Police “have far more questions than answers” as they investigate how a six-year-old girl reported missing from her Scarborough home ended up 15 kilometres away.

The girl was found at around 12:55 p.m. Tuesday after her mother reported her missing more than five hours earlier, Toronto police Supt. Mark Barkley said.

Police were first told that she was last seen in bed at 1 a.m. in her home near Midland Ave. and Eglinton Ave. E., where she was living with her mother.

Police said she approached a bystander for help in the Bathurst St. and Eglinton Ave. W. area.

“She is now safe and doing well,” Barkley told reporters.

“There’s family that’s wrapped around the child and we want to work with the family to see what has transpired here.”

The girl had no history of running away, police said.

Believing that she wasn’t properly dressed for the weather, police began a search that included six officers on horseback and the canine unit. Almost 20 concerned volunteers joined in to search the neighbourhood, and put up posters of the missing girl.

“At this time, we’re not looking for any persons in relation to her absence unless other information comes to light,” Barkley said. “There is no threat to public safety.”

After officers arrived to the scene, they discovered that the girl was seen by other residents of the building at about 5 a.m.

Police believed she wasn’t wearing shoes either when she went missing but was located with shoes on her feet, and she was also wearing a hat and jacket.

Const. David Hopkinson said before the girl was found that officers were concentrating their search at the 18-storey apