and well so all's good with the world.

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It is not an Australian Maddie or Madeleine McCann, the name is Cleo Smith - a person in her own right.

Show some respect.

Man drives 75 miles (120 km) along a track to an exact remote campsite, chooses one exact tent, which was pitched there the exact evening before, selects one exact compartment in the exact tent and unzips the one exact zip on the off-chance that there is one exact small girl who is exactly light enough to carry away and exactly sleepy enough not to scream and wake everyone up, 
and then drives the 75 miles (120 km.) back home to within a few streets of the exact house where the family lived.

"And that, m'Lud, concludes the case for the prosecution"


"Yeah OK.  Sounds familiar".  [pun intended !]

W

PeterMac wrote:Man drives 75 miles (120 km) along a track to an exact remote campsite, chooses one exact tent, which was pitched there the exact evening before, selects one exact compartment in the exact tent and unzips the one exact zip on the off-chance that there is one exact small girl who is exactly light enough to carry away and exactly sleepy enough not to scream and wake everyone up, 
and then drives the 75 miles (120 km.) back home to within a few streets of the exact house where the family lived.

"And that, m'Lud, concludes the case for the prosecution"


"Yeah OK.  Sounds familiar".  [pun intended !]

Maybe he was already at the campsite

All things are possible – in which case please add , 

" drives 75 miles to the exact campsite on the exact day, waits for the exact family to arrive . . ."

Was there an empty tent, or did he strike that beforehand.

We need more details, which obviously we are not going to get before the trial.

Is there any possibility that Cleo could have been at that house the whole time?  Is that Supposed voice recording 100% proof that she was definitely at the camp site in the first place?

Well one thing is for sure, If Cleo's mum and partner were involved, the kidnapper is not going to keep quiet about it is he.

He would have told the police by now of their involvement.

If there was a plan, I'm pretty sure it didn't include him being caught with Cleo.

From what I've seen, it's only the parents say so that puts her in the campsite.

They supposedly arrived that day and she 'disappeared' overnight.
I would like to think the police were able to confirm she was actually there, but have seen no confirmation of this so far.

The police have said that they are confident that she was there, but that's not the same as saying they have proof.

PeterMac wrote:All things are possible – in which case please add , 

" drives 75 miles to the exact campsite on the exact day, waits for the exact family to arrive . . ."

Was there an empty tent, or did he strike that beforehand.

We need more details, which obviously we are not going to get before the trial.

Did it occur to you that, as is being suggested, it was opportunist?  If so, the points you highlight are not coincidences at all, unless you examine everything rigidly backwards.  Contrary to what you say, all things are not possible.  Some things are impossible, but some things are possible, and an opportunist abduction is possible, guided by a variety of possible motives.

One of the reporters said the white vehicle seen in the property looks to match the description of the vehicle seen driving away from the campsite about 3am, so it's possible he went there, but one 'white vehicle' (not really identified) looks pretty much the same as any other and may have nothing to do with it.

The other thing the reporters seemed to highlight, as if it was a big deal, was that the property was 'only two minutes from the police station', but having identified the property as being in Tonkin Crescent, if this is only two minutes away, so is pretty much the whole of Carnarvon

'GIVES US HOPE' 
Madeleine McCann’s parents ‘have hope’ they will find missing daughter after Cleo Smith found alive and well

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This is really an article about Maddie, not Cleo  

Isn't it about time the McCanns sued the Germans for saying Maddie is dead? Aren't the Germans harming the search?

Jill Havern wrote:'GIVES US HOPE' 
Madeleine McCann’s parents ‘have hope’ they will find missing daughter after Cleo Smith found alive and well

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This is really an article about Maddie, not Cleo  

Isn't it about time the McCanns sued the Germans for saying Maddie is dead? Aren't the Germans harming the search?

Didn't take long for this oh so predictable article to appear. And from the usual source aswell.

Tolleshunt Knight wrote:
Did it occur to you that, as is being suggested, it was opportunist?  If so, the points you highlight are not coincidences at all, unless you examine everything rigidly backwards.  Contrary to what you say, all things are not possible.  Some things are impossible, but some things are possible, and an opportunist abduction is possible, guided by a variety of possible motives.

It does occur to me, of course.

But the idea of someone driving 75 miles along a track at night to a campsite in the hope there might be a 4 year old girl in a separate compartment of a particular tent
and that the step-father would not be awake and armed with a didgeridoo, and.. and.. and
slightly influences the development of my thinking

PeterMac wrote:Man drives 75 miles (120 km) along a track to an exact remote campsite, chooses one exact tent, which was pitched there the exact evening before, selects one exact compartment in the exact tent and unzips the one exact zip on the off-chance that there is one exact small girl who is exactly light enough to carry away and exactly sleepy enough not to scream and wake everyone up, 
and then drives the 75 miles (120 km.) back home to within a few streets of the exact house where the family lived.

