Hunt Begins For Mystery Accomplice As Cleo Smith Describes Woman In House

The hunt is on for a mystery female accomplice who Cleo Smith claims came to the house she was being held captive in to 'look after her'.

According to the MailOnline, the four-year-old dropped the bombshell during police interviews.

Sources close to the publication explained that Cleo mentioned the female accomplice would visit the place she was held for 18 days to care for her.

It is believed that the youngster made allegations that the woman helped to dress her and brush her hair.

Cleo - who had been missing since 16 October - was discovered last week in Western Australia after she went missing from her family's campsite.

A 36-year-old stranger called Terry Kelly has now been charged with abducting the youngster.

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Kelly, a local resident, has been charged with forcibly taking a child among other offences, a statement said.

He appeared briefly in court in the town of Carnarvon, Western Australia, where a magistrate refused to release him on bail.

Police visited Cleo's family in Carnarvon as they prepared to gather crucial witness evidence involving Kelly, who is suspected of snatching her from a campground north of the west coast town of 5,000 people on October 16.

Detective Senior Sergeant Cameron Blaine said: "I can only see her on the outside, but from that point of view, I'm amazed that she seems to be so well-adjusted and happy, and it was really ... heartwarming to see that she's still bubbly and she's laughing.

"I'm sure that it has had an impact, but just to see her behaving quite naturally like a four-year-old girl should do and just enjoying being in the presence of her little sister and her family was good."

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Mr Blaine was part of a four-member police team that used a battering ram to smash into a locked house early on Wednesday and rescue Cleo.

The lights were on and she was alone playing with toys in a house less than a 10-minute drive from her own, police said.

"My name is Cleo," the smiling girl told the police officers who rescued her and asked her name as confirmation that they had found the right child.

Topics: News, Australia

Rebecca Shepherd

I'm Becky - a journalist at LADbible. I graduated with a First Class BA in Journalism before going on to cover criminal court cases, medical tribunals and breaking news for the national media - which inevitably and eventually became as glum as it sounds. Can often be found rocking a bag for life - which I made a 'thing' way before Rihanna. You can contact me at [email protected]

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