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       Missing four-year-old Cleo Smith found ‘alive and well’ in Western Australia

       Cleo Smith, a four-year-old girl allegedly abducted from her family’s tent at a campsite in Australia, has been found alive and well after 18 days of intense search efforts.

       Cleo, who went missing on 16 October, was found in a locked house not far away in Carnarvon, after the police smashed their way in.

       The police have arrested a 36-year-old man from Carnarvon and are questioning him, and the authorities say they have so far not found any connection between the man and the Smith family.

       Meanwhile, Cleo has been reunited with her parents. “Our family is whole again,” Ellie Smith, Cleo’s mother, wrote on Instagram as she shared the news.

       The Australian prime minister Scott Morrison described the breakthrough as “a huge relief”.

       “The fact that that nightmare has come to an end and our worst fears were not realised, is just a huge relief,” Mr Morrison said.

       Follow the latest live updates below.

       Recommended Missing girl Cleo Smith, 4, found alive by police in locked house two weeks after disappearance Cleo Smith found: Police release first image of missing 4-year-old girl from hospital

       Key Points Cleo Smith reunited with her parents 'Our family is whole again' says Cleo Smith's mother Scott Morrison expresses 'relief' Police release first picture of Cleo Smith

       Show latest update 1635928182 ‘We’ll take you back to see you mummy and daddy’: Body-worn camera reveal moments after Cleo was found

       The footage from police body-worn cameras revealed the moments after four-year-old Cleo was rescued from a house in Carnarvon. The video shows senior sergeant Cameron Blaine introducing himself, while she is holding tightly onto another officer.

       “My name’s Cameron, how are you? Are you okay? We’re going to take you to see your mummy and daddy, OK? Is that good?”

       The girl nods her head to both questions.

       Namita Singh 3 November 2021 08:29

       1635927584 Criminology expert says Cleo Smith case 'breaks all the rules'

       A criminology expert says that the rescue of Cleo Smith this morning “breaks all the rules” of a child abduction case, as happy endings in such cases are extremely rare.

       “Although we all hoped for the best, we were all fearing the worst,” Xanthe Mallett, an associate professor of criminology at the University of Newcastle in Australia, told ABC News.

       “Nineteen days is an extraordinarily long time for a child to be missing and to be found safe,” she added. “This case really breaks all the rules.”

       Namita Singh 3 November 2021 08:19

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       “We’d always hoped for that outcome but still we just were not prepared for it, so it was absolutely fantastic,” said Sergeant Cameron Blaines, as he described the moment when the police found Cleo “alive and well”.

       Namita Singh 3 November 2021 08:12

       1635926408 ‘My name is Cleo': Detective recounts moment he found missing girl alive

       Recounting the moment when he first saw the four-year-old sitting in a room alone, detective sergeant Cameron Blaine told reporters he was in shock at first but that feeling was “quickly followed by elation”.

       “One of the guys jumped in front of me and picked her up and I just wanted to be absolutely sure that – it certainly looks like Cleo – I wanted to be sure it was her. I said, ‘what is your name?’ She didn’t answer, I asked again and she didn’t answer. I asked a third time and then she looked at me and said, ‘my name is Cleo’. And that was it. Then we turned around and walked out of the house.”

       Namita Singh 3 November 2021 08:00

       1635925260 Cleo 'a little Energizer Bunny'

       Detective sergeant Cameron Blaine, one of the four police officers involved in the rescue of Cleo, described her as “a little Energizer Bunny”.

       “What can I say, having seen her a couple times this morning, she is a little Energizer Bunny. How she has that much energy – I wish I did, I am about ready to go to sleep. Very sweet, energetic girl,” he told the media.

       The four-year-old was “very trusting and very open” with the police, he added. “We all wanted to take turns holding her. It was a really good experience.”

       Detective sergeant Cameron Blaine describing the rescue of Cleo Smith to the media

       (Screengrab/7News Australia)

       Namita Singh 3 November 2021 07:41

       1635923868 What we know about Cleo Smith abduction suspect

       The 36-year-old man arrested in the case of Cleo Smith was “known to police”, said homicide detective superintendent Rod Wilde on Wednesday. “He is known but I have to be very careful around that,” he revealed.

       The police have said they suspect that the man taken into custody during the early hours of Wednesday was acting alone.

       The investigators in the initial probe did not find any connection between the suspect and Cleo’s family, and believe it to be a case of “opportunistic” abduction. The police hope to lay charges against him today.

       “There’s no other person that we suspect being involved,” said Mr Wilde. “It appears as though it was opportunistic.”

       The suspect sustained head injuries in his holding cell and has been taken to the hospital by the police, reported 9 News.

       Namita Singh 3 November 2021 07:17

       1635922292 Police release first image of missing 4-year-old Cleo Smith from hospital Cleo Smith disappeared from a campsite in Western Australia on 16 October

       Namita Singh 3 November 2021 06:51

       1635921278 Biological father issues statement

       Daniel Staines, Cleo Smith’s biological father, was “overjoyed” at the news of the four-year-old being found alive.

       In a statement to the West Australian, Mr Staines said: “We are all absolutely overjoyed at the good news this morning and so happy that Cleo has been reunited with her mum and dad.”

       “Thank you to everyone who helped look for her and bring her home, particularly the WA Police, SES and the Carnarvon community,” the statement added.

       An undated handout photo made available by the Western Australia Police Force shows four-year-old Cleo Smith

       (EPA)

       Namita Singh 3 November 2021 06:34

       1635920463 Police shares first picture of Cleo Smith since being rescued

       Police shared the first picture of Cleo Smith, who was rescued from a house in Carnarvon, almost two weeks after she went missing from a campsite in Australia. In the picture, Cleo is smiling and waving in a hospital bed.

       “The miracle we all hoped for,” posted the Australian Police as they shared the picture on Facebook.

       A handout photo made available by the Western Australia Police shows four-year-old Cleo Smith recovering in hospital in Western Australia, Australia, 3 November 2021

       (EPA)

       Namita Singh 3 November 2021 06:21

       1635918671 Scott Morrison expresses 'relief' after Cleo Smith found alive

       Australia’s prime minister Scott Morrison has reacted to the news that Cleo Smith has been found alive, speaking to reporters in the United Arab Emirates on his way home from the Cop26 summit in Glasgow.

       Mr Morrison thanked the police for their work in finding the four-year-old. “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.

       Namita Singh 3 November 2021 05:51

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