A new podcast from The West Australian titled ‘My Name Is Cleo: The 18-day police miracle,’ details the search and investigation of Cleo Smith’s disappearance.
First hand accounts from locals, authorities and reporters will give listeners the inside scoop on everything that went on during the investigation.
The podcast will feature expert analysis from award-winning producer Natalie Bonjolo, who hosted Claremont: The Trial podcast, which currently has over seven million downloads.
Bonjolo said: “The search for Cleo galvanised not just a town, but the whole country.
“In this podcast some of those involved recount in their own words what it was like the day after Cleo disappeared, and in the eighteen days that followed.
“What they share is a window into the extraordinary scenes that were unfolding.”
Bonjolo is joined by award-winning investigative journalist Kristin Shorten.
Shorten has a history of covering high-profile child abduction cases in Australia, including the 2003 disappearance of Daniel Morcombe in Queensland and the 1997 case of Gerald Ross.
“When Cleo vanished, her disappearance felt chillingly similar to that of other child abductions I’ve covered so as the days passed, I definitely assumed the worst,” Shorten said.
“I feared not only for Cleo but also worried that she might never be found and her family might never know what had happened to her.
“So for police to find her alive was so extraordinary, unexpected and unlike any outcome I’d ever reported on.”
The podcast premiered on the 16th of November and can be found on all major podcast streaming services and here.
