Police in New Zealand searching for missing toddler Aisling Symes have located a body.
Searchers found the body in a drain near the location where the two-year-old, whose father Alan is from Stradbally, Co Waterford, disappeared on October 5th.
Speaking with tears in his eyes, Inspector Gary Davey said it was with "tremendous sadness" that he could confirm police had discovered the body of a child in a drain just after 8pm (8am Irish time).
Inspector Davey said it was too early to confirm if it the body was the missing girl. "It is too early to know how the child got there or indeed, how long she had been there," he said.
The body was found in the Auckland suburb of Henderson, just a few hundred metres from the house formerly owned by Aisling's deceased grandparents. Aisling was with her parents, Alan and Angela, who were tidying up the property in the Auckland suburb of Henderson, when she disappeared about 5.30pm on Monday.
Fire officers and police, using concrete cutters, spent two hours today digging land which backs on to a creek and the house.
The property had been cordoned off and is being treated as a crime scene. A house which backs on to the property where the body was found is also under police guard.
Up to 60 police officers had been involved in a week-long intensive search for the child. New Zealand Police said in a statement: "Clearly the team investigating the disappearance of Aisling Symes is heavily involved in tonight's events and staff from the investigation are with the Symes family tonight.
"It's too early to know how long the child has been in the drain or how it got there. The child has not been identified nor can we confirm what gender it is at this stage."
Family and friends of Aisling’s parents, Alan and Angela, have prayed for her safe return at their place of worship, Ranui Baptist Church, each day.
Kate and Gerry McCann, whose daughter Madeleine has been missing since May 2007, sent a message of support to the little girl’s parents last week.
