The little girl who survived 18 traumatic days in the hands of a kidnapper | 60 Minutes Australia

Coming up on 60 Minutes.

Remember Cleo Smith?

That was the second time she did not walk away.

Kidnapped and held captive for 18 days.

She has so much to live for.

Five years on, you won't believe how she's doing.That's next on 60 Minutes.

It's always a pleasure to report good news, and tonight we have an update that's truly wonderful.Remember Cleo Smith?She's the little girl who was abducted from her parents' tent at a remote Western Australian beach back in 2021 and held for 18 days by a drug -addled drifter before being rescued in a massive police operation.Well, almost five years on, Cleo is thriving.

I've got her.

I've got her.This was the joyous end to one of the biggest police searches in Australian history.The moment detectives found the young girl they'd been so desperately looking for.Eighteen days earlier, the then four -year -old Cleo Smith Her little sister Isla and their parents, Jake and Ellie, had been asleep in a tent at the Quobba Blowholes in northwestern WA.But when Ellie woke up, Cleo was nowhere to be found.When she called Triple O, the panic in her voice was obvious.

In those first desperate moments,Ellie and Jake were already contemplating the unthinkable.How soon did you believe Cleo was not at the blowholes, but that she'd been taken?

The second we realised she was gone and her sleeping bag was gone, that was the second we knew she did not walk away.There was no drag marks of the sleeping bag.We knew she couldn't have carried it.I mean, we were hoping she was around the corner and that's...It was just a nightmare, you know.

Deep down we knew.

Deep down we knew.She did not walk away.She was taken.

For the next two and a half weeks, much of Australia and a lot of the world was gripped by the mystery of what had happened to Cleo.While wild theories and ridiculous rumours spread everywhere, police got on with the job of piecing together the evidence.It eventually pointed to one man, Terence Kelly, from Cleo's hometown of Carnarvon.Although they didn't know what they'd find, detectives couldn't wait to raid his house.What was it like to learn that they swooped on Terrence Kelly within hours of learning that he was the prime suspect?

I mean, we had no idea.They were fast.They were efficient.

Yeah.

The second that they got details in, like, they jumped.They acted.They acted.They did what they needed to do.

Cameron, how are you?Are you OK?

Can you come to terms with that?how close she was to you for all that time?No.

When the police called and said, we have her, I was like, well, where are you?And they're like, oh, at the hospital.I'm like, yeah, but where?They're like, no, in Carnarvon, like in emergency.And I was like, there was no way I thought it was anyone in Carnarvon that did it.We grew up there.

I was born there.And someone that lived there and grew there was the person that did it.

Rescuing the little girl was obviously not the end of the story.Terrence Kelly was arrested, admitted his crimes and was jailed for 13 and a half years.Cleo, who was remarkably calm throughout the horrific ordeal and her family, began the long process of healing.It's something that continues to this day.But the news is largely positive.Cleo is growing up.

Next month, she'll be nine.Her mum, Ellie, sent us these photos and says her precious daughter is a happy child who loves her little sister, Isla, as well as her many friends at school.Living near the water, she's now also joined the local swimming club.However, her current great passion is gymnastics.In fact, Cleo's just returned from her first overseas trip to Singapore, where she competed in an international gymnastics competition.Her composure clearly evident in these videos recorded by her very proud mum.

What an incredible young girl she is.Of course, we send Cleo and her family our very best wishes.