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Man arrested after a missing child is found more than two weeks after disappearing

Man arrested after a missing child is found more than two weeks after disappearing

Additional reporting by Debbie Ridgard

A missing child in Australia has been found more than two weeks since she disappeared from a family camping holiday.

Four year-old Cleo Smith was camping near the town of Carnarvon in the west of the country.

Smith was last seen at a campsite in Macleod, north of Carnarvon, on October 16 when the family had woken up to find her and her sleeping bag missing.

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Officers  arrested a 36-year-old local man with "no family connection".

He is in police custody after they smashed their way into a locked house where she was found.

Police deputy commissioner Col Blanch says he's pleased she's safe and well.

"Our family is whole again," Ellie Smith wrote Wednesday, alongside a smiling picture of her young daughter.

A police video caught the moment an officer picked up the child and asked her, "What's your name? The girl replied, "My name is Cleo," according to police.
"When she said 'My name is Cleo,' I don't think there was a dry eye in the house," Deputy Police Commissioner Col Blanch told 6PR radio.
"I have seen seasoned detectives openly crying with relief. I am speechless, which is very rare ... this is something we all hoped in our hearts, and it has come true."
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A post shared by Ellie Smith (@elliejaydee23)

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