A disturbing new clue in the disappearance of toddler Cleo Smith has pointed to the 'worst case scenario' the little girl was snatched from her tent as her family slept.
It has been revealed little Cleo was too small in stature to reach the zipper of the tent, which was found hanging open by her mother at 6am, to open it herself.
The four-year-old was last seen by her parents at about 1.30am on Saturday in the family's tent at the Blowholes campsite near Carnarvon on Western Australia's north-west coast.
WA Police Inspector Jon Munday said the height of the zip opening was a major factor in the possibility Cleo was now in the hands of a third party.
Cleo vanished from the Blowholes campground near Carnarvon, on WA's remote northwest coast, in the early hours of Saturday morning
The new detail comes after WA Police announced they will investigate the 'worst case scenario' that Cleo was abducted from the tent while other campers claim they heard the sound of a car speeding off around 3am.
Meanwhile, police have revealed up to 20 sex offenders live near the campsite where missing toddler Cleo Smith was last seen five days ago.
Detectives have since confirmed they are investigating nearby campers' claims they heard the sound of 'screeching' tyres in the early hours of the morning.
Assistant WA Police Commissioner Darryl Gaunt said on Wednesday police were not ruling any possibilities out about what may have happened to Cleo.
He confirmed there were 'between 10 and 20' known sex offenders around the Carnarvon area.
Mr Gaunt said detectives have been making inquiries about their whereabouts but officers believe that none were involved at this point.
In relation to the car sounds, he told 6PR Radio: 'We haven't ruled it out or in, it's a little bit unsubstantiated but we're not ruling it out.
'We have a lot of information from people within or who have been in the area.
'They have reported certain noises or activities - most have been explained.'
Daily Mail Australia exclusively revealed Cleo had asked her parents for a sip of water at about 1.30am on Saturday in the final 'interaction' she had with her parents.
The search for Cleo (pictured with mother Ellie and sister Isla) has entered its fifth day with police saying they will not rule anything out
Cleo was nowhere to be found when her mother and stepdad woke in their shared tent at around 6am on Saturday
Police roped off the area where Cleo vanished from her tent (pictured) in the middle of the night as they continue to investigate her disappearance
When her mother Ellie Smith and stepdad Jake Gliddon woke up at 6am their daughter was gone.
Meanwhile, police have received information from people 'from around the world' adding police are treating the little girl's disappearance as a 'search and rescue mission'.
'To say we're treating this as an abduction is not correct, we're treating it as a search-and-rescue mission, first and foremost, and that remains our mission,' he said.
He added that as the search enters its fifth day 'the more time goes on the less chances we'll find Cleo alive'.
Meanwhile, police have received information from people 'from around the world' adding police are treating the little girl's disappearance as a 'search and rescue mission'
The red and grey sleeping bag Cleo had been inside has also vanished, with Mr Gaunt saying more resources have been added to the investigation.
'At this stage we're not really finding much that tends to give us an impression one way or the other as to what's happened,' he said.
Cleo was not physically seen at the campsite when the family arrived on Friday, Mr Gaunt said, but there was enough evidence to 'reassure' detectives she was there.
Ms Smith told reporters when she woke in the morning the tent zipper had been almost completely opened and that Cleo had been sleeping in a separate part of the tent.
Ellie Smith is seen with Cleo (left) and her baby sister Isla. The mother said when she woke in the morning the tent zipper was nearly completely open
The entire area has been declared a potential crime scene, with the campsite closed and investigators begging for anyone who has been in the area to come forward.
Police are focusing their efforts on investigating the 'worst case scenario' that little Cleo was abducted from the tent while her family slept, with a complex criminal investigation underway.
The important details Cleo Smith's terrified mum revealed in her heartbreaking TV interview - as police focus on 'worst case scenario' that she was snatched while her baby sister slept metres awayCleo Smith's shell-shocked mother has revealed the four-year-old had been sleeping metres from her baby sister before she disappeared from the family's tent, as police focus on a 'worst case scenario' where the little girl was snatched in her sleep.
Ellie Smith and her partner, Jake Gliddon fronted the media for the first time on Tuesday as the fourth day of the search for little Cleo came to a close.
The four-year-old was last seen about 1:30am on Saturday near the Blowholes campsite north of Carnavon in Western Australia before she seemingly vanished.
Ms Smith said she had woken up around 6am on Sunday to find their tent zipper was nearly completely open and her four-year-old nowhere to be seen.
She revealed Cleo had been sleeping in a separate area of the tent, with her baby sister just metres away.
Police are now focusing their efforts on investigating the 'worst case scenario' that little Cleo was abducted from the tent while her family lay sleeping, with a complex criminal investigation underway.
Police are becoming increasingly concerned that little Cleo (pictured) may have been abducted in the early hours of Saturday morning
Ellie Smith and her partner, Jake Gliddon (pictured) fronted the media for the first time on Tuesday after four-year-old Cleo (middle) went missing near the Blowholes campsite north of Carnarvon in Western Australia five days ago
Inspector Jon Munday said Cleo could 'potentially be anywhere now' given five days have passed since she was last seen.
'We can't rule out the fact that Cleo may be still in the area, we can't rule out the fact she's left the area and if she's left the area that is probably is our worse case scenario because that really paints a sinister picture with what's happened.
'It is a race against time. We're just trying to find answers.'
The entire area has been declared a potential crime scene, with the campsite closed and investigators begging for anyone who has been in the area to come forward.
Investigators called it 'a mystery we're trying to unravel', as they revealed 'quite a lot of people' had been staying at the Blowholes campground that night.
This means it will be even more difficult to check for tyre markings on the sandy road leading up to the ground, amid reports some campers heard a car speed off around 3am on Saturday morning.
Cleo's mum explained her daughter had been inside a red and grey sleeping bag beside the cot of her younger Isla when she disappeared.
'As we passed the (tent) divider, I went into the other room and the zipper was open,' she said. 'She was gone. The tent was completely open.'
Police have not ruled out any theories relating to her disappearance - including the possibility that she was abducted.
Ms Smith (pictured) said she woke up at 6am on Saturday to find their tent zipper was almost completely undone and