"And that, m'Lud, concludes the case for the prosecution"


"Yeah OK.  Sounds familiar".  [pun intended !]

I think the above post makes a lot of sense, the kidnapper could have been told how to identify the family by  the colour  and registration plate of the vehicle they were driving.

I still don't believe the Mother and partner were involved though.

Cleo, in the numerous photo, looked very happy, and  I don't think her mother and partner were involved either. Their lack of emotion puzzles me though.

Silentscope wrote:The motive for this Crime has not yet become Public knowledge.
A couple of things still need to be cleared up.
Why was no ransom demand received?
What did he want to achieve?
The Victim was unharmed physically. (Thank God)
What was he waiting for?

Your top line has posed an extremely interesting point.  What was the motive?

Cleo Smith: Irish detective who led Madeleine McCann probe says 'hope wins out for a change' as missing Australian girl found alive

Jim Gamble also said he feels 'overwhelmed' and that Cleo’s rescue is 'simply the best news ever'

By Nicola Donnelly

05:00, 4 NOV 2021Updated08:29, 4 NOV 2021

An Irish detective who led an investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann said “hope wins out for a change” as missing Australian girl Cleo Smith has been found alive after going missing more than two weeks ago.

Jim Gamble - who was the senior child protection officer in the UK investigation into missing Maddie case - also said he feels “overwhelmed” and that Cleo’s rescue is “simply the best news ever.”

The former chief executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, who served as the senior child protection officer in the UK’s first investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance, also praised the work of Australian police who rescued four-year-old Cleo - dubbed ‘Aussie Maddie’ - on Wednesday after a late-night raid at a house which followed a tip to police the previous day.

Taking to Twitter as the news of Cleo’s rescue was announced, Mr Gamble wrote: “Simply the best news ever. Fantastic work. What an amazing result under such difficult circumstances and the glare of the media.”

The Bangor man, who is one of the UK’s most experienced and outspoken experts on the safeguarding of children online, also said he is “overjoyed that there is a happy ending in this case.”

“Thank God. Sometimes things can work out. There’ll be more work to do and plenty of support needed, but this is an amazing result,”

Mr Gamble, who now runs the Belfast-based INEQE Group which continues to spearhead the battle to make the online world safer for children, said he has “felt so overwhelmed” by the news of Cleo’s rescue.

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Jim Gamble

“So often in these cases you hope against all the odds. You keep believing in the possibility of a good outcome.

“Everytime it fails to materialise you lose something. This is a powerful reminder that good things can happen,” he said. “Hope wins out for a change.”

Following the rescue of Cleo, a 36-year-old local man was arrested.

Australian media reported that officials wept with relief after seeing a body camera video of a police officer scooping up the girl and hearing her say: “My name is Cleo.”

The girl was reunited with her mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon soon after her rescue.

Western Australia State police commissioner Chris Dawson said the girl is “as well as you can expect”, adding: “This has been an ordeal. I won’t go into any more details, other than to say we’re so thankful she’s alive.”

Mr Dawson said “dogged, methodical police work” led to the girl being found.

Australian prime minister Scott Morrison reacted from the United Arab Emirates on his way home from the Cop26 climate summit in Scotland, thanking police for finding Cleo and supporting her family.

“It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. The fact that that nightmare has come to an end and our worst fears were not realised is just a huge relief, a moment for great joy,” Mr Morrison told reporters.

“This particular case, obviously, has captured the hearts of Australians as we felt such terrible sorrow for the family,” he added.

Cleo’s family lives in Carnarvon, a community of 5,000 people, and the girl had disappeared with her sleeping bag on the second day of a family camping trip at Blowholes Campground, 47 miles north of Carnarvon, on October 16.

A massive land and sea search was initially mounted in the sparsely populated region on the assumption that she had wandered from the tent. But more evidence began to support the theory that she had been abducted.

A vehicle was reported speeding away from the area in the early hours of the morning. A zip on a flap of the tent compartment where Cleo and her sister were sleeping was too high for the girl to have reached.

Forensic scientists examined the exterior of the family’s home to see if a predator had stalked Cleo and attempted to break in.

A distraught Ellie Smith made emotional public appeals for information on her daughter’s whereabouts that were broadcast across Australia over the past two weeks.

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Jim Gamble did not lead the, any, investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann!

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It was only a matter of time.

Yes I can see the similarities now, as I could when news hit the headlines about the Australian Madeleine McCann - such were the parallels!

It's no wonder Messrs McCann Inc. are filled with hope after hearing the latest news.

Yes I'm being facetious.

