The leading investigator in the search for missing girl Cleo Smith believes the four-year-old is still in Western Australia.
Cleo has not been seen since the early hours of Saturday October 16, where she had been camping with her parents and baby sister at Blowholes campground, a tourist hotspot about 70km from Carnarvon in Australia's western state.
Western Australia Police say a clue regarding the tent's zipper is a dead giveaway that someone else was involved in her disappearance.
Her mother, Ellie Smith, told local media on Tuesday her daughter had woken about 1:30am asking for some water. Cleo had been sleeping in a separate area of the tent with her baby sister, Isla.
When Smith woke a few hours later, she found the zipper to the family's tent was open and Cleo - including her sleeping bag - were no longer there.
This has seen West Australian Premier Mark McGowan announce a AU$1 million reward to anyone who has information that can help authorities find Cleo.
The police are exploring "all avenues" and understand the little girl could be "anywhere" by now, but Detective Superintendent Rob Wilde - who is leading the investigation - believes that it's unlikely the person who snatched the four-year-old has crossed the border into another state.
"It's always possible but it's more likely that if someone has taken Cleo that they would still be within Western Australia," he told the West Australian.
"If they had crossed the border, it would imply that someone from the eastern states had committed the offence, when it's more likely that - if that is what's happened - the offender would be from here."
Even though he believes Cleo is still in Western Australia, Supt Wilde has alerted all jurisdictions across the country to ensure the little girl doesn't slip through the cracks.
"Photos, posters and descriptions of Cleo have been publicised nationwide, but there are no leads or credible sightings to indicate she has been taken interstate," he said.
The detective believes if Cleo was abducted then the attacker was "bold and brazen" to take her while she lay beside her sleeping family.
He said it would have been "opportunistic" for the abductor to take Cleo from the tent just hours after her family had arrived at the campsite.
He urged anyone that has information on the four-year-old's disappearance to come forward and claim the $1m reward.
"If not just for the fact that this is a small child missing, then for the monetary reward available," he said.
