Alleged kidnapper found by police

Phillip Layton Edwards.

Convicted killer Phillip Layton Edwards has appeared in court this afternoon charged with kidnapping a toddler.

The 33-year-old was captured by police in Auckland early today after being on the run since last month.

He and associate Maryanne Nahi, 25, were arrested at a house on Miranda Street in Blockhouse Bay at 3am.

Edwards appeared in Auckland District Court this afternoon charged with two counts of assaulting a female, one count of kidnapping and one count of unlawfully taking a vehicle.

Dressed in a grey hooded jumper, he stood facing Judge Brooke Gibson for his brief court appearance.

Edwards was remanded in custody until September 10.

Nahi was due to appear charged with being an accessory.

A 2-year-old allegedly kidnapped by Edwards was found by police, shirtless and abandoned in a shed at the back of an Auckland property on August 11, after being missing for most of the day.

Edwards was released from prison last year after serving a nine-year term for the manslaughter of fashion designer and former television host David McNee in 2003.