Cleo Smith: Australian man charged with four-year-old's abduction

Cleo Smith, 4, who went missing from an Australian outback campsite more than two weeks ago and was found in a locked house on November 3, smiles from a hospital bed in Carnarvon, Australia, in this handout photo released to Reuters on November 3, 2021. Mandatory credit WESTERN AUSTRALIA POLICE FORCE/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
WESTERN AUSTRALIA POLICE FORCE
Samantha Haynes

By Samantha Haynes


Published: 04/11/2021

- 10:10

Updated: 14/02/2023

- 11:35

Terence Darrell Kelly, 36, appears in court in Carnarvon town, charged with forcibly or fraudulently taking or enticing a child under 16

An Australian man has been charged with the abduction of Cleo Smith, a four-year-old who was rescued after disappearing for 18 days.

Terence Darrell Kelly, 36, has appeared in court in Carnarvon town. He was charged with forcibly or fraudulently taking or enticing a child under 16 .

This comes after police have released audio footage of the moment missing four-year-old Cleo Smith was rescued from a locked house in Western Australia.

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

Mr Kelly was not required to enter a plea at the Carnarvon Magistrate's Court on Thursday and did not apply for bail.

Local media reports say he has been remanded in custody until 6 December.

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde, who heads the police investigation, said specialist child interviewers had already travelled to Carnarvon from the state capital Perth, 560 miles to the south.

“The main concern around that is Cleo’s welfare,” Mr Wilde said of the interview.

“We have experienced people that will undertake that and it’ll take as long as it takes. We’ll sit down with the family and work out the appropriate time,” Mr Wilde added.

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