Suspect in Australian girl’s abduction to be charged soon

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Police expect to charge a local man with abducting a 4-year-old girl from her family’s camping tent 18 days before police smashed into a locked house and rescued her in an outcome celebrated around Australia. The suspect was arrested early Wednesday around the time that police found Cleo Smith alone in the house in the town of Carnarvon. “My name is Cleo,” the smiling girl told the police officers who rescued her. Police did not detail the charges the man would face and have disclosed little about what made him a suspect. After Cleo was reunited with her family, balloons were raised on buildings and signs were posted in her hometown welcoming Cleo home.