Australian police released audio Thursday capturing the moment 4-year-old Cleo Smith was found after being missing for almost three weeks.
“We’ve got her, we’ve got her,” an officer is heard saying at the beginning of the clip. The child was then asked her name. She hesitated at first, but replied with “My name is Cleo.”
“You’re all right, bubby,” the officer reassured her.
18 days after disappearing in Australia from her family’s camping tent – 4-year-old Cleo Smith is back home.
Police and her family say they never gave up hope. pic.twitter.com/vq8yzjZ5p2— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) November 3, 2021
Smith disappeared in the middle of the night on Oct. 16 from a tent in the outback. The parents alleged that she was grabbed in the middle of the night, finding the tent zipper open in the morning. The family was camping 60 miles away from their home in Carnarvon, a small coastal town in Western Australia, NBC News reported.
The disappearance of Smith sparked national outrage in Australia and prompted the police to do a nationwide search. Smith’s parents begged that their daughter would return safely, the outlet reported.
Smith was found on Wednesday night in a home in Carnarvon, in close proximity from her family home. She was taken to a local hospital for assessment, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Gang Blamed For Kidnapping 17 American Missionaries In Haiti)
A 36-year-old man has been charged with several offenses relating to Smith’s disappearance. The man has not been named, the outlet reported.
Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde told reporters on Thursday that the accused man has been taken to the hospital to treat injuries he inflicted upon himself. He remains in custody, the outlet reported.