Cleo Smith cops admit they’re searching for a BODY amid fears ‘Aussie Maddie’ may be already dead

POLICE searching for missing Cleo Smith have revealed they are looking for “a body.” The four-year-old vanished from her family’s remote campsite in Western Australia on Saturday morning. Police have admitted they are looking for ‘a body’ in the search for Cleo Smith 9NewsCleo vanished from a remote campsite in Western Australia on Saturday[/caption] Cops say they believe she “was taken” from her tent as her parents slept. But today deputy police commissioner Col Blanch revealed that investigators are searching for the child’s remains. He said: “Cleo disappeared from her family’s tent, despite an extensive land, sea and air search, we have not yet located her body.” The law enforcement chief said that if the little girl had left her tent by herself then she would have been found by now “That leads us to believe she was taken,” Mr Blanch added. He later said police are keeping an open mind and would not comment further on whether it was likely the girl has been “buried in the area.” Most read in News TEEN MURDER CHARGE Teen, 14, charged with murder of boy, 5, after body found in river THERE SHE BLOWS Storm Aurore to batter Britain with two inches of rain & 70mph gales SNAKES ON A CRANE 'World’s biggest snake' so huge it has to be lifted by CRANE from lair 'SPIKED' I was on night out when my hand started to throb and I collapsed from 'injection' tragic tot Mum & lover ‘killed girl, 1, by stamping on her then tried to blame 2-year-old' LOTTO HELL I won £6.5m on lottery but blew the lot and ended up homeless Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde said police “hold great fears for her safety”. West Australian Premier Mark McGowan said cops are searching “around the clock” for the little girl while announcing a $1m reward to her find her. This is quickest time such a reward has been issued after the disappearance of an Australian citizen. The family’s camp where Cleo was last seen is located 47 miles from Carnarvon and 544 miles from Perth. Cleo’s mum Ellie says her daughter woke up at 1.30am on Saturday morning asking for a drink of water – and that was the last time she spoke to her. Ellie and partner Jake woke up again at around 6am to find Cleo had gone, reports say. The child along with her pinks pyjamas and red sleeping bag were nowhere to be found. More than 100 cops, soldiers, volunteers and local Aboriginal bush trackers are currently involved in an “extensive land, sea and air search”. Members of the homicide squad reportedly joined the search for the girl at the weekend. Cops have questioned all the local registered sex offenders as well as nearby campers – with the investigation coming to a standstill, reports say. Cleo’s biological father Daniel Staines has also been spoken to as part of standard police procedure but he is not a suspect. Daniel lives more than 600 miles south of where his daughter was last seen. The next step for police is to try and trace missing CCTV and dashcam footage taken from the area in the hope it could uncover clues. Locals have been urged to check bins and roadsides for the red sleeping bag that Cleo was using the night she vanished. The local land search is expected to end in the next 24 hours with the hunt for the child going nationwide. Detective Superintendent Wilde said: “We have got the nation looking for Cleo. “Today’s announcement is to say everyone needs to be looking for Cleo. “Look at people who have acted strangely since the 16th (of October), look at people who have been in that area … ask questions.” Inspector Jon Munday said yesterday that a new piece of information suggests Cleo was kidnapped. He told reporters that the child was too short to reach the zipper to open the tent on her own. WA policeCleo has been missing since Saturday and police admit they have yet to identify a suspect[/caption] This rules out the theory that Cleo left the camp site on her own in the early hours of the morning. Munday said: “One of the major circumstances that has given us the cause for alarm for Cleo’s safety is the fact that one of those zippered entryways was opened. “The positioning of that zipper for the flap is one of the circumstances that has caused us to have grave concerns for Cleo’s safety.” Munday confirmed that cops had not identified any suspects. Her mum Ellie said the four-year-old would never have run off by herself She said: “She’s lazy when it comes to walking. She would never leave that tent alone.” Dr Graham Hill, an ex-Scotland Yard detective who worked on the Madeleine McCann probe, agrees that Cleo was probably kidnapped. He told the West Australian kids usually only disappear for two reasons: either they wander off or have an accident, or they are taken. Hill said: “Bearing in mind she’s only a small little girl, she’s not going to get that far. Four key clues POLICE searching for missing Cleo Smith are faced with four crucial lines of enquiry that suggest she may have been snatched. Missing sleeping bag: Not only was there no sign of Cleo when her parents woke, but her red and black sleeping bag was also gone. Experts question whether she would have taken it with her if she had simply wandered off on her own. Police released a photo of a similar bag, along with Cleo’s distinctive pink pyjamas. They urged local residents to check their bins in case evidence had been dumped inside. Tent zip “too high”: The door flap on the family tent was had been zipped so high it would have been impossible for a four-year-old to reach, said Inspector Jon Munday. He added: “The positioning of that zipper for the flap is one of the circumstances that has caused us to have grave concerns for Cleo’s safety. That tent has been thoroughly examined by our forensic team.” “Screeching car tyres”: Deputy Police Commissioner Darryl Gaunt confirmed cops were looking into a camper’s report of a car heard screeching about 3am – 90 minutes after Cleo’s mum last saw her in the tent. “It’s a little bit unsubstantiated but we’re not ruling it out,” he said, adding it was just one of several reports from people who noticed odd activities and noises overnight. Usual suspects: Police said between ten and 20 sex offenders were known to be in the area around the Blowholes campsite, near Carnarvon, Western Australia. Detectives said they have spoken to them all to check their movements, and none are suspects at this stage. They also conceded said any kidnapper could have left the area before police set up roadblocks. “Little girls and boys get tired really quick and in the middle of the night they are half asleep anyway. “The real complication, from what I can see, is the fact that her sleeping bag’s gone missing. “I would say it’s a remote chance that she’s got up wandered off and taken her sleeping bag with her.” Police said they are looking into reports that a car was heard screeching around the area at 3am on Saturday – 90 minutes after Cleo was last seen. Deputy Police Commissioner Darryl Gaunt said: “It’s a little bit unsubstantiated but we’re not ruling it out.” He added it was just one of several reports from people who noticed odd activities or noises during the night. Gaunt said cops had “investigated and responded to the vast majority” of these reports and had been able to explain “most of them”. Speaking about the search earlier this week, mum Ellie said: “We’re going to find her — we have to.” Asked if someone may have taken her daughter, Ellie said someone has to know where she is. “It’s been four days – they have to,” she says. NSW Police ForcePolice released a picture of a sleeping bag like the one Cleo was using[/caption] NSW Police ForceThe child was wearing distinctive pink pyjamas[/caption]