Their three year old daughter Madeleine 'disappeared' under mysterious circumstances over fourteen years ago, Cloe Smith disappeared for about three weeks and was found alive and well.



Why oh why does the British media think it necessary to append the name Madeleine McCann to practically every missing child across the globe?

Lest they forget .... it doesn't go away no matter how deep they try to bury..

We believe that the main damage was caused to the McCann arguidos, who lost the possibility to prove what they have protested since they were constituted arguidos: their innocence towards the fateful event; the investigation was also disturbed, because said facts remain unclarified.

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Cleo Smith: How Australian police found the missing four-year-old

Published

6 minutes ago

Early on 3 November, police smashed their way into a house in the Australian town of Carnarvon, where they found a four-year-old girl who had been missing for 18 days.

Cleo Smith disappeared from her family's tent at a campsite near Carnarvon on 16 October, triggering a massive search operation.

The day after she was found, Terence Darrell Kelly, 36, appeared in court charged with forcibly or fraudulently taking or enticing a child under 16.

Here's what we know about the case and what led police to Cleo.
'Needle in a haystack'

Cleo's family were on the first night of their holiday at the Quobba Blowholes camping ground when she went missing between 01:30 and 06:00 on 16 October.

The remote site in Macleod [that name again] is about 900km (560 miles) north of Perth, and is a local attraction on the state's Coral Coast - known for its windswept ocean scenery, sea caves and lagoons.

Cleo had been sleeping on an air mattress next to her younger sister's cot. When her mother, who had been sleeping in the second room of the tent, got up in the morning, Cleo was gone and the tent door was open.

Police said this raised fears of an abduction. Ms Smith was adamant Cleo would not have left the tent on her own.

A major search operation involving a task force of more than 100 officers was launched.

Western Australia Deputy Police Commissioner Col Blanch has described it as being like looking for "a needle in a haystack".
Thousands of pieces of evidence

The search for Cleo covered land, sea and air, with reconnaissance planes used to comb sparsely populated areas.

ABC reporter Evelyn Manfield described the extensive search operation, saying police were "up in the air, on horseback, using drones to forensically map every area inch-by-inch looking for clues".

Police even scoured through hundreds of bags of roadside rubbish along a 600km (373 mile) stretch of Western Australia.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde said they had to go through "hundreds of thousands" of pieces of evidence and testimony.

"We had to sift through a lot of information. The statements of the 100 people who were at the campsite, CCTV footage, data from phones..." he said.

Authorities also offered a A$1m ($750,000; £540,000) reward for information on Cleo's whereabouts.

Deputy Commissioner Blanch said phone data also played a key role.

"It's a big jigsaw, you know, everything contributed," he said.

"Combined with some early information, this was dogged, methodical police work," said Commissioner Chris Dawson, adding that the team had "worked their way through every lead possible".
The final pieces of the puzzle

Police have not revealed the exact details of what led them to the locked house in Carnarvon, where they found Cleo alive and well.

Commissioner Dawson told reporters "really important" information about a car helped direct police to the house on Wednesday though he has not elaborated on what that information was.

Detective Wilde said that police were able to "build a picture of who was supposed to be there and who was not supposed to be there" by piecing together all the information they received and by "placing people in certain locations at certain times".

He added that things had become "clearer" on Tuesday afternoon, which led them to arresting their suspect.

Local media reports have stated that a man - now known to be Mr Kelly - was removed from his vehicle and arrested hours before police rescued Cleo.

Police say they believe the alleged kidnapper was acting alone.

"There were lots of things, that when we put the puzzle together it all led to one place, and that's where we found Cleo," said Commissioner Dawson.

But the investigation into the events of that night are still not over.

Police are still trying to piece together exactly what happened. They have appealed to businesses and individuals in the area to provide them with CCTV footage from between 15 October and 2 November.

There is also much we don't know about Cleo's experience of the abduction. Police said they have experts who will interview her, but warned that it could take days before they got any useful information out of her.

"It will take as long as it takes," Detective Wilde said, adding that they had to be careful not to upset her.

Her family is also being counselled on the next steps with regards to both Cleo's wellbeing and the progression of the case.

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Cleo Smith: Man charged with kidnap of four-year-old Australian girl had a ‘doll room’ inside his home

Cleo Smith disappeared from her family's tent in remote Western Australia last month, sparking a frantic air, land and sea search

By Verity Bowman 4 November 2021 • 12:08pm

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Terence Darrell Kelly, 36, poses with his dolls



Terence Darrell Kelly, the man charged with the kidnapping of a four-year-old Australian girl, had a doll room inside his house, according to reports.

The 36-year-old, who was arrested following a night raid on a home in the coastal town of Carnarvon, posted numerous photos of himself surrounded by the toys on social media.

