By Olivia Day for Daily Mail Australia
Friday, October 15
Cleo, her mother Ellie Smith and Jake Gliddon, her partner and little sister Isla Mae, arrive at Blowholes campsite at 6:30pm.
They arrived at sunset after a quiet night.
Saturday, October 16
1:30am: Cleo’s last sighting with her parents in the tent she shared, with her baby sister and her parents, when Cleo asked for water.
6.23am: Ellie calls 000 and reports her eldest daughter missing while she continues to search the camp grounds.
6.30 a.m.: The Carnarvon police station dispatches the first two officers. They travel to Blowholes with sirens, lights, and as a matter-of-priority.
6.41 AM: Blowholes receives a second police vehicle with two officers and lights.
7.10 a.m.: The first police car arrives. The second one arrives in just minutes.
7.26 am: Police establish a protected area for forensic analysis on the spot. This area is taped off to public and surrounds the tent where Cleo was last observed.
7.33am: A drone operator will be called to search the skies.
7.44 AM: A third police vehicle is dispatched to Blowholes
8:15am: Cleo’s relatives and friends start to arrive to help with ground search.
Another group of detectives quickly searched Cleo’s home to ensure she wasn’t there.
They then travel to Blowholes, where they stop cars entering and leaving the area.
8.09 am: A helicopter from a local business arrived on the scene and began searching. Police requested that an SES team assist the Blowholes search.
8.24am: Volunteer marine searchers and police air-wing are called in to assist in the search.
8.34 AM: Police set up roadblocks at Blowholes to collect names, addresses, and registration details of all those who are coming and going. Police search cars.
9.25am: Nine SES personnel arrive at Blowholes to help with the search.
Cleo, four-year-old Cleo disappeared. Australian Federal Police officers, bounty hunters and investigators spent two-and-a half weeks looking for her (pictured).
9.30am: Ellie in distress is greeted by detectives who stay with her for the rest of their day, while Cleo is hunted by other search teams.
11am: Major Crime Division homicide detectives are called to assist with the search. They travel from Perth to assist.
1pm: More Perth homicide detectives and search specialists are flown in.
3pm: Carnarvon officers, search experts arrive to lend their expertise.
Sunday, October 17,
Ms Smith uses social media to appeal for help in finding her missing daughter.
A Facebook post dated Sunday, January 45th, stated that it had been over 24 hours since I last saw the sparkle in my little girl’s eyes.
“Please help me find her!”
“If you hear or see any of these things, please call 911!”
Police believe that Cleo might have been abducted.
Monday, October 18
Police release an image showing the red and gray sleeping bag that was missing from Cleo’s tent.
Cleo’s biological father, Mandurah police, is interviewed and asked for a statement.
The WA Police, assisted by SES members, volunteers, and aircraft, continue the hunt for Cleo. Officers search nearby shacks, vehicles, and other locations.
Tuesday, October 19, 2009
Cleo’s mother Ellie Smith, and Jake Gliddon, her partner, appear before the media and describe the moment they realized the little girl was missing.
Ms Smith claims that her four-year old would not have left the tent on her own.
Police release new images of Cleo as well as the pink and blue one piece she was wearing on the night she vanished to aid in the investigation.
Investigators ask anyone who was present at the campsite or nearby on October 15 to contact police.
Wednesday, October 20
Police revealed that Cleo couldn’t reach the zip of her family tent because it was too high.
Officers state that they have not ruled out reports from campers who heard screeching tires in the early hours Saturday morning.
Daryl Gaunt (Deputy Police Commissioner) confirmed that officers are looking into the whereabouts and activities of 20 registered sex offenders within the Carnarvon vicinity.
Thursday, October 21
Cleo’s location was announced by WA Premier Mark McGowan. The WA Government offers a $1million reward.
McGowan stated that all Western Australians are in Cleo’s thoughts during this difficult time.
“We are all praying for a positive result.”
The speed at which the reward was distributed – within days after her disappearance – was remarkable.
Pictured: Police examine rubbish left near the Blowholes campsite.
Monday, October 25,
WA Police confirm Cleo was at camp site – CCTV footage from a camera mounted inside a beach house just 20 meters from the tent she vanished from shows.
Tuesday, 26 October
On Tuesday, detectives and forensic officers spent a lot of time at her Carnarvon home, 900km north from Perth. They left with two bags of evidence.
Although investigators had been to this home before, it was the first time that they conducted a thorough search inside with a forensics team.
Col Blanch, acting WA Police Commissioner, said that the search of their family home was a’standard practice and did not indicate that they were suspects with Cleo’s disappearance.
Wednesday, October 27
WA Police forensics officers return from Blowholes campground to collect soil samples from several campfires close to shacks in this area.
The Australian Federal Police officers were drafted by the federal government to assist in intelligence and forensic investigations.
Friday, October 29, 2009
Police return to Blowholes camp to examine the area with drones.
As the search for Cleo approaches the two-week mark of its second week, Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde returns from Blowholes to rejoin the search.
He confirmed that both national and international agencies are involved in the search for Cleo.
Sunday, 31 October
Cleo’s hometown is 5km away when detectives knock on doors of a number homes along the North West Coastal Highway.
Monday, November 1
Detectives search through rubbish heaps at roadside bins hundreds of kilometres from the site where she vanished.
The material was taken to Perth, where forensic and police officers and recruits searched through hundreds of bags for any items that could have been used to find Cleo.
Officers appeal for CCTV and dash cam footage within 1000 km of the area where the missing four-year-old disappeared.
Police renew their appeal to Carnarvon businesses to provide footage and to go door-to-door in an industrial area near the town.
Ellie, her mother and younger daughter, was pictured with Cleo. They shared a series on Instagram of love heart emoticons.
Wednesday, November 3
Cleo Smith is alive and well after two-and a half weeks of diligent searching. She was discovered in the early hours on November 3.
Col Blanch, WA Police Deputy Commissioner, confirmed that Cleo was alive and well just before 7 AM AEST and had been reunited to her parents.
“One of the officers grabbed her and asked her what her name was. He replied. “She said, “My Name is Cleo.”
Ellie Smith posted on social media: “Our family is whole again.”
A Carnarvon male is currently being held and being interrogated by detectives.
Ellie Smith (pictured) with her partner Jake Gliddon appeared before the media on October 19. They asked the public to report any information, ‘big and small,’ for the first time.