Aimee Walker
NFL star Benji Marshall’s wife, Zoe Marshall, has said the photo released by police of Cleo Smith, the missing four-year-old who was found after an 18-day search, makes her ‘so uncomfortable’.
The TV and radio host took to her Instagram stories to ask why Western Australian police have released the picture of the child ‘waving and smiling’ after they had found her.
She penned: “This makes me so uncomfortable. Why is there a photo of her waving and smiling? Why is there someone taking a photo and sharing it with the world at all?”
Watch Cleo Smith’s first words to police when she was found below…
She covered the young girl’s face while reposting the image, adding: “What this little girl has endured. I just don’t get it. Let her recover, be with her family, get the camera out of her face.”
After attracting media attention with her post, Marshall then released a statement to the Daily Mail, which praised the ‘incredible’ work the police had done in finding her.
She said: “I’m so relieved and happy that Cleo is home and safe with her family where she belongs. As a mum of two small children, this story really hit home.
“When Cleo was found I instinctively felt protective of the family and what they’ve been through.
“Like everyone in Australia, I just want Cleo and her parents to have the privacy to heal and recover. I wish them only the best.”
Cleo Smith’s Mother Breaks Silence As Four-Year-Old Daughter Is Found Following 18-Day Search
She continued: “The WA Police and the investigators did an incredible, amazing job and are to be applauded.”
The four-year-old reportedly went missing from the Blowholes campsite on October 16.
Police found her ‘safe and well’ inside a locked house in Carnavon, just a short drive from her family home.
A 36-year-old man is believed to have been charged with forcibly or fraudulently taking or enticing a child under the age of 16.
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