PERTH — An Australian man has been charged with the abduction of four-year-old Cleo Smith, who was rescued after disappearing for 18 days, BBC reported.

Terence Darrell Kelly, 36, appeared in court in the town of Carnarvon, charged with forcibly or fraudulently taking or enticing a child under 16.

Cleo Smith disappeared from her family's tent at a campsite on 16 October, triggering a massive search.

Police found Cleo in a locked home in Carnarvon on Wednesday.

The girl has since been reunited with her parents, who had made desperate pleas for her return.

Authorities say Kelly has no connection to the Smith family.

Kelly did not apply for bail and was not required to enter a plea at the Carnarvon Magistrate's Court on Thursday.

He has been remanded in custody until 6 December, local media reports say.

Local media have been carrying images of the house where Cleo was locked up and spoken to the man's neighbors who have expressed shock that he might have been involved.

The West Australian newspaper said he had been described as a "very quiet" man who "kept to himself", adding that everyone on the street had said that they knew him.

ABC News reported that he had been recently spotted by a neighbor buying nappies.

Detective Sergeant Cameron Blaine, one of the officers who found her, said Cleo was alert and aware at the time she was rescued.

The lights had been on in the house and she had been playing with toys.