According to authorities in Western Australia, the man was taken to the hospital twice for self-inflicted injuries before being investigated and charged with multiple abduction-related offenses.
Sydney: A 36-year-old man was charged with kidnapping a four-year-old girl from an outback camping 18 days before she was rescued safely in a sealed house by Australian police on Thursday.
According to authorities in Western Australia, the man was taken to the hospital twice for self-inflicted injuries before being investigated and charged with multiple abduction-related offenses.
Read Also: Suspect In Australian Girl’s Abduction “Acted Alone”, Say Police
Cleo Smith was last seen in her family’s tent at the isolated Blowholes Shacks campsite near Macleod in the early hours of Oct. 16. She was gone the next morning.
Her disappearance prompted a massive search by land and air, as well as roadblocks and a thorough examination of CCTV material.
On Wednesday, police burst into a residence in Carnarvon, a town about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of the campsite on the state’s extreme northwest coast, and discovered her safe. According to reports, the residence is 3 kilometers (2 miles) from her family’s home.
One count of forcibly kidnapping a minor under the age of 16 is among the counts the suspect faces, according to police. The suspect appeared in court and was scheduled to return on Dec. 6, according to police.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the man threatened journalists in the public gallery and asked them what they were looking at during his court appearance.
An audio recording of the officers’ entry into the residence and the discovery of the girl in a room was released. “We’ve got her. We’ve got her “a police officer was overheard stating.
“My name is Cleo,” the toddler said after being asked her name several times. According to cops, she was found playing with toys while the light was turned on.
State Premier Mark McGowan described Cleo as a “really bright, happy, sweet little girl” who appeared “quite well adjusted” despite her hardship after meeting her family.
As per Reuters, authorities stated they would speak with her through specialist child interviewers, and they had trained her parents on how to communicate with her in order to regain her memory.
Since Wednesday, the hashtag #CleoSmith has been trending on Twitter, with a photo of a cheerful Cleo waving from her hospital bed attracting roughly 54,000 “likes.”
On Wednesday night, purple and pink balloons filled the streets, and numerous landmarks in Perth, Western Australia’s capital, were lit up in blue to thank the police for their efforts.
