The days are long for Det Supt Rod Wilde, the man tasked with unravelling what happened to four-year-old Cleo Smith at the Blowholes campsite in Western Australia.
With 40 years of policing under his belt, including 18 with the major crime squad, Wilde is no stranger to missing children cases or working under the glare of media scrutiny.
But while many of his most high-profile investigations are cold cases, the search for Cleo tops Australia’s most urgent unsolved crimes list.
Under huge pressure to crack a case that has garnered worldwide media attention, Wilde touched down in the regional town of Carnarvon, about 10 hours north of Perth, just days ago to briefly join his officers at the investigation coalface.
Since that puzzling night, forensic and veteran police officers from the specially created taskforce Rodia have been stationed at the nearby town of Carnarvon, systematically scouring for clues to Cleo’s whereabouts.
Cleo Smith’s mother Ellie Smith and her partner Jake Gliddon.
An open tent and an empty bed: desperate search for missing four-year-old Cleo Smith
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Alongside them are a community struggling to comprehend that something so sinister may have happened to one of their own, and bounty hunters chasing information to potentially cash in on the WA government’s $1m reward for finding Cleo.
Under Wilde’s lead, a 100-strong police operation is now trying to rule out campers who were staying at the remote site when the girl disappeared.
Forensics officers have searched the weatherboard home of Cleo’s mum, Ellie Smith, and her partner, Jake Gliddon, three times in the past week – once to check for signs of a stalker, and twice more to look for any further clues to what may have happened to Cleo.
After examining the fence, windowsills and exterior of the property, Wilde said officers found no evidence that Cleo was snatched by someone who had prowled the South Carnarvon home beforehand.
With his team working late into the night and despite 200 reported and discounted Cleo sightings, Wilde said they still have no suspects.
He emphasised that the search of Cleo’s house was nothing more than routine procedure.
“It’s part of what we do in major investigations like this,” Wilde said. “Just so we don’t miss anything – leave no stone unturned.”
Meanwhile, the nation’s main crime-fighting agency has stepped into the ring and, according to media reports, is using spy planes to comb the area.
On Thursday, Seven News reported that reconnaissance planes – essentially military aircraft able to collect images and carry out real-time surveillance – are part of the technology being used.
