5.9k Share this
The parents of murdered schoolboy Daniel Morcombe have expressed their heartfelt relief that missing four-year-old Cleo Smith was found ‘physically unharmed’.
Bruce and Denise Morcombe took to social media on Wednesday after the little girl was uncovered in a midnight raid by Western Australian police three weeks after she disappeared from the remote Blowholes campsite near Carnarvon.
‘Wonderful news to hear Cleo Smith has been found safe and well and reunited with her family,’ they wrote on Facebook.
‘Excellent detective work by West Australian Police and a vigilant community.’

The remains of schoolboy Daniel Morcombe (pictured) were found in August 2011 after he was abducted in 2003

The parents of murdered schoolboy Daniel Morcombe have expressed their heartfelt relief that missing four-year-old Cleo Smith was found ‘physically unharmed’
The Queensland couple suffered their own agonising wait after their 13-year-old son was abducted from a bus stop on the Sunshine Coast in 2003.
Their worst fears were eventually realised eight years later when Daniel’s bones were discovered in the Glass House Mountains following a lengthy investigation which led to the prosecution of Brett Peter Cowan who received life behind bars.
In the wake of their horrific tragedy they set up a charity focused on supporting young victims of crime and teaching kids about how to stay safe in physical and online environments.
The disappearance of the preschooler, who vanished on October 16 while sleeping next to her parents and younger sister in a family tent, dredged up ‘haunting’ memories for the couple who said they felt like they were living through the trauma all over again.
‘Honestly it was an immediate flashback. We could feel their (Cleo’s parents) emotion as they were speaking because we have walked in their shoes. We have sat in that chair,’ Bruce Morcombe told the West Australian recently when a frantic search was getting underway.
‘We all hope that Cleo is found healthy and well. We genuinely wish and pray for a positive result.’

Incredible bodycam footage shows the moment Cleo Smith was rescued by Western Australian Police (pictured)


Cleo was found alone in this suburban home in Carnarvon, in the north-west of Western Australia, shortly before 1am on Wednesday morning
Those prayers were answered when police broke down the door of a house in Carnarvon early on Wednesday morning following a ‘tip off’ from the public.
Hopes were fading fast that the toddler would be found alive but shocked detectives discovered Cleo trapped inside the locked house.
In remarkable bodycam footage, Detective Sergeant Cameron Blaine asks the four-year-old ‘are you okay?’ as she is carried out of the house.
The brave little girl, gripping onto her saviour, smiles and nods before Detective Sergeant Blaine says: ‘We’re gonna take you to see your mummy and daddy’.
The Homicide Squad veteran, who has been tirelessly working on the case every step of the way, described his adulation after Cleo was uncovered in a midnight raid following a ‘tip off’.
‘It was shock to start with. Quickly followed by elation. That could have been any one of the team, but it turned out I was of four guys that were fortunate enough to go through that door and make that rescue,’ he said.
‘We had always hoped for that outcome, but were not prepared for it, but it was absolutely fantastic to see her sitting there in the way that she was. It was incredible.
‘I wanted to be sure it was her. I said, “What is your name?” She didn’t answer, I asked three times, and then she looked at me and said, “My name is Cleo”.
‘Then we turned around and walked out of the house. Not long after that we got into the car and the officer called Cleo’s parents. It was a wonderful feeling to make that call.’
The pre-schooler was then immediately rushed to hospital for a welfare check, with detectives revealing she is ‘physically unharmed’.

The first picture of Cleo Smith, safe and sound in hospital, after she was rescued from a house in Carnarvon, in northwest Western Australia, where she was held for 18 days

Propped up on a hospital bed as she sucked on an icypole, Cleo Smith smiled from ear to ear in her first photo since she was rescued after being abducted on the family camping trip.
Cleo excitedly waved to the camera as her relieved mother Ellie Smith lovingly touched her right foot as she sat on the side of the bed, just happy to see her alive.
Police believe she was ‘opportunistically abducted’ 18 days ago and was found alive at 12.46am on Wednesday when police stormed a public housing home in the suburb of Brockman after police received vital information from the public.
Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde, who led the missing person investigation, said Cleo ‘is physically OK’ and had since been released from hospital to be with her mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon.

Cleo is now back in the arms of her mum Ellie and stepfather Jake (pictured together)
A 36-year-old man who was not in the home when it was raided, not known to Cleo’s family, and not a registered sex offender was arrested in connection with Cleo’s abduction from the family’s tent at Blowholes campsite.
He was reportedly beaten by another inmate when he arrived at the Carnarvon holding cells in the middle of the night after the other prisoner learned what he’d been arrested for.
Charges are expected to be laid later today with investigators saying there are no other persons of interest.
Source: DailyMail