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4-Year-Old Found 'Safe And Well' After 2 Days Lost In Southern Tasmania

March 25, 2022

Four-year-old Shayla Phillips has been found "safe and well" in southern Tasmania more than two days after she was reported missing by her family.

Shayla Phillips / Tasmania Police

Shayla disappeared on Wednesday afternoon from the backyard of her family's home while playing with the dog.

The dog was located 700 meters away about five hours later but there was no sign of Shayla.

After two nights alone in the open bushland, Shayla was found -- about 1 kilometer from her home.

She was located by a State Emergency Service (SES) ground party "in a heavily wooded and very slopey" terrain.

Police said Shayla was dehydrated and disorientated and was taken to Hobart by ambulance for assessment after being "reacquainted with her mother"

Inspector Gavin Hallett said it was a "very emotional" reunion.

"We were dealing with a four-year-old girl, we knew we had to find her, we had to do that crawling on hands and knees to locate her," he said. "And that's what SES did to locate her."

More than 100 personnel, sniffer dogs, horses, helicopters and drones were involved in the intensive search.