“I love taking my dolls for drive arounds and doing their hair and taking selfies in public,” he posted to Facebook in April 2020, news outlet WA Today reported.

Cleo Smith disappeared from her family's tent in remote Western Australia last month, sparking a frantic air, land and sea search.

She was missing for almost three weeks until being found in a bedroom in Kelly’s home during a nighttime raid - just a short drive from her home in Carnarvon.

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The man accused of abducting four-year-old Cleo Smith had a doll room inside his house, according to reports Credit: Facebook



“The lights were on and she was playing with toys, I think that’s about all I want to say,” WA Police Detective Senior Sergeant Cameron Blaine said.

"This is still a matter that needs to go before the courts. There’s certain aspects about what we saw that is going to be evidence."

A member of staff at a toy shop in the town told reporters that she had sold several dolls to Kelly over the last few years.

Police refused to answer questions on whether the toys were found inside the property. Superintendent Rod Wilde, head of the taskforce, said he “didn’t want to go into that”.

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A member of staff at a toy shop in the town told reporters that she had sold several dolls to Kelly over the last few years



Kelly screamed "I'm coming for you" during his appearance at Carnarvon Magistrate's Court on Thursday, before saying to the judge "what the f--- are the media doing here?" gesturing to journalists in the gallery, according to Australian media.

"It's an open court," the magistrate said. Kelly appeared shoe-less and was guarded by two police officers.

He was not required to enter a plea and did not apply for bail. According to local media he has been remanded in custody until Dec 6.

Many had feared the search for Cleo Smith would end in tragedy, but the discovery of her "alive and well" sparked elation in Australia, with police admitting "seasoned detectives" were "openly crying with relief".

The force on Thursday released audio recording of the rescue, in which officers can be heard urgently trying to affirm her identity.

"We've got her", "you're alright" excited police are heard to say, before another asks "what's your name? What's your name? What's your name, sweetheart."

"M-my name is Cleo" the girl eventually responds. "Your name is Cleo," the revealed detective repeats. "Hello Cleo."

The girl was reunited with her mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon soon after her rescue. "Our family is whole again," the mother said on social media.

Police last month had offered 1 million AUD (£546,000) for information leading to Cleo's recovery after she was abducted from her family's tent at Blowholes Campground, about 620 miles north of Perth, on Oct 16.

Her disappearance triggered a massive search throughout the region and police officers interviewed more than 110 people who were at the campsite on the night Cleo arrived with her family.

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The case has drawn national attention, with many Australians taking to social media to express their anguish for her family.

The search had prompted comparisons to that of Madeleine McCann, the British toddler who went missing while on holiday with her family in Portugal in 2007.

Cleo’s mother described waking at 6am on Oct 16 to find the tent unzipped and her oldest daughter missing.

A massive land and sea search was initially mounted in the sparsely populated region on the assumption that she had wandered from the tent.

But more evidence began to support an abduction.

The position of the zipper on the tent flap – too high for Cleo to reach – suggested she had not opened it herself.



This caused “great concern” for Cleo’s safety, with Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde saying police believed the abduction was “an opportunistic-type event”.

Then on Tuesday came important new forensic information.

Western Australia Police Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch said police had acted quickly after finding a "needle in a haystack" but did not specify what led them to the house where Cleo was found.

"We had been following a lot of the forensic leads and it led us to a particular house," he said.

Chris Dawson, Western Australia's police commissioner was briefed by officers late on Tuesday before they executed the search warrant on the Carnarvon home.

"They briefed me and said, 'Look, I think we're onto something here'," he told ABC radio. "We hoped we'd find her alive. It's remarkable she's alive, you know, (after) 18 days."

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Detectives who specialise in crimes involving children and child abuse have now been dispatched from Perth to help local police interview Cleo, according to the West Australian.

It is hoped the 4-year old will be able to provide vital information on the investigation, though it is not yet clear when she will be interviewed.

Their small hometown of Carnarvon, which had spent weeks on edge after the girl's disappearance, was soon decked out in balloons and "welcome home" signs as residents celebrated the news.

One of her rescuers, detective Cameron Blaine, said he visited the family after Cleo was released from a brief hospital stay Wednesday and she appeared to be coping well.

"It was really heartwarming to see her interact and playing in the backyard and just being herself and around her parents," he said. "I'm amazed she seems to be so well-adjusted and happy."

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What's Happening in the Cleo Smith Missing Child Case

Nov 1, 2021


....................

Talk about stating the bloomin' obvious!

Sorry but my opinion of the credibility of criminal 'psychologists' profilers hovers around zero. They always have so much to say but so little to give, if so brilliant why not join a police force rather than lurk behind the scenes with 'loud' opinion.