National
Detectives door-knock WA homes in Cleo Smith search
Detectives investigating the disappearance of Western Australian girl Cleo Smith, have door-knocked homes as the manhunt for an abductor enters a third week.
Police have visited a number of homes in the North Plantations, about 5km out of Carnarvon along the North West Coastal Highway, in search for the four-year-old.
The reason for the visits hasn’t been made public, however, police are gathering new information in their investigations every day.
READ MORE: ‘Mummy wants you home’: Cleo Smith’s mum pleads for her return
Drone searches were also conducted again at the Blowholes — a campsite popular with locals at weekends — where Cleo was last seen.
Cleo Smith’s mother Ellie has continued her plea on social media to help bring her daughter home.
“My kind hearted baby girl mummy wants you home”, Ms Smith wrote in an Instagram story.
Ms Smith also posted a missing persons image asking anyone with information to contact police.
Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde of WA Police’s Major Crime Division yesterday said police had received some questions about the police response on the day she was reported missing.
READ MORE: Veteran detective returning to Cleo Smith campsite as search steps up
He confirmed Ms Smith first called police shortly before 6am local time on October 16.
Two police vehicles arrived at the blowholes not long after 7am, he said.
Family friends arrived after 8am to assist with the search and police set up a roadblock just after 8.30am.
Officers later requested drone and SAS assistance, and at 11am detectives from the Major Crime Division were deployed.
Superintendent Wilde said there was nothing unusual about the length of time between police arriving on the scene and the roadblock being set up.
“Obviously the first police officers had to establish what had happened,” he said.
Superintendent Wilde said cars were searched at Carnarvon Blowholes throughout the day after police arrived, and that visitors to the site were helpful to police.
He said it’s a possibility Cleo had been missing for hours when police were first called.
