A family of seven, who camped less than 100 meters from the spot where Cleo Smith disappeared without a trace, have spoken out about their’scarred and heartbreaking’ stay at the site.
It’s been 16 days since the four-year-old disappeared from her family’s tent at the Blowholes campsite, near Carnarvon in Western Australia in the early hours of October 16.
As the search enters its third week, detectives assigned to the mammoth operation to find Cleo’s missing child spent Sunday door-knocking houses five kilometres away from Carnarvon.
Queensland couple Rob and Kira Prince were camping at the Blowholes at the time and have described their stay which they’ll never forget ‘for all the wrong reasons.’
The desperate search to find Cleo Smith, a missing youngster (pictured), is now in its third week
The couple and their five children are traveling around the country in a campervan. They’re documenting their journey on the Our Aussie Adventure facebook page.
The family shared photos from Quobba Blow Holes as well as a police flyer about Cleo’s disappearance.
The family posted on Sunday that the camp was stunning with its rugged cliff faces and powerful waves. It also had lagoon-like beaches and blowholes.
“Unfortunately, our stay was marred by Cleo Smith’s disappearance from a tent less 100m from our site.
“With four-year olds, this was truly terrifying. It was a day we will never forget, for all the wrong reasons.
“While we physically moved on once the campground was closed, emotionally we are still there longing to see a positive outcome in Cleo’s life and that of her family.
The Prince family were camping less than 100m metres away from where little Cleo disappeared at the Blowholes campsite on October 16. Pictured is the family during their stay on the site
Cleo lived five kilometres away from Carnarvon, where detectives knocked on doors to find out more.
The family said that they have spoken to police “a number of times”.
Detectives knocked on a number homes along the North West Coastal Highway. the North Plantations, 5km from Cleo’s hometown on Sunday.
Nine News reported that the reason for the visits was not made public.
Cleo’s mother, in frantic panic, has issued another appeal on social media to her daughter for her return.
Ellie Smith posted a Sunday Instagram story that said, “My kind-hearted baby girl mama wants you home,”
Ms Smith also posted Cleo’s missing persons image, asking anyone with information to call police.
She and Cleo’s stepfather Jake Gliddon have been ruled out by police of having have had any involvement in the girl’s disappearance.
The Prince family said their time camping at The Blowholes was ‘scarred’ by the disappearance of Cleo Smith from a tent less than 100 metres away
Little Cleo Smith is missing for two weeks. She was last seen at Blowholes campground near Carnarvon, WA.
Earlier on Sunday, the owner of a shack which captured the voice of Cleo on its CCTV system has opened up about the ‘panicked’ moments after the little girl vanished.
Dave Sadecky gave the CCTV footage of Cleo to police, which placed her at the campsite the night before her disappearance.
The motion-sensing camera is mounted inside the beach shack that was only 20 metres from the family tent. It takes a wide-angle photo of everyone who enters or exits it.
The camera records audio and images inside a painted wooden box with glass front. This would not be apparent to passersby.
Dave Sadecky, who owns the nearby shack at campsite, captured Cleo’s voice on his shack’s CCTV system and gave it to police
When Mr Sadecky’s wife learned of the news about the four-year old, they immediately jumped on quad bikes to join the search.
According to Mr Sadecky, ‘I didn’t know the intricacies of what was going down but everyone was panicked’.
‘People dropped everything and came to help … they were everywhere on Saturday like ants — it’s not a normal sight.’
Cleo was last seen by the couple on the day they left.
She had gotten up at 1.30am Saturday morning to ask Ellie for water. However, when her parents woke up at 6am, Cleo was gone.
Cleo, a four-year-old girl, had woken at 1.30am Saturday to ask Ellie for water. However, when Ellie woke up at 6am, Cleo was gone.
Detectives discovered that Cleo’s tent had been opened by the zip, making it impossible for Cleo to get out.
“Everyone was emotional. People were stressed and anxious but wanted help. This is the first time we’ve ever seen anything like it. We’re there every weekend, and we’re sorry we weren’t there that evening,” Mr Sadecky stated.
He stated that the campsite would now be “tainted” by what had happened to Blowholes, a local.
He said that there was a tight-knit neighborhood in the area, and that people often left their doors unlocked.
Cleo’s close family friend Ellie Smith and Jake Gliddon say that detectives don’t want to give them false hope.
“There’s nothing worse that saying, “We’re going to get her” or, “We think they’ve got the person”, and then they don’t have it or they don’t find her,” the friend told West.
Cleo is photographed with her mother Ellie Smith. Anyone who has information on her disappearance will be eligible for a $1million reward
“Police aren’t going to give false hope to you and that’s what we have said since day one.”
Cleo’s family friend was at the campsite when Cleo disappeared and helped to search the area for the missing four-year-old.
He said that her distraught parents also had to deal in the aftermath with online trolls, who pointed fingers at them in the days following the disappearance of their daughter.
Police have ruled out Ms Smith and Mr Gliddon as suspects, and Daily Mail Australia does not believe they were involved in her disappearance.
“I know it affects them,” the friend said. The friend said that fingers crossed they don’t look at it too often.
This comes after it was revealed that detectives from the 100-strong taskforce responded to 200 possible sightings of Cleo within the two weeks since her disappearance.
This comes after it was revealed that detectives from the 100-strong taskforce responded to 200 possible sightings of Cleo within the two weeks since her disappearance.
Detective Superintendent Rob Wilde stated, “Unfortunately all those have failed to produce results.”
“That’s been a national effort, and other policing jurisdictions helped us follow those leads, so we are very grateful.
Although none of the leads are accurate, he still calls on the public for Cleo to continue his search and report any useful information.