The parents of an Auckland toddler abducted for 36 hours say the worst possible scenario was playing through their minds when their daughter disappeared this weekend.
Twenty-seven-year-old Skye Mason is charged with kidnapping 17-month-old Alyssa Barker from her home in Rodney on Friday night after Alyssa's parents took her in.
Scott and Samantha Barker were reunited with Alyssa on Saturday night.
Mr Barker says they hardly slept while she was missing.
"Originally we weren't sure if she was still in the area, like in the bush or in a paddock, or down in a lake or a pond or something like that.
"We had no idea, so thoughts are running through your head like, have they fallen down a bank? Is she hiding in a bush with her? You have no idea."
Mason is due to appear in the Waitakere District Court this morning.
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