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Aisling Symes - Source: ONE News -
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Known child abusers and sex offenders are now being targeted by police in West Auckland as fears grow missing toddler Aisling Symes may have been abducted.
The two-year-old disappeared from Longburn Rd in the West Auckland suburb of Henderson on Monday night and in spite of an intense police air, ground and water search no sign of her has been found.
Police area commander Inspector Gary Davey said police were visiting known sex offenders or anyone with a criminal history of kidnapping or child abuse.
Reports of suspicious activity, including people approaching children in the area in recent weeks, were also being followed up.
"There have been some reports of suspicious activity ... I am not prepared at this stage to say it is linked or could possibly be linked but we are looking through all those."
Police have also yet to find a mystery Asian woman seen with Aisling moments before she disappeared.
With all the publicity surrounding the case it was unusual the woman had not come forward, Davey says.
The woman was in her 30s, about 165cm tall with a medium build and long straight black hair.
She was wearing a black crew neck top, with three-quarter length sleeves, three-quarter length blue jeans, black leather sandals and black socks, and had a black and grey medium sized dog on a lead.
Aisling is described as being tall for her age, of European appearance, with light brown hair.
She was wearing a green parka jacket or ski jacket, blue jeans embroidered with flowers, and white tennis shoes.
Aisling's aunt Aithne Potts on Wednesday called for the release of her niece if she was being held.
"If you are the person who has my niece, we don't understand why you wouldn't have told us," she said.
"We don't understand why it is so long and we know nothing."
"So please, tell us where she is. We just want her home."
Davey says police were "absolutely confident" they would have found Aisling if she'd fallen into a creek behind her home.
Police are urging anyone with information to call their hotline on 0800 4 AISLING, or numerically it's 0800 424 75464.
