Body found in Auckland, New Zealand drain

October 12, 2009 Police searching for a missing two-year-old girl have found a body in a drain in Auckland, New Zealand.

New Zealand Police have been searching for two-year-old Aisling Symes, who disappeared one week ago after being spotted for the last time near her grandparents' house in the Henderson region. The body was found in that area at around 8:00 PM local time on Monday. Bob Harvey, who is the mayor of Waitakere City, made a statement Monday night confirming that the remains of a human body had been found.

Inspector Gary Davy made a statement on behalf of New Zealand Police, saying that it was "with tremendous sorrow" that the body had been found. He also said: "It is too early at this stage to know how the child got there, or in fact, how long the child was in the drain.

"Police are speaking with the family of Aisling Symes, but it is too early to determine for certain that it is Aisling," Davy said. "The immediate scene has been cordoned off and it is now being treated as a crime scene."