Western Australia Police announced a potential breakthrough in the disappearance of Cleo Smith on Sunday, telling the public that they are now looking for a smaller passenger vehicle that was spotted in a crucial 30-minute window the night Cleo disappeared.
The driver may not be a person of interest, but the timing is crucial – roughly 90 minutes after she was last seen at 1.30 am on Saturday October 16, in a tent she was sharing with her parents at the Blowholes campsite in Macleod, north of Carnarvon.
The “smaller vehicle, probably a passenger vehicle” was seen driving south towards Carnarvon between 3 am and 3.30am, according to Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde. “What we’re hoping for is the persons that were in that vehicle to come forward and make themselves known,” Mr Wilde said.
He clarified that those in the vehicle are not considered suspects, and that the police “just want to establish who they were and what they were doing at that time”. He declined to speculate as to whether Cleo was in the vehicle in question at the time. The sighting was reported by two people who were travelling along the North West Coastal Highway, who were only able to provide a limited description of the vehicle.
Mr Wilde added that if Cleo had been abducted, she was likely still within Western Australia as a result of the tight border restrictions Premier Mark McGowan has implemented against COVID-19.
Mr Wilde said it was “more than likely [Cleo’s disappearance] was a chance event”, and added that there was “no evidence that Cleo was stalked at all”. Police have been searching the Smith family home in Carnarvon for clues since Cleo disappeared on October 16.
Premier Mark McGowan announced a $1 million reward for information relating to Cleo’s disappearance last Thursday, saying, “We want to ensure police have everything they need to solve this case and that’s why my government has no hesitation in supporting police with this reward offer.”
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