'Pumpkin' handed to grandmother

The grandmother says she wants to take the girl back to China

A young girl abandoned in Australia by her father, who is wanted on suspicion of killing his wife, has been reunited with her grandmother.

Three-year-old Qian Xun Xue returned to her home in New Zealand with carers, after being found at a railway station in Australia earlier this month.

Grandmother Liu Xiaoping travelled to Auckland from her home in China and is expected to seek custody of the child.

An arrest warrant has been issued for the girl's father, Nai Yin Xue, 54.

He is suspected of killing his wife, Anan Liu, 27, whose body was found in his car at the family home in Auckland.

A search of the home was made after the discovery of Qian Xun Xue at the station in Melbourne on 15 September.

CCTV footage showed her father, a Chinese-language magazine publisher, leaving his daughter at the station.

Police say he fled to Los Angeles hours later. US police are now hunting for him.

'Emotionally distressed'

PUMPKIN TIMELINE 10 Sept: Last sighting of mother Annie Xue 13 Sept: Father Nai Yin Xue arrives in Australia from Auckland with Qian Xun Xue 15 Sept: CCTV shows Nai Yin Xue abandoning Qian Xun Xue at Melbourne train station. He later flies to LA 19 Sept: NZ police find body of woman outside family home in Auckland 20 Sept: Police confirm body is that of Annie Xue, issue arrest warrant for Mr Xue

"The little girl and her grandmother... were reunited today," Associate Immigration Minister Clayton Cosgrove told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

"Obviously they are emotionally distressed, given the circumstances."

Mrs Liu has reportedly sent a letter to the New Zealand Chinese Herald, thanking the public for their support.

She is said to have thanked the police in New Zealand, Australia and the US as well as the authorities that have looked after Qian Xun Xue, saying she planned to take her back to China.

The case of the little girl, who was initially nicknamed Pumpkin after the brand of clothing she was wearing, has made headlines across the world.