Facebook post leads to missing girl in Kaikohe

Kaikohe locals were out in force searching for a 9-year-old girl who had gone missing in the small town after a post went on Facebook - shortly after the post went up she was found.

Within minutes of a Facebook post about a missing girl in Kaikohe locals were out in their cars searching every nook and cranny of the town.

The way the community rallied showed how united the residents were in the town, which was often cast in a bad light, according to locals.

Police said the 9-year-old girl had gone missing from Countdown about 4.45pm on Tuesday following a disagreement with her mother. When she did not return to the car, police were notified and a search for the girl commenced.

Debbie Beadle and Tony Taylor, who run the Kaikohe Community Watch Facebook group, were emailed a photo and basic description of the girl, which they posted in the group.

Within minutes of posting the photo there were about 100 comments and 800 likes and about half an hour later the young girl was found on Te Pua Rd in Kaikohe.

"It went viral within minutes," said Ms Beadle.

"Within a few minutes we had people saying they had seen her in her school uniform, there were comments from people saying they would rally outside Countdown, there were about 50 or 60 people out on the streets looking for her," she said.

Ms Beadle said the response from the community showed what kind of town Kaikohe was.

"We have an awesome community in Kaikohe and I am proud. We posted that she had been found and that has about 300 likes. It gets a bad rap but the big boys always like picking on the little town," she said.

Mr Taylor was also out searching for the young girl and said after the post went on Facebook locals had covered "every nook and cranny" of Kaikohe.

The Kaikohe Community Watch Facebook group was established by Mr Taylor in 2013 after the community were fed up with tagging and vandalism.