WA Police have found missing four-year-old Cleo Smith after more than two weeks of searching.
Officers broke into a locked house in the town of Carnarvon, 900 kilometres north of Perth, about 1am local time (4am AEDT) where they found the young girl in one of the rooms.
Cleo was reunited with her parents shortly after.
In a statement, WA Police said one of the attending officers picked the little girl up and asked, “What’s your name?”
“My name is Cleo,” she replied, according to police.
“This is the outcome we all hoped and prayed for,” WA Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch said. “It’s the outcome we’ve achieved because of some incredible police work.
“I want to thank Cleo’s parents, the Western Australian community and the many volunteers. And of course, I want to thank my colleagues in the Western Australia Police Force.
“I can confirm we have a man from Carnarvon in custody who is currently being questioned by detectives. We’ll have more to say on the rescue of Cleo as the day unfolds.
“For now – welcome home Cleo.”
A media conference will be held later this morning.
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