One of the police officers who rescued Cleo Smith after she went missing for over two weeks, has revealed what the four-year-old said when he found her.
Cleo, who went missing on October 16, was found alive and well in a locked house in Carnarvon just a few minutes drive from her family's home.
Law enforcement smashed their way inside the property in order to rescue the little girl and bring her back to her family after she went missing from her family's tent during a camping trip in a remote part of Australia 18 days prior.
Now, Detective Sergeant Cameron Blaine, one of the four officers who forced their way into the home to save the four-year-old, has recalled his first interaction with her.
The detective told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday, November 3, per the Daily Mail:
"I just wanted to be absolutely sure that, it certainly looks like Cleo, I wanted to be sure it was her.
"I said, ‘what is your name?’ She didn’t answer, I said ‘what’s your name?’ and she didn’t answer again. So I asked her a third time and then she looked at me and said, ‘My name is Cleo.’"
Blaine continued:
"Then we turned around and walked out of the house. Not long after that, we got into the car and the officer I was with called Cleo's parents and said 'we've got someone here that wants to speak to you.'
"It was a wonderful feeling to make that call. They were ecstatic."
He also told reporters how Cleo cried "mommy" when she was finally reunited with her mother.
Blaine went on to describe the girl affectionately as an "energizer bunny" and said she was found in the property unharmed.
When asked by a journalist if finding Cleo was the best moment of his career, the detective replied: "without a doubt".
He said: "We all wanted to take turns holding her."
Western Australia Police have since released footage of the moment the four-year-old was rescued by officials.
Blaine is heard saying to her in the clip: "Cleo, my name's Cameron, how are you? Are you OK? We're going to take you to see your mommy and daddy, OK? Is that good?"
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