Cleo Smith's mother says she sensed her kidnapping

"She was basically nowhere near me. And that was the second I realised that someone had her and both my head and my heart connected to that. Someone has her and someone had my baby," she told 60 Minutes reporter, Tara Brown.

Cleo Smith was last seen in her family's tent in the early hours of October 16 at the remote Blowholes Shacks campsite in Macleod, sparking an extensive 18-day search involving land and aircrews, roadblocks, and CCTV footage.

She was eventually found safe early on November 3 when police broke into a house in Carnarvon, a town about 100 km (62 miles) south of the campsite on the far northwest coast of the state.

"She's learning and so are we as to how to go through our days again, after everything that's happened. But she's okay," Ellie added.

The man accused of abducting Cleo Smith plead guilty in January 2022 and is now facing a maximum term of 20 years behind bars.