SURVIVING A NIGHTMARE

THE LITTLE GIRL'S PARENTS ARE DETERMINED NOT TO LET HER KIDNAPPING ORDEAL DEFINE HER

- Sara Tapia

Her kidnapper is behind bars and will be for the foreseeable future, but 5-year-old Cleo Smith is still suffering from the lingering trauma that she experienced during her harrowing 18-day ordeal back in October 2021.

“She still has her sad nights, her nightmare nights,” Cleo’s mother Ellie Smith told 60 Minutes on May 14. “She doesn’t have the words to explain what she’s sad about, she just knows that’s how she feels, so they’re just sad nights. Her nightmare nights are the worst nights.”

It’s been over 18 months since Cleo was snatched in the dead of night as she slept next to her parents and little sister, Isla, on a camping trip in Western Australia. Upon discovering their little girl was missing Ellie and Jake Gliddon, Cleo’s stepdad, frantically searched the area before making a panicked phone call to police.