By Olivia Day for Daily Mail Australia
Friday, October 15,
Cleo, her mother Ellie Smith and Jake Gliddon, her partner, arrive at Blowholes campsite around 6:30pm.
They arrived at sunset after a quiet night.
Saturday, October 16
1:30am: Cleo, four years old, asks for water after her parents last sighting.
6.23am Ellie calls 000 to report her eldest child missing. She continues to search for the camp ground.
6.30am: The Carnarvon station 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 additional officers.
7.10am: First police car arrives. The second one arrives in just minutes.
7.26 AM: Police arrive on the scene and create a protected forensic area that is taped to the public around the tent where Cleo was last spotted.
7.33am: A drone operator can be called upon to search the skies.
7.44 AM: A third police vehicle is dispatched to Blowholes
8am: Cleo’s relatives and friends start to arrive to help with ground search.
Another team of detectives searches Cleo’s house briefly to make sure she isn’t there.
Ellie, her mother, is pictured with Cleo, her younger daughter and partner. Ellie broke her silence when Cleo was discovered, and shared a series love heart emojis via Instagram
They then move on to Blowholes where they stop cars from entering and leaving the region.
8.09am: A helicopter belonging to a local company arrived on the scene and began searching. Police requested that an SES team assist the Blowholes search.
8.24 am: Volunteer marine searchers, police air-wing, and the police helicopter are called in for assistance.
8.34am: Blowholes’ entrance is blocked off by roadblocks. Detectives collect the names, addresses and registration details of anyone who comes and goes. Police search cars.
9.25am: Nine SES personnel arrive at Blowholes to help with the search.
9.30am: Ellie is distressed and detectives are there to help her.
11am: Major Crime Division Homicide Detectives are called and start travelling from Perth to assist in the search.
1pm: More Perth homicide detectives and search specialists are flown in.
3pm: Carnarvon officers and search experts arrive to offer their expertise.
Sunday, October 17
Ms Smith uses social media to appeal for help in finding her missing daughter.
A Facebook post posted at 1:45am Sunday that stated: “It’s been more than 24 hours since the sparkle in my little daughter’s eyes last time.”
“Please help me find her!”
“If you see or hear anything, please call the police!”
Police suspect that Cleo was abducted.
Monday, October 18, 2008
Police release an image showing the red and gray sleeping bag that was missing from Cleo’s tent.
Cleo’s biological dad is interviewed by police at Mandurah. He is asked to give a statement which he freely gives.
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 are fronting the media for the first-time and describe the terrifying moment that they realized their little girl was missing.
Ms Smith claims that her four-year old would not have left the tent on her own.
Police release new photos of Cleo, and the pink-and-blue one-piece she wore the night she disappeared to assist with the investigation.
Investigators are urging anyone who was in the area or at the campsite on October 15th 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 investigating the whereabouts 20 registered sex offenders from the Carnarvon region.
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 all pray for a positive outcome.”
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 that Cleo was at the camp site. This is based on CCTV footage taken from a camera placed inside a beach shack 20 metres from the tent where she disappeared.
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 to Blowholes Campground and collect soil samples from a variety of campfires nearby shacks.
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 in order to analyze the area using drones.
As the search for Cleo reaches the two-week mark, Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde returns back to Blowholes to join the hunt.
He confirmed that both national and international agencies are involved in the search for Cleo.
Sunday, October 31
Cleo’s hometown was 5km from the North West Coastal Highway, so detectives went door-to-door.
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 ask for CCTV and dashcam footage from within 1000km radius of the location where the 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.
Wednesday, November 3
Cleo Smith was found alive in the early hours on November 3 after two-and a half weeks of diligent searching.
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 said. “She said: “My name’s Cleo.”
Ellie Smith posted the following to 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’, they received.