The devastated mother of a four-year-old missing on Western Australia's northwest coast has described the moment she realised the little girl wasn't in her tent, urging anyone with information about her whereabouts to come forward.
Cleo Smith was last seen by her parents about 1.30am on Saturday at the Blowholes campsite at Macleod, north of Carnarvon.
The girl was wearing a pink one-piece sleepsuit with a blue and yellow pattern. She was in a red and black sleeping bag which has since been reported missing.
Homicide and major crime forensic investigators are assisting local police amid fears she may have been abducted.
Cleo's mother Ellie Smith says she and her partner Jake Gliddon woke at about 6am to Cleo's baby sister Isla wanting a bottle.
"As we passed the (tent) divider, I went into the other room and the zipper was open," she said on Tuesday.
"She was gone. The tent was completely open."
Ms Smith said the little girl would never leave the tent on her own and someone must know where she was.
"She's lazy when it comes to walking. She won't ride her bike very far. All she wants to do is go in the bottom of our pram," she said.
"She would never leave us, she would never leave the tent.
"We hold hope that she's here (near the campsite) because if I think about her being taken ... a million other things cross our mind."
Authorities were on Tuesday forced to temporarily suspend the land search due to damaging gusts and heavy rain in the Carnarvon area. The search has since resumed, with mounted police officers on the way to assist.
Police have searched a number of shacks along the coastline at the campsite, and a helicopter and drones have been deployed.
"We can't rule out the fact that Cleo may be still in the area," Inspector Jon Munday told Perth radio 6PR.
"If she's left the area, that is probably our worst case scenario because that really paints a sinister picture with what's happened.
"It is a race against time. We're just trying to find answers."
The popular campsite was heavily populated on the night Cleo disappeared, with detectives "tracking and tracing" the guests and continuing to comb through CCTV and dashcam footage provided by members of the public.
Police have also spoken to Cleo's biological father in Mandurah, south of Perth, as part of their investigations.
There is no suggestion he was involved in the girl's disappearance.
"It is just normal police practice that we speak to everybody involved in the family," Insp Munday said.
Ms Smith said it had been a "horrendous" ordeal for the family, describing Cleo as a beautiful and delicate girl who loved make-up and dressing up.
"She has the biggest heart. She is just so funny," she said.
"She's everything you'd want in a little girl."
Premier Mark McGowan thanked police and SES volunteers for their continued efforts to find Cleo.
"Our thoughts are with Cleo's family at what is undoubtedly an extremely difficult time for them and for everyone involved," he said.
Cleo's mother urged anyone with information to contact police.
"If you see something, report it," she said.
"It doesn't matter if it's small or big or if you're sure or not ... we want our little girl home.
"We sit and watch the sand dunes and we just think she's going to run down it and back into our arms, but we're still waiting."
Australian Associated Press
