Cleo Smith Found Alive And Well: Neighbors Reveal Haunting Signs They Missed While Family Celebrates The Good News
Australia: Cleo Smith has been found alive and well 18 days after her disappearance, and neighbors have spoken out about the haunting signs they missed.
Shocked neighbors of the 4-year-old have described seeing a ‘quiet man’ purchasing diapers from a shop just a couple of days before she was found alive in a locked house.
Police found little Cleo at 1am on Wednesday at a home in Carnarvon, almost three weeks after she went missing from her family’s Blowholes campsite.
A local 36-year-old man was arrested at the house and taken in for questioning by detectives. He is not connected to the family in any way.
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One of the neighbors said he saw him in the supermarket getting diapers, which seemed strange because he does not have children.
‘Last – on Monday – we saw him in Woolworths buying Kimbies [nappies] and that,” he told Sunrise.
“But we didn’t click what he bought them for.”
The man went on to say that the people living in the area know each other, but they tend to keep to themselves.
“Everyone knows the person who lives in that house, but no one thought it would be him,” he added.
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Neighbors were woken up by loud noises as police gathered in their street and walked in and out of the house where the girl was found.
“We stepped back and waited, but then we saw someone on the detective’s shoulder,” the neighbor said.
“We thought maybe it was the little girl, whatever it was. I went closer to the detective’s car and I saw her in the back of the car with the detective, he was holding her.’
According to WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson, the arrest was made after detectives gathered information that led them to the house.
WA Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch confirmed just before 7am that the girl is alive and in good condition.
‘One of the officers took her in his arms and asked her ‘what’s your name?’ he said.
“She said, ‘My name is Cleo.’
Shortly after, Cleo was reunited with her parents.
“This is the result we all hoped and prayed for,” Deputy Commissioner Blanch said.
“It is the result we have achieved thanks to incredible police work.
‘I want to thank Cleo’s parents, the Western Australian community and the many volunteers.
“And of course I want to thank my colleagues in the Western Australian Police Force.”
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Cleo’s mother has celebrated the return of her child with a message shared on social media.
‘Our family is whole again,’ she wrote on Instagram.
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One of the closest friends made a Facebook post saying:
‘To be woken at 4.50am with my phone going crazy at 4.50am and see the words Cleo is home alive and safe.
‘Seeing Ellie saying her “beautiful girl is home” is nothing short of a miracle. We are so happy for her to be home.’
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