Kelly Lewis is spending some much-needed quality time with her daughter Jocelyn this week.
“We are bunkering down this week after everything that we have been through,” the 35-year-old tells Kidspot as Jocelyn happily played in her new cubby house.
The entire nation waited with bated breath to see what had happened to the five-year-old girl after she left her father’s home in Nerang, Queensland at 4.30pm on Sunday.
Thankfully, an agonising 23 hours later there was the best possible outcome; Jocelyn was found alive and well. Other than feeling hungry and extremely tired, along with some cuts and bruises, the beautiful little blue-eyed blonde girl was absolutely fine.
Jocelyn back at home chilling out after a long and scary night on Sunday.
“I’ve been called a drug addict, an alcoholic and a bad mum.”
To say this incredibly traumatic event is one that her parents Kelly and Steve Lewis, who are separated and have shared access of Jocelyn, will never forget is an understatement.
Kelly has chosen not to be in the media spotlight until now and was heavily criticised by complete strangers for her decision.
“I stayed behind the 7-Eleven store (where the central base was during the search) between two cars,” she says.
“And because of that I’ve been called a drug addict, an alcoholic and a bad mum to name a few.”
After lying low all week, she has decided to speak to Kidspot to let other parents know what it’s like to have a child who is prone to running away after she has also been judged by people who can’t even begin to understand how such a thing could happen.
“At the end of the day, those who don’t know the full circumstances have no right to judge, best to keep your thoughts and opinions to yourself, because those going through the actual occurrence need support and strength not attacking,” she said.
Kelly describes her daughter as “high-spirited to say the least!”
That split second when Jocelyn ran away
When you hear Kelly’s version of events – you will quickly realise just how easily it can, and does happen.
After Jocelyn spent the week with her dad, Kelly had arrived on Sunday late afternoon to take her to her place for the week – as per their 50-50 custody arrangement.
“She was putting something in my car while I was packing up the last of her bag. When I didn’t hear the car door open or close I looked through the window and saw the gate ajar – and that’s how it all started.”
After Kelly and Steve searched the immediate area – they got a phone call from a neighbour who had spotted Jocelyn at the 7-Eleven petrol station - but when Steve got there she was already gone.
“Our neighbour pulled over in his car and tried to get her in but she ran away and he couldn’t chase her because he had two kids of his own in the car.”
Kelly also jumped in her car and drove to the area which was when she flagged down a police car that happened to be driving past at the time.
The mammoth search for Jocelyn in Nerang, Queensland. Pic: Richard Gosling, News Corp Australia.
“You have to keep a cool head as much as you can”
What then ensued was one of the biggest searches that Queensland has ever undertaken. Apart from more than 160 police officers and SES workers, hundreds of community members searched through the night - and some even took the day off work the next day to help find Jocelyn.
“When you have a child who does this, you have to mentally prepare yourself that they run away. You can’t go into stress mode – you have to keep a cool head as much as you can.”
Kelly and Steve based themselves at the 7-Eleven throughout the night.
“I went numb and the adrenalin kicked in,” she says.
“I had complete faith in the police and SES which I’m a member of so I actually knew most of the people which helped.”
“I felt sick to the stomach and light-headed”
But as time went by and the night grew dark and cold - with not a single update on the whereabouts of her little girl – Kelly’s optimism began to wane.
“We thought she would appear in the morning when she was tired and hungry but she didn’t.”
By time 11am ticked around Kelly was fearing the absolute worst.
“It was 19 hours at that point which was when I started thinking this may not turn out as well as we had hoped. That was when I shut myself out off from everything and everyone,” she says.
“I felt sick to the stomach and light-headed– I felt for a while that time was standing still.”
Kylie Maudsley (right)and Bree Johnson found Jocelyn when they took a chance walking along a fence line to the creek at Spall street, Carrara. Pic: David Clark, News Corp Australia.
The surreal moment she was reunited with her little girl
When Kelly and Steve were told by an officer that there had been a sighting the police were initially unable to tell them if it was a child – let alone if that person was dead or alive.
“I was terrified. Then a female officer told it was her and she was OK. We just lost it.”
Kelly describes the moment she first laid eyes on Jocelyn as “kind of surreal”.
“I picked her up out of the police car. She was really happy to see us but didn’t cry. She was very sore because of her cuts and bruises. We got reacquainted for a bit then Steve took her out to the media to show she was OK and thank everyone.”
Kelly and Steve will probably never know what Jocelyn did for so many hours all alone in the middle of the night.
“Her imagination was pretty wild because she hadn’t had her medication and she said she had killed three tigers,” Kelly says.
“She told us she heard the helicopters and that she was near water but that’s all we know.”
Jocelyn safe and sound at home with her dad Steve Lewis. Pic: Glenn Hampson, News Corp Australia.
It’s not the first time Jocelyn has run away
Jocelyn, who has ADHD, only began taking off on her own about two months ago. The terrifying incident on Sunday night wasn’t the first time that police had to get involved.
Back in June, she disappeared from the school vacation care program she was attending.
“I went to pick her up and told her to clean up because we had to go to the shops but she said she didn’t want to and walked out,” Kelly explains.
“But when I got outside she wasn’t in the playground or by the car so after searching the school grounds for 20 minutes I called the police.”
About one hour and a quarter later, Jocelyn was found.
“She was knee-deep in water at the Isle of Capri boat ramp on the Nerang river,” Kelly says.
“She’s very opportunistic – when she sees a break she takes it and runs. Hopefully next time she has this much media attention she will be running for the country.”
Kelly offers advice to other parents who also struggle with their children running away.
“Make friends with your neighbours, and be incredibly vigilant, you can’t always keep your doors locked, as in the case when I was picking up Jocelyn. But at the same time, don’t go wrapping them up in cotton wool, you’re not able to be with them every second of the day, kids are going to be kids.”
