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Police are looking for a 9-year-old girl understood to have been abducted by her mother after a parental visit in Tauranga.
Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Turner of Tauranga said the girl was placed in the interim custody of her father after a Family Court hearing early this month but disappeared on Friday afternoon during a visit with her mother at the Papamoa Beach Camping ground.
"Inquiries we have made indicate that the mother and friends of the mother are secreting her from us and I do have some concerns for both her psychological state and welfare.
"There is no indication that the girl would be deliberately harmed, but it's fair to say from the circumstances surrounding the case that there is an outside possibility of some accidental harm."
Police are looking for a red 1994 Toyota Corolla hatchback, licence SU3190, which belonged to an Auckland friend of the mother.
Mr Turner said the car was likely to be in the Bay of Plenty or Auckland.
Anyone who saw it should call Tauranga police on 07 577-4300.
The suspected abduction follows the high-profile case of 6-year-old Jayden Headley, who was returned to his father's care last week after his grandfather hid him for five months.
