The police returned to the location where Cleo Smith, a 4-year-old girl, went missing from her parents’ tent as the investigation of her disappearance continued.
Two police officers revisited the Blowholes campground on Friday afternoon to further map the area with drones.
Drones were also seen hovering near where Cleo went missing throughout the first week of the hunt as police officers searched the area for any sight of the young girl.
Detective-Superintendent Rod Wilde and Assistant Commissioner Brad Royce joined senior investigators at the campsite after working around the clock to crack the case from Perth.
Superindentent Wilde, a career veteran of nearly 40 years, leads about 100 officers in operation as head of Taskforce Rodia.
On Thursday, forensic officers continued to visit nearby businesses to hunt for clues to help them find Cleo.
Various teams of officers spent their Thursday in the town’s light industrial area collecting CCTV footage.
Wilde, on Friday, said that police were still working to track down the driver of a vehicle seen near the campsite turning right out of Blowholes Road, heading south towards Carnarvon.
Two individuals reported the vehicle driving north on North West Coastal Highway informed that between 3 am and 3.30 am on October 16, the morning Cleo was suspected of being abducted from her family’s tent.
“It’s a priority for us to identify who was in that vehicle,” Wilde said.
“We haven’t identified that vehicle yet, and we’d like to do so.”
The leading detective said police continued to check CCTV in the area and investigate other means but had no leads on the car.
“Hopefully, the driver or persons in it will come forward and make themselves known to police,” he said.
Police Minister Paul Papalia said from the moment the investigation began, “everything that’s been required has been undertaken.”
“What you saw today was Detective Superintendent Wilde just providing information as to how the police have conducted their investigation to date. Nothing to read into it other than that,” he said.
“They’re providing a bit more information. Providing, I hope, some comfort to the wider community about the seriousness with which this investigation was treated from day one.”