Cleo Smith’s desperate mother has asked the burning question on the lips of the entire nation, as she asks her missing daughter ‘My princess, where are you?’
Ellie Smith asked the harrowing question at around 6pm on Thursday night as the sixth day of the desperate search for her little one comes to a close.
She posted a photo of her daughter and tagged a video created by the WA Police to raise awareness of the $1million reward offered to anyone with information.
The reward comes as police reveal after six days of land, sea and air searches for the missing four-year-old they still have no ‘concrete suspects’.
Cleo’s devastated mother posted a photo of her daughter and tagged a video created by the WA Police to raise awareness of the $1million reward offered to anyone with information
Ellie Smith asked the harrowing question at around 6pm on Thursday night as the sixth day of the desperate search for her little one (pictured) comes to a close
The $1million reward will go to anyone who has any information that could lead police to the culprit, who detectives fear snatched Cleo from inside her tent.
Cleo disappeared from the family tent at the Blowholes campsite north of Carnavon in Western Australia between 1.30am and 6am on Saturday.
She, along with her mum, stepdad Jake Gliddon and baby sister Isla had only arrived for the weekend getaway hours prior.
Police now believe an abduction took place because the zipper of the tent was found undone at 6:30am, even though Cleo is too short to reach it.
WA Police Inspector Jon Munday said the height of the zip opening was a major factor in the possibility Cleo was now in the hands of an unknown third party.
‘The positioning of that zipper for the flap is one of the circumstances which has caused us to have grave concerns for Cleo’s safety,’ he said on Wednesday.
Ellie Smith made another harrowing statement at 6am on Thursday morning – exactly six days after she discovered her eldest daughter was missing
Ms Smith (pictured) woke up on Sunday morning to find her tiny daughter missing, as well as her red and grey sleeping bag, launching the search that has spread nation-wide
Ms Smith woke up on Sunday morning to find her tiny daughter missing, as well as her red and grey sleeping bag, launching the search that has spread nation-wide.
Police are still considering the possibility Cleo has been taken interstate, with other campers claiming they heard the sound of tyres screeching at 3am on Sunday.
Detective Superintendent Rob Wilde told reporters on Thursday WA Police have been in talks with all jurisdictions across Australia.
‘We want to get this information out there and if anyone Australia-wide has information that could be relevant to the investigation, we ask that they call Crime Stoppers,’ he said.
Premier Mark McGowan announced the $1million reward would go to anyone who could give information on Cleo’s location, or lead to an arrest or conviction of those involved in her disappearance.
‘It’s a very sad situation, a very difficult situation,’ the Premier said on Thursday.
Police now believe an abduction took place because the zipper of the tent found undone at 6:30am was too high for little Cleo (pictured) to reach it
Mother Ellie Smith and step-father Jake Gliddon (pictured) were distraught during their first press conference since the disappearance of Cleo Smith on Saturday
‘I just urge anyone who has any knowledge of the location of Cleo, please provide that information to police and ensure that we can provide some certainty and information to Cleo’s loved ones and hopefully bring Cleo back safe and sound.’
From Friday, police will focus their attention on pursuing a criminal investigation rather than searching the vicinity of the Blowholes Campsite.
Homicide detectives from Taskforce RODIA will join the search as authorities keep an open mind in the possibility Cleo was taken by someone known to her.
‘Given the information now that we’ve gleaned from the scene, the fact that the search has gone on for this period of time and we haven’t been able to locate her … it leads us to believe that she was taken from the tent,’ Superintendent Wilde said on Thursday.
However, Inspector Jon Monday said teams would remain in the area until they were satisfied Cleo was no longer there, as well as her family who remain close-by.
More than 100 police officers, volunteers, local Indigenous bush trackers and mounted police returned to the campsite on Thursday.
The search at the campsite has shifted from looking for the little girl in ‘high probability’ areas to places that Cleo could have walked herself.
Investigators also plan to revisit nearby shacks along the coastline.
The search at the campsite (pictured) has shifted from looking for the little girl in ‘high probability’ areas to places that Cleo could have walked herself
Ms Smith (pictured with Isla, right, and Cleo, left) has made a series of heartbreaking pleas for her little one to be returned home
From Friday, police will focus their attention on pursuing a criminal investigation rather than searching the vicinity of the Blowholes Campsite (pictured)
Acting police commissioner Col Blanch revealed CCTV vision from a nearby shack had placed Cleo at the campsite on the night in question.
He described the investigation as ‘wide open’ with the Crime Stopper line running hot with hundreds of calls reporting suspicious people in the area.
Police have spoken to at least 20 registered sex offenders who live in the surrounding area, however none are considered suspects.
Ms Smith appeared emotional during a press conference on Tuesday while Mr Gliddon was lost for words as they recounted the last time they saw Cleo.
‘As we passed the (tent) divider, I went into the other room and the zipper was open,’ the shell-shocked mum revealed. ‘She was gone. The tent was completely open.’
She said while her friends, family and the local community had been ‘so supportive’, all she wanted was her ‘beautiful, funny and delicate’ daughter to come home.
‘I know she can get through whatever she’s going through,’ a teary Ms Smith said.
‘We’re going to find her, we have to’.