Rare phone signal at remote campsite helped police track down missing Cleo Smith
Police managed to track down missing four-year-old girl Cleo Smith after tracing phone signals near the Australian outback campsite she vanished from.
The remote campsite is located next to three phone towers that were installed in 2018, meaning it has far stronger signal than the nearby town of Carnarvon, Western Australia.
Although police have not yet released all the details about how they found Cleo, they have admitted that phone data and a tip-off about a car in the area played a crucial role.
Large swathes of the outback are reportedly "dead zones" for mobile phone signal, meaning it was a stroke of luck that the campsite was near new phone masts.
Officers rescued the youngster from a locked home in Carnarvon after arresting Terence Darrell Kelly, who has been charged with forcibly taking a child under 16
Speaking about the rescue, Western Australia’s Deputy Police Commissioner Col Blanch previously said: “We've collected phone data, witness statements, DNA, fingerprints, rubbish along the highways, CCTV - we've collected everything.
Terence Darrell Kelly boarding a plane with police at Carnarvon airport on Friday ( Getty Images) “We had to find that needle. Last night the needle in the haystack came out and they acted in a heartbeat.
"Intelligence led them to that house. They went into that house, Cleo was in the house alone."
The moment that Kelly was arrested by police was filmed on Tuesday night in dashcam footage from a taxi.
The 36-year-old could be seen being pulled over by officers and pinned to the ground.
About an hour after Kelly was arrested, Cleo was rescued from his locked home, bringing her 18-day ordeal to an end.
The four-year-old told officers 'my name is Cleo' when they found her ( Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Police broke into the house in Carnarvon, a town about 100 km (62 miles) south of the campsite, early on Wednesday morning and discovered Cleo in one of the rooms.
In moving bodycam footage after she was found, officers can be heard saying "I've got you, bubby" and "what's your name, sweetheart?" before she replies "my name is Cleo".
When Cleo went missing on October 16 she was on the first night of a holiday at the Quobba Blowholes camping ground.
The remote site is 560 miles north of Perth and is known for its sea caves and lagoons.
Cleo went cradled by officers as they carried her out of the locked home ( WESTERN AUSTRALIAN POLICE FORCE/) Get all the latest news sent to your inbox. Sign up for the free Mirror newsletter
Cleo had gone to bed for the night on an air mattress next to her sister's cot in a tent.
When her mum woke up the next day the young girl was gone and the tent door was left open.
Ms Smith was adamant that her daughter could not have left the tent by herself, instantly leading to fears that she had been abducted.
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