Police in New Zealand leading the search for missing Irish toddler Aisling Symes yesterday released moving footage of the little girl dancing.

The two-year-old disappeared at 5.15pm last Monday from outside her deceased grandparents' home in Longburn Road, Henderson, Auckland and police have said they believe the child was abducted. Aisling's father Alan is from Co Waterford.

"While it is heartbreaking footage to see given the current circumstances, we feel it humanises Aisling even more than a still photograph can and shows her in other clothes to that which she has been seen in on posters and in the media over the past five days," Insp Gary Davey said.

About 60 police were investigating Aisling's disappearance but Davey admitted that the most recent sighting was still that of her with an unidentified Asian woman walking a black and grey medium-sized dog in Longburn Road last Monday.

Staff were working tirelessly, he said. Several "people of interest" had been profiled by the intelligence section and suspect team but there was no "strong information that might lead us directly to Aisling".

Angela Symes told a press conference yesterday she had been inspecting a washing machine with Aisling and her elder daughter, Caitlin, five, in tow. "I turned off the hot tap, looked behind me and she was there watching what Caty and I were up to.

"I turned off the cold tap looked behind me and she was gone ? that fast."

She leapt out the door screaming out Aisling's name, but there was no trace of her. "I just can't believe that she moved so quickly. In the time it took just to turn off a tap, she was gone."

Angela Symes had a message for her daughter's abductor. "She's not a doll. She's somebody who loves her parents, her family, her sister, her pets. She belongs with us. She needs to be back with us.

"We miss her terribly and no matter what reason you took her, whatever you're going through, look what you're putting her through, look what you're putting us through."

Meanwhile, the parents of missing British girl Madeleine McCann expressed their sympathy to Aisling's family.

Doctors Gerry and Kate McCann had conveyed their best wishes to Alan and Angela Symes for the safe return of Aisling.