Wellington  - A week after a 2-year-old New Zealand girl disappeared, police who are convinced she was abducted said Monday that they had no clues as to her whereabouts or who took her.

The case of Aisling Symes, daughter of Irish immigrant Alan Symes and his wife Angela, has gripped New Zealand the way the disappearance of English toddler Madeleine McCann dominated headlines on the other side of the world two-and-a-half years ago.

Her parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, said in a statement from England: "Our thoughts and prayers are with Aisling and her family. We wish Aisling's parents the strength and support they will be needing at this most painful time, and we join them in hoping for Aisling's safe and speedy return."

Thousands of New Zealanders have joined a Facebook site set up by a member of the Symes family to express their sympathy and support.

New Zealand police said they now had 70 officers working on the disappearance of Aisling, who has not been seen since the afternoon of October 5. They admitted there were no signs of a breakthrough.

An Asian woman with a dog, who two witnesses said they saw talking to the child as she played near her parents while they worked on a family house in suburban Henderson, 16 kilometres from central Auckland, has not been identified despite widespread appeals.

Police believe the girl was abducted after an intensive search of the area by ground parties and a helicopter found no trace of her. If she had been hurt or fallen into a stream, she would have been found, dead or alive, they said.

The officer heading the case, Inspector Gary Davey, himself a father of two, made a personal appeal to the kidnapper on Sunday, saying: "Whoever you are, you might be scared or intimidated by police activity over the past week. Don't be - call me. We just want to know where Aisling is." (dpa)