Kevin Bocquet: "Detectives believe Charlotte spent the whole 29 hours alone and out of doors"

Charlotte was found sitting in woodland near her home in Warrington on Tuesday evening.

She had been reported missing on Monday by her 24-year-old mother, Michelle Jones.

Doctors treating her at a nearby hospital said she had a comfortable night and described her condition as fine.

Police, who have given Charlotte several presents including a Teletubbie toy, said her "immediate family" are with her.

The little girl was found by police officers sitting among brambles in the middle of the wood in Burtonwood, Warrington, shivering and distressed, but apparently unharmed.

She was still in the purple bubble coat and Dalmatian-patterned leggings that she was wearing when she first disappeared.

'A tough little girl'

Detective Superintendent Kevin Hamilton described her survival as "miraculous" and said she was "a resilent and tough little girl".

Inspector Rick Hollinshead said officers had been led to the spot by specific information given to them.

He told BBC News: "Obviously she was cold and upset, but generally she was in quite good condition.

"It appears that she spent the time outside, but at this moment we do not know exactly what happened because she is three-years-old and it is difficult for her to tell us."

Inspector Rick Hollinshead: "Considering the circumstances, she's in extremely good condition"

Police said they believed she had spent 29 hours outside but that she could not have reached the woods by herself.

"It is unlikely that she could have got there on her own and that forms the basis of our enquiries at the present time," said Inspector Hollinshead.

'Really scared'

A local man, whose isolated home is near the woodland where the child was found, said a policeman carried Charlotte into his home just moments after she was found in the woods.

Bill Aschroft: "I could see she'd been crying"

Bill Ashcroft said officers called at his house to search his shed and stables.

An hour later, an officer returned to the house with Charlotte in his arms.

Mr Ashcroft said: "I just left the door open. I was in the kitchen and I heard the CID man shout 'Bill, Bill'.

"I ran through and he was on the telephone and the little girl was on his knee, she looked just like she did in the pictures with a duffel coat on and her hair in bunches, she was hugging him.

"She was very quiet and her eyes were watery. She looked really scared."

He said Charlotte's mother was waiting in a car outside.

Search conitinued as night set in

Forensic officers have arrived at the scene where the girl was found, in Gypsey Wood, near Burtonwood, Warrington, and police have cordoned off the area.

Appeal for help

At a news conference, Detective Chief Inspector Helen King appealed for information from the public.

"It would greatly assist our investigation if anyone who has seen anything in that vicinity - people or a vehicle - could come forward and let us know about that."

DCI King, who also has a three-year-old daughter called Charlotte, said the case had affected all those involved.

She told reporters: "In the early hours of this morning when I got home, [my daughter] was in bed asleep and I must admit I went in and gave her a little peck on the cheek and was glad to know that she was safe and well."

Charlotte was reported missing from her home in Warrington late on Monday afternoon by her mother.

Michelle Jones told officers she last saw Charlotte at the gate of the house waving goodbye to a social worker who had visited them.

Police dog handlers, divers, helicopters and forensic experts mounted a huge operation to find her.

Members of the local community also turned out in large numbers to help.

On Tuesday the Jones' family car was removed and forensic officers were seen working in a tent put up outside the house.

Later in the evening Cheshire Police revealed that the social worker who visited Charlotte and her mother the day she disappeared said she had never seen the child at the garden gate.