“It speaks volumes in terms of the amount of effort they put into finding her.” “He broke down and cried, which for a veteran in policing, you rarely see that,” Fuller told Sydney Radio 2GB. New South Wales Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said Dawson told him he had broken down in tears when she was found.įuller had called across the country from Sydney on the east coast, to Perth in the west, to congratulate Dawson on the outcome. A zipper on a flap of the tent compartment where Cleo and her sister were sleeping was too high for the girl to have reached.įorensic scientists examined the exterior of the family's home to see if a predator had stalked Cleo and attempted to break in.Īnd a distraught Ellie Smith made emotional public appeals for information on her daughter's whereabouts that were broadcast across Australia. But more evidence began to support an abduction.Ī vehicle was reported speeding away from the area in the dark hours of the morning. 16.Ī massive land and sea search was initially mounted in the sparsely populated region on the assumption that she had wandered from the tent. “This particular case, obviously, has captured the hearts of Australians as we felt such terrible sorrow for the family,” he added.Ĭleo’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, 75 kilometers (47 miles) north of Carnarvon, on Oct. The fact that that nightmare has come to an end and our worst fears were not realized is just a huge relief, a moment for great joy,” Morrison told reporters. Prime Minister Scott Morrison reacted from the United Arab Emirates on his way home from Scotland, thanking police for finding Cleo and supporting her family.
I won’t go into any more details, other than to say we’re so thankful she’s alive.”ĭawson said “dogged, methodical police work” led to her being found.
She is “as well as you can expect,” Dawson said. Western Australia state Police Commissioner Chris Dawson would not detail what the girl had gone through. Australia's Exports to China Are Jumping Despite Their Trade Fight