My name is Cleo - podcast cover

My name is Cleo

The West Australianthewest.com.au

It’s a scenario too harrowing to believe.

A four-year-old child vanishes without a trace in the middle of the night while on a family holiday in a remote, rugged and dangerous part of the Western Australian coast.

Cleo Smith had been sleeping next to her baby sister, in the same tent as her parents.  When they wake in the morning, she’s gone.

What follows is every parent’s worst nightmare. A land, sea and air search which soon turns to fears, she’s been abducted.

For weeks, Ellie Smith and Jake Gliddon live a nightmare, while the public scrutinise their every move.

Until, 18 long, desperate days later, when on November 3, 2021 police barge down the door of a house - just 7 minutes from Cleo’s family home.

Inside a room within in the house, sits a little girl playing with toys.

Police ask “What’s your name?” She responds:

“My name is Cleo”

From the team that brought you Claremont: The Trial, this podcast aims to take you inside the investigation that brought a little girl home.

Join our team of journalists and those on the ground in Carnarvon as we take you inside the search for the four-year-old in “My Name Is Cleo: The 18-day police miracle”

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Episodes

The plea

24th January, 2022: Guilty. Those were the only words uttered by 36-year-old Terence Darrell Kelly when a charge of child stealing was put to him as he appeared by video link from prison to the Carnarvon courthouse. It was a stunning admission that not many were prepared for - especially so early in the court process. But for many in the Carnarvon community, it was a welcome one. Not only does it mean police found the right man, it also means Cleo and her family won’t have to be dragged through ...

Jan 28, 202233 minSeason 1Ep. 9

The police miracle

12.46am, 3rd November, 2021: In the middle of the night in a house in Carnarvon, just 7 minutes away from the Smith family home, police barge their way into a locked house. The lights are off, except for one room. They enter, and what they find is a miracle. A little girl, sitting down playing with toys. One detective scoops her up into his arms, while Detective senior sergeant Cameron Blaine asks the little girl her name - three times. On the third question, she answers: “My name is Cleo.” This...

Dec 17, 202141 minSeason 1Ep. 8

The investigation takes a sinister turn

Days 16-18: The search for Cleo is getting desperate. Police have no leads and they’re trying anything to find the little girl. That’s when they reveal they’ve used special agents to search the dark web for any signs of the four-year-old. In this episode, journalists Ben Downie and Daryna Zadvirna reveal their trip to the pub one night led to a fortuitous meeting with police, and how they then worked with investigators to keep Cleo’s story in the news, to keep people engaged and aware of her dis...

Dec 10, 202130 minSeason 1Ep. 7

Inside the police investigation

Days 13-15: Cleo’s been missing for two weeks now, and the police, her community and her parents are getting even more desperate. It’s now that the head of Taskforce Rodia, Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde lands in Carnarvon. Seven News crime reporter Joey Catanzaro, who’s been covering this case, speaking to detectives and getting inside, intimate knowledge of the case tells the podcast that Rod’s arrival is just as much about providing moral support to his team, as it is seeing the investiga...

Dec 03, 202133 minSeason 1Ep. 6

The Second Interview: A night at the Blowholes

Days 11 and 12: One of the biggest questions on the public’s mind as the search for Cleo approaches two weeks is: How did Ellie and Jake not hear the tent being unzipped as they slept right next to Cleo? In this episode, reporter Jackson Barrett and Producer Sandra Di Girolamo have possible answers. Jackson was sent up to Carnarvon to cover the search, and even spent a night at the Blowholes, while Sandra produced a heartbreaking second interview with Ellie and Jake. Both spent a significant tim...

Nov 30, 202140 minSeason 1Ep. 5

The criminal investigation

Days 8-10: As Cleo’s disappearance stretches past a week, police and forensics search around the Smith family house. But they have one message - Ellie and Jake are not suspects. We’ve seen police make these searches in other missing persons cases - including William Tyrrell, Daniel Morcombe and in the Claremont Serial Killings, and as this episode’s guest Criminologist Dr Xanthé Mallett explains, police always examine the family and those closest to them - to rule them out. As Ellie and Jake ent...

Nov 26, 202137 minSeason 1Ep. 4

A taskforce is formed

Days 5-7: The land search for Cleo Smith starts to wind back as police increasingly believe the four-year-old was abducted. Cleo has now been missing for 5 days, and with every passing hour, the search gets more and more desperate. It’s becoming clear this is the most important case in the state. And that’s when, on day 6, a 100-officer strong taskforce - named Taskforce Rodia - is launched and $1 million on offer to anyone who provides the vital information which finds the little girl. This is ...

Nov 22, 202135 minSeason 1Ep. 3

The first interview

Days 3 and 4: It’s now been more than 72 hours since Ellie and Jake have seen little Cleo, and looking at the evidence of the zip and missing sleeping bag, it’s appearing more and more likely that the four-year-old was abducted. In the depths of their fear and desperation to find their daughter, Ellie Smith and Jake Gliddon face TV cameras to try and reach as many people as possible. Despite an overwhelming amount of support, there were also a lot of people who figured themselves as armchair det...

Nov 19, 202126 minSeason 1Ep. 2

The first desperate days

Days 1 and 2: A family holiday turns to a nightmare. When Ellie Smith, her partner Jake Gliddon and their two daughters packed their bags for a weekend trip to the Blowholes, just outside Carnarvon in WA’s north, they could have never imagined the next 18-days would be a living hell. As the family went to bed on the first night on their camping trip, in the morning they’d awake to find four-year-old Cleo missing. Almost every parent has experienced the panic of not being able to find a child, an...

Nov 16, 202138 minSeason 1Ep. 1

My name is Cleo: The 18-day police miracle trailer

It’s a scenario too harrowing to believe. A four-year-old child vanishes without a trace in the middle of the night while on a family holiday in a remote, rugged and dangerous part of the Western Australian coast. Cleo Smith had been sleeping next to her baby sister, in the same tent as her parents. When they wake in the morning, she’s gone. What follows is every parent’s worst nightmare. A land, sea and air search which soon turns to fears, she’s been abducted. For weeks, Ellie Smith and Jake G...

Nov 09, 20215 min
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