3-year-old found wandering at night

A 3-year-old girl has been found wandering on Rotorua streets at night and was taken in by moteliers before police spent an hour finding out where she was from.
The girl let herself out of her house while her caregiver was asleep. She was found in her pyjamas just after 9pm on busy Malfroy Rd.
This incident comes after a spate of children being left unsupervised in Rotorua.
Malfroy Motor Lodge owners Ron and Mairi Hunter saw the girl about 9pm on Thursday and took her in while they waited for police.
Mr Hunter told The Daily Post he saw her when he was doing a routine check of his property.
"I tried to look and see who she was with but there was no one with her."
Mr Hunter approached the girl and asked her where her home was and where she was going.
"She would point in one direction but walk the other way," he said.
"I think she was a bit confused about where she was."
He tried to help the girl find her way home but was unsuccessful so took her to his wife at the Malfroy Motor Lodge and called police. Mrs Hunter said the girl was "lovely".
"She was just a bright wee thing and a cute little girl," she said.
"She was chatting away. She told us she was from Taupo and that she was nearly 4 years old."
Mrs Hunter said the girl knew she should have been at home.
"She just didn't seem to know how to get there."
The pair were shocked to find the pre-schooler wandering around byherself.
"It is unbelievable," Mr Hunter said.
"The thought of her crossing those roads on her own. It is just terrifying."
The couple said they were glad they could help the girl.
"She could have been knocked over or she could have easily been picked up by the wrong person," Mrs Hunter said.
Senior Sergeant Ed van Den Broek said police were called about 9.15pm on Thursday.
He said the child had been staying at her aunt's house.
"The children had been put to bed and the aunt went to bed early," he said.
"The child has then got out of bed, let herself out of the house and wandered off."
The police were not able to provide The Daily Post with the distance the child travelled.
Mr van Den Broek said the incident could have had tragic results and it was a miracle a vehicle did not hit her.
"The obvious message there is to make sure your kids are in bed asleep and lock the doors. A 3-year-old should not be able to wander out of the house, at any time, let alone at night."
He said parents and caregivers should teach children they should never leave the house alone.