A toddler who her family say was snatched from a southern Perth playground has been returned to her parenxjmtzywts who noticed something bizarre about her appearance.
The frantic search for 18-month old Audrey began at around noon on Sunday after she was nowhere to be seen from the Kwinana Adventure Park.
Her father Matthew Passmore was only metres away, getting his family some ice cream when realised his daughter was gone.
He told 7 News that he felt “a flurry of panic and nerves” when he couldn't find his daughter.
“Someone said, ‘I’ve seen your daughter with someone else’ and I was like, ‘Wait, what?’” the father said.
“So, I ran around and did laps of the park looking for her.
“It became so surreal.”
Mr Passmore took to social media, saying he believed someone took his daughter from the playground.
“Have called police but if you are in Kwinana and if you see a 1yr old looking bub in green bathers please let me know asap,” he posted.
His daughter was missing for about 20 minutes before she was returned to him, but he noticed she was wearing different clothes.
It was reported that two teenage girls were seen running away from the park while holding a child, but when concerned locals followed them down the road, they saw police officers already at the scene searching for Audrey.
At the time of her disappearance, her mother Erin was at work but said she was distraught when she heard her daughter was missing.
“Obviously, all these horrible things are going through your head with what happened with Cleo Smith … so I kind of had a bit of a meltdown,” she said.
While Audrey is now safe and back with her family, they still don’t know what happened to her.
WA Police have been contacted for comment.
Cleo Smith disappeared from a remote West Australian campsite in October last year and was missing for 18 days.
Police found the four-year-old alive and well inside her alleged abductor’s home in Carnarvon after they raided the property.
Terence Darrell Kelly, 36, has been charged over her disappearance.
