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The stunning rescue of Cleo Smith is being hailed as a miracle after the four-year-old was found alive and well in a locked house.

Her discovery came more than two weeks after she disappeared from her family's tent at a remote West Australian campsite.

WA police officers discovered Cleo about 1am on Wednesday, alone in a bed in the house in Carnarvon, some 75 kilometres south from where she went missing and just minutes from her family home.

The dramatic rescue was captured by an officer's body-worn camera.

"My name is Cleo," the little girl said when asked for her name.

A 36-year-old Carnarvon man is in custody and has been questioned over the suspected abduction. He is expected to face charges.

Police say he has no connection to Cleo's family and was not at the house when Cleo was found. The man was not on a list of known sex offenders in Carnarvon, a tourist gateway on WA's northwest coast known for its banana plantations.

There are no other suspects linked to the case.

Cleo was examined in hospital and found to be in good physical health. Police shared a photograph of her smiling and waving from her hospital bed after reuniting with her mother Ellie Smith and Ms Smith's partner, Jake Gliddon.

"Our family is whole again," Ms Smith posted on Instagram.

Police Commissioner Chris Dawson thanked the WA community, volunteers and officers involved in the 18-day search for Cleo.

"It's a wonderful day for this little girl and her loving family. I know the nation is rejoicing," he told reporters in Carnarvon.

One of the four officers who rescued Cleo, homicide detective Cameron Blaine, said it was "without a doubt" the best moment of his career.

"To see her sitting there in the way that she was, it was just incredible," Senior Sergeant Blaine said, describing the family's reaction to the news as ecstatic.

"Having seen her a couple of times this morning, she's a little Energizer bunny. She's a very, very sweet, energetic girl, very trusting and very open with us."

Authorities have been tight-lipped on the exact intelligence that led officers to Cleo's location.

The state government had offered a $1 million reward for information to find Cleo, but Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch said it was not expected to be claimed.

He said police received intelligence on Tuesday guiding them to the house, but the breakthrough was the result of investigators piecing evidence together.

Mr Blanch described seeing seasoned detectives "openly crying with relief".

"We were literally looking for a needle in a haystack and we found it," he told Perth radio 6PR.

"When she said 'my name is Cleo', I don't think there was a dry eye in the house."

Talkback radio lines were flooded by emotional callers as the news came to light.

NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said it was an amazing story, revealing his WA counterpart had broken down upon learning Cleo had been discovered.

Premier Mark McGowan hailed the efforts of investigators.

"It often is a tragic outcome but this is great news and uplifting for the entire country," he said.

Cleo vanished from a tent at the Blowholes campsite, about 950km north of Perth, after the family arrived on October 16.

She was last seen by her mother about 1.30am that night.

The search for Cleo captured national attention, with her rescue described by University of Newcastle criminologist Xanthe Mallet as a "once in a lifetime miracle".

WA investigators spoke to more than 110 people who were at the campsite when Cleo went missing.

They sifted through more than 1000 calls to Crime Stoppers and trawled through vast amounts of material for forensic clues.

They had also been searching for the driver of a car seen leaving the campsite in the middle of the night on October 16.

Police had suspected Cleo was abducted by an "opportunistic" offender.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison welcomed Cleo's discovery, saying it was "wonderful, relieving news".

© AAP 2021

The NRL future of Penrith utility Tyrone May is at a crossroads after the reigning premiers sacked the 25-year-old following an ill-thought out social media post.

A month on from the club's grand final win over South Sydney, May was forced to front the club's board where his one-year contract was terminated with immediate effect.

May was given support by the club's co-captain Nathan Cleary who posted on Instagram: "My brother no matter what. Got you always."

It was the same social media platform which led to May's demise when, in the aftermath of the club's premiership victory, he uploaded a photo of himself alongside coach Ivan Cleary leaving Parramatta Local Court in 2020.

The image was captioned with lyrics from Canadian rapper Drake which read: "And the dirt that they threw on my name turned to soil and I grew up out it. Time for y'all to figure out what y'all gon' do about it. Love my brothers".

May had been before magistrate Robyn Denes where he pleaded guilty to four counts of recording intimate images without consent.

He was sentenced to 300 hours of community work and narrowly avoided jail time with Denes describing his behaviour as "morally reprehensible".

