Body camera footage reveals a 4-year-old Creos Smith, who disappeared from an Australian outback camp site more than two weeks ago and was found in a locked house rescued in Carnarvon, Australia on November 3. Shows guards carrying, November 3, 2021. (Distribution via Western Australian Police / Reuters)
Melbourne — A man charged with kidnapping a 4-year-old girl from an outback campsite in West Australia was sent 960 km (600 miles) to Perth’s largest prison on Friday, the state’s Justice Department said.
Television footage showed a 36-year-old man walking barefoot from a police car to the light plane on the runway in the town of Carnerbon.
In the first official statement since Cleo was discovered, her parents Ellie Smith and Jake Glidon thanked everyone involved in her rescue on Friday and sought privacy.
“We are very grateful that our little girl is back in our arms and our family is well again,” their statement said.
Cleo went missing from his family’s tent early on October 16th at the remote Blowholes Shax campsite in MacLeod. Police launched an extensive land and air search, set up obstacles, and scrutinized CCTV footage.
Police found her after breaking into a locked house in Carnerbon, a town about 100km (62 miles) south of the campsite on the northwest coast of the state.
The suspect will then appear in court on December 6. In Australia, police do not name the accused until a plea trial.
Sonari Paul
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