KEY POINTS:
Family friends of abducted 5-year-old Ma Xin Xin are urging police to investigate the possibility that the masked kidnapper could have been Chinese.
One friend, who did not want to be identified, said: "From the fact that Xin Xin screamed for help in Chinese, she thinks that her
attacker could understand the language.
"Otherwise, Xin Xin is very comfortable with speaking English. She is born here, speaks English and mixes very well with Kiwi kids."
The friend, who said he had known the Ma family for more than a year, had told police of their suspicion.
Ma Xin Xin - named on Monday by police as Cina Ma - was riding her bike on the footpath of Corricvale Way, Albany, at 12.30pm on Monday when a man with his face disguised stopped a silver or light-coloured car, grabbed her and took her away.
Her grandfather Qi Wen Zhou, 73, said yesterday he heard Xin Xin shouting "I don't recognise you, I don't want to go with you" in Mandarin.
But he was gardening in a property the family were building a few blocks away from where Xin Xin was at the time, and couldn't reach her.
"It all happened so fast and she was gone before I could even do anything."
Mr Zhou, who broke down in tears while talking to the Herald, added: "She is my favourite grandchild, I just want her back safe."
In a brief press conference at the North Shore Policing Centre in Mairangi Bay, her mother Jin Zhou and aunt Hong Zhou spoke to journalists with Detective Inspector Steve Wood.
Xin Xin's father, Ma Jian, was not there.
Hong Zhou read a prepared statement pleading with kidnappers to send Xin Xin home.
Jin Zhou sat quietly by her side. She said nothing, but wept throughout and at one point reached for tissues to wipe the tears from her eyes.
Hong Zhou said:
"The family is heartbroken that Xin Xin has been taken from us ... she is our loved daughter and niece and we want her home safely.
"She will be very frightened and she will want to be with her family. We just want Xin Xin, our little girl, to come home to us ... safely."
Earlier, Mr Wood said that only Xin Xin's 6-year-old cousin saw the abduction.
"We have serious concerns for her safety," he said.
"We believe this is a premeditated crime. Such crimes involve a degree of planning and preparation.
"The early indications are that the person or persons involved in this abduction would have spent some time in the Harrowglen area."
Nothing suggested this was a random attack or that the perpetrators would strike again.
"Clearly this young girl was targeted by the offender or offenders," Mr Wood said.
The executive principal of Kristin School, which Xin Xin attends, said the school was in shock over the abduction.
"She's just a delightful little girl," said Peter Clague. "The school's devastated and we're offering the family all our support and that support's coming from the wider Kristin community as well."
Mr Clague described Xin Xin as a "cheery little girl", and said the school had dealt with her parents and grandparents.
"They're lovely people. Lovely."
The school had activated its "critical events policy" since learning of the abduction on Monday afternoon.
This included making counsellors available and assisting the family in any way possible.
Hewitt Wang, a journalist with skykiwi.com, said members of the Chinese community writing on the discussion forum were saying they hoped the kidnapper was not of Chinese ethnicity.
"With all the publicity on the community standing up on crime against Asians, many Chinese think it would reflect very badly on the community if the person who abducted the girl is a Chinese," he said.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact the North Shore CIB on (09) 477 5000 or through the confidential text line 027 27 27 669.