Mum reveals Cleo Smith's ongoing torment: 'Complete meltdown'
The mum of Cleo Smith has revealed her daughter is still trying to make sense of her ordeal months after she was allegedly kidnapped from a Western Australian campsite.
Cleo, 4, vanished from the Blowholes campsite in October before she was found in her hometown of Carnarvon, more than 70km south, 18 days later.
Cleo's mum Ellie Smith told Nine's The Today Show on Monday morning her daughter has some understanding of her ordeal which involved allegedly being kidnapped from her tent.
"She understands a bit too much of what's happened. Yeah, so we're kind of working it out," Ms Smith told the program.
Cleo's stepdad Jake Gliddon told the program the four-year-old suffers nightmares.
On bad days, she has a "complete meltdown", her mum said.
In the early hours of November 3, police found Cleo locked in a Carnarvon home.
In audio released by WA Police, officers including Detective Sergeant Cameron Blaine were heard trying to calm the little girl.
He asked her repeatedly for her name to determine whether police had found her to which she finally stammered the famous words: "my name is Cleo".
In newly-released footage obtained by 60 Minutes, just hours after police found Cleo, she was seen happily dancing and singing.
But her mum told 60 Minutes while it was "such a beautiful moment just to see her as the old Cleo" the family could tell "she's still different" after what she went through.
"That's just our life now," she said.
Ms Smith told 2GB on Monday morning Cleo continues to work through the ordeal months on.
"She's still going through getting [it through] her head as to what happened," Ms Smith told 2GB.
"[It's] more her trying to figure that out now."
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