About 300 people joined police to search properties, construction sites, a creek and down drains with torches.
A crowd of people cheered as the toddler was returned to her waiting family outside their house around 7.45pm.
Missing toddler Willow, 2, is reunited with family members after going missing in West Auckland. Photo / Hayden Woodward
CALLS FOR CLARITY Muriwai residents are calling for clarity over the future of their damaged homes - six-months on from Cyclone Gabrielle.
The west coast community is among Auckland’s worst affected by the February storm - with more than 100 households still displaced.
Of the roughly 400 homes red-stickered countrywide - more than a quarter are in Muriwai and nearby Bethells, Piha, Karekare and Titirangi.
Red-stickered residents say they’re still in the dark on which homes will be categorised as uninhabitable and were meant to receive information on buy-outs at the end of July.
WAIWERA DEMOLITION Demolition is beginning today at Waiwera Thermal Spa Resort.
The hot pools have been shut for six years with the owners confirming the buildings will be removed over the next few weeks, including the distinctive wooden tower.
Recent images show the pools partly filled with green water, the once-loved elephants surrounded by grime and dirt and gardens in a poor state.
The site has been badly vandalised in recent months.
Not a trip you'd want to take: Waiwera Thermal Resort. Photo / supplied
MIXED REVIEWS The restaurant industry is backing the Government’s latest election promise.
If re-elected, Labour will cut GST from fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables from April.
The Restaurant Association is applauding the move -- saying it will help reduce operational costs.
But an economist from a right-wing think tank is giving a thumbs down.
New Zealand Initiative chief economist Eric Crampton says it’s a bad idea.
MAUI DEATH TOLL The death toll from the Maui wildfires has reached 93 , making it the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century.
That number is likely to rise in coming days as search teams continue sifting through the ruins of Lahaina.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is estimating it will cost close to $9 billion to rebuild the town.