Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan has been slammed for making a 'tone deaf' joke after Cleo Smith was found safe. Watch below:
Cleo was missing for 18 days after mysteriously disappearing from her family's campsite and was later found in Western Australia.
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A massive search and rescue mission was sparked and authorities eventually found her in a house in Carnarvon, which is about 70km from the campsite where she went missing.
She was then reunited with her parents, after which McGowan held a press conference.
While celebrating the news that Cleo had been found safe, he made a joke about 'who would play who' in a film about her potential kidnapping.
"I said, 'there'll be movies made about this'," McGowan told reporters.
"We were talking about who would play who."
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He also mentioned that he'd put together a 'few ideas' on who could play the movie roles.
His comments did not go down well with some Twitter users.
One wrote: "Seems incredibly tone-deaf when there is a little girl who has suffered trauma."
Another said: "What a horrible response from 'our leader'. The girl was taken, Australia was in shock and he's thinking about movie scores!"
However, not everyone had harsh words for McGowan.
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Another Twitter user argued: "Nah. I think it's fine. It's just wild emotions and excitement and happiness playing out."
A fourth said: "I think his brain takes a while to catch up. Words are out before processing is complete."
McGowan went on to praise detectives for their efforts in the 18-day search for the youngster.
He said: "They put their heart and soul into it.
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"They used the best of technology and all of their instincts and they didn't leave any stone unturned.
"I just want to acknowledge the analysts because they often don't get acknowledged, but also the police team on the ground."
Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch said in a statement: "It's my privilege to announce that in the early hours of this morning, the Western Australia Police Force rescued Cleo Smith.
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"Cleo is alive and well. A Police team broke their way into a locked house in Carnarvon about 1am. They found little Cleo in one of the rooms.
"One of the officers picked her up into his arms and asked her 'what's your name?'"
The girl replied 'Cleo Smith'.
A man has been taken into custody following the raid and Cleo has been reunited with her parents.
Deputy Commissioner Blanch said: "This is the outcome we all hoped and prayed for. It's the outcome we've achieved because of some incredible police work."
He added that detectives will be able to share more information about their search for Cleo as well as how they tracked her down soon.
"For now - Welcome home Cleo," he said.
Thankfully, authorities were able to find the four-year-old safe and well and investigations are ongoing into who was responsible for her disappearance.
Featured Image Credit: Western Australia PoliceTopics: Australia