Police have revealed the two-year-old child who went missing in west Auckland on Sunday evening was found by a member of the public.
Willow, two, went missing from her home on Zodiac Street, Henderson, on Sunday afternoon, having last been seen in her garden.
Police were called to the property at 2:25pm on Sunday after a report Willow had gone missing after escaping out of an unlocked gate at the family's home.
It sparked a massive neighbourhood-wide search involving hundreds of concerned west Aucklanders looking for the two-year-old.
At about 7:30pm it was confirmed Willow had been found "safe and well" and had been reunited with her family.
Police have now revealed more details of how Willow was found, with a spokesperson saying the two-year-old went missing after playing outside with her sibling and another child.
A member of the public found Willow walking along Universal Drive and waited with the child.
"The person has taken the child back to their house and initiated a search by way of social media to locate the child’s parents," the spokesperson said on Monday.
"Other members of the public have seen the post and made the connection and in turn contacted Police."
Police said enquiries are ongoing but wanted to sincerely thank everyone who helped find Willow.
"Police would like to sincerely thank the west Auckland community for their help as well as the volunteers and agencies who assisted with the search and provided support to those involved," the spokesperson said.
In a Facebook post on Sunday evening, a family member said "our precious has been found safe" and thanked everyone that had helped find Willow.
"Thank you for all your amazing caring words, to everyone that helped to walk the streets, crews everywhere. We thank you all from the bottom of our full again hearts," they wrote.
