‘Loner’ held over Cleo Smith’s abduction ‘bashed in cell by another prisoner’

A SUSPECT held over allegedly abducting Cleo Smith has been rushed to hospital twice, cops say.

Terry Kelly, 36, injured himself at a police station in Carnarvon, Western Australia, while being held over the alleged kidnapping of the four-year-old girl.

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Kelly is said to have been held on Wednesday morning just after officers swooped on a property where they found four-year-old Cleo.

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde, the lead detective behind the search for the child, told 6PR: “My understanding is the man in custody self-harmed.”

He said: “Obviously in modern police stations, there’s CCTV in all the cells and everything else.

“That’s what the understanding was, he was taken to hospital. When he’s declared fit to interview, that’s what we will do.”

The West Australian reported this morning that Kelly would be well enough to be interviewed later on Thursday.

Kelly is the prime suspect after little Cleo vanished from her tent at Blowholes campground site in Western Australia.

He was pictured bandaged after sustaining injuries.

West Australian Police deputy commissioner Col Blanch said the suspect, who had “no serious injuries”, was taken to hospital twice.

A mum of one prisoner had told Daily Mail Australia her son attacked the kidnapping suspect while both men were held in a cell.

Cops revealed they broke down the door of his house in Carnarvon, Western Australia, at 12:46am yesterday – where they found Cleo.

Police cameras show the moment the young girl was carried in an officer’s arms to safety following the burst in – returning her to her family after 18 days.

She was alive and well and was found playing with toys.

Cleo — dubbed Australia’s Madeleine McCann — is now back with mum Ellie while detectives try to find a motive for her abduction.

She was pictured sitting up in a hospital bed sucking an ice lolly after getting the all-clear by medics as a wave of joy swept the nation.

Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said: “They really did not know what they were going to encounter.

“It was the hard work of the team that did (lead to the house), analysing all that information gathering it all, working through it and finding that needle in that haystack.”

Police last night revealed Kelly was held by plain-clothed officers who were tracking his car and swooped before he returned home.

The “quiet” suspect was arrested in the car, and then police proceeded to bust into the locked house.

But they admitted they had no idea if they would find the tot alive when they broke down the locked front door of his property with a crowbar and battering ram.

The rescue has sparked a flurry of questions, including why she ended up there after being snatched 43 miles away.

Detective Senior Sergeant Cameron Blaine struggled to contain his emotions as he told how the frantic search ended in elation as Cleo was found alone in a room.

He said: “I was one of four guys that was fortunate enough to go through that door and make that rescue. It was absolutely fantastic — incredible.

“One of the guys jumped in front of me and picked her up and I just wanted to be absolutely sure . . . it certainly looked like Cleo.”

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