A landmark $1million reward for information helping to find Cleo Smith indicates police believe someone knows what happened to the missing toddler and could be enticed into coming forward.
The sixth day of the search for the missing four-year-old Carnavon girl took a sinister turn on Wednesday as police revealed they have been looking for a body, as the hopes of finding her alive begin to fade.
Abduction if now the key line of inquiry, and WA Premier Mark McGowan has offered $1million for any information relating to the disappearance of Cleo, who disappeared from a tent she shared with her mum, stepdad and baby sister during the early hours of Saturday morning.
It is the first time in the state's history that the seven-figure sum has been offered for help solving a case within the first week of an investigation.
Renowned criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro said the payment - which is the highest police will ever exchange for information - is typically only offered once a case goes cold, as a means to get it back in the public eye.
A whopping $1million reward has been offered for help finding missing Western Australian toddler Cleo Smith (pictured)
'It’s just day six and there is a $1million reward out,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
'I’m unaware of that ever occurring. Normally it takes years for these kinds of rewards to be offered.'
Detective Superintendent Scott Cook told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2018 that the amount offered does not reflect the importance of a case or of the person missing but is tactical.
'If we set every unsolved homicide at $1 million overnight, no one would notice. We need to bring attention to it in order to get value out of it,' he said.
'An investigation might suit three (stages of reward) announcements, so we can make a fresh appeal for information.'
Such large rewards are offered in the belief that someone knows critical information but considers the benefit of revealing it is outweighed by the downside, particularly if it implicates them in the crime.
The reward is designed to make the pro's of giving information outweigh the cons.
Once the $1 million is on the table, the price will not climb any higher.
WA Premier Mark McGowan (pictured) announced the $1million reward in a press conference on Wednesday, as police let slip they have been searching for a 'body'
Cleo's mother Ellie Smith has been left distraught since her four-year-old daughter (pictured) vanished from a campsite in Western Australia
The search for Cleo has entered a sixth day with crews continuing to scour the area
'If we jump from zero to $1 million in one move, we’re done. That is the limit,' he said.
With the hopes of finding Cleo alive declining by the day, police have immediately gone to $1 million to throw everything at the case now.
Mr Watson-Munro said the top reward being offered at this point in the case also suggests police have a lot more information about the disappearance than has been released.
'My thoughts on the reward being announced so early is that there is extreme urgency in this case, however a lot of cases have extreme urgency and it is a lot of money to flush somebody out of the woodwork,' he said.
'So it is quite probable WA Police have an idea about who the abductor might be, or it could be that they have an idea that other people may know who it is.'
'I don’t think it is a move out of desperation and I suspect they have much more information than they are disclosing to the public, which is strategically wise.'
'It’s actually quite refreshing to see such a proactive and pre-emptive move so soon after a crime has occurred because if it goes on too long the trail will go cold,' he said.
Of the thousands of unsolved cases across Australia, only a handful will ever be escalated to the $1million mark.