After being stood down by the NRL in 2019 he was allowed to return to the Panthers squad and played in the club's 2020 grand final loss to Melbourne.

He came off the bench in this year's victory over the Rabbitohs and it was then that he uploaded the post which marked the beginning of the end of his 56-game Panthers career.

The post was quickly deleted, but the NRL's integrity unit whacked him with a $7500 fine for "social media posts which do not align with the values of the game".

Penrith subsequently stood the one-time Samoan international down, before the board met last Wednesday where they determined May's conduct "constituted a serious breach of his NRL playing contract".

A week later May met with the board and Penrith's directors opted to sever ties.

"As a club we understand our responsibilities to the game, our corporate partners, our members and fans, and the wider rugby league community," Panthers chief executive Brian Fletcher said.

"The board observed due process in this matter and considered all relevant factors before reaching its final decision.

"Panthers will coordinate with the NRL to ensure Tyrone receives access to any support services he needs moving forward."

Penrith are already making moves to shore up a replacement with unsigned Warriors playmaker Sean O'Sullivan recently linked with a move to the club.

May, meanwhile, faces an uncertain wait to find a new team.

© AAP 2021

The stunning rescue of Cleo Smith is being hailed as a miracle after the four-year-old was found alive and well in a locked house, more than two weeks after she disappeared from her family's tent at a remote West Australian campsite.

Cleo was discovered by WA police officers about 1am on Wednesday, alone in a room in the house in Carnarvon, some 75km south from where she went missing.

"One of the officers picked her up in his arms and asked her 'What's your name?'" Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch revealed.

"She said, 'My name is Cleo.'"

A 36-year-old man from Carnarvon is in custody and is being questioned in relation to the suspected abduction.

Police say he has no connection to Cleo's family and was not present at the house when Cleo was found.

Authorities have so far been tightlipped on the exact intelligence that led officers to the property just minutes from Cleo's family home.

The girl has been reunited with her mother Ellie Smith and Ms Smith's partner Jake Gliddon. She was taken to hospital on Wednesday to be examined but was said to be smiling and in good physical health.

"Our family is whole again," Ms Smith posted on Instagram alongside a photo of Cleo.

Mr Blanch thanked the WA community, volunteers and officers involved in the 18-day search for Cleo.

He described seeing seasoned detectives "openly crying with relief", saying it was the result of some incredible police work.

"We were literally looking for a needle in a haystack and we found it," he told Perth radio 6PR.

"When she said 'my name is Cleo', I don't think there was a dry eye in the house.

"This really did hit the heart of Western Australians, it went international and to see Cleo rescued this morning, I'm speechless."

Premier Mark McGowan said he had received a message from the police commissioner in the early hours of the morning, with a photo showing Cleo smiling in her hospital bed.

"It was a surprise, I'm sure to all of us, but the result of some great police work by some great people," he told reporters.

"It often is a tragic outcome but this is great news and uplifting for the entire country."

The state government had offered a $1 million reward for information to find Cleo but Mr Blanch said it was not expected to be claimed.

He said police had received intelligence on Tuesday guiding them to the house but the breakthrough had been the result of investigators piecing evidence together.

"There were lots of things. There were car movements, there were phone movements, there were antecedents of people," he said.

Talkback radio lines were flooded on Wednesday with callers describing their own emotion at learning the news.

Cleo vanished from a tent at the Blowholes campsite, about 950km north of Perth, after the family arrived on October 16.

She was last seen by her mother around 1.30am that night.

The search for Cleo captured national attention, with her rescue described by University of Newcastle criminologist Xanthe Mallet as a "once in a lifetime miracle".

NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller recounted a conversation he had with WA counterpart Chris Dawson after Cleo was found.

"He said when he got the call this morning he broke down and cried," he told Sydney radio 2GB.

"It's such an amazing story."

WA investigators spoke to more than 110 people who were at the campsite when Cleo went missing.

They sifted through more than 1000 calls to Crime Stoppers and trawled through vast amounts of material for forensic clues.

They had also been searching for the driver of a car seen leaving the campsite in the middle of the night on October 16.

WA Police had suspected she was abducted by an "opportunistic" offender. A press conference was set to be held on Wednesday in Carnarvon, a popular tourist town on WA's northwest coast known for its banana plantations.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Cleo's discovery was "wonderful, relieving news" and he thanked police for their efforts.

© AAP 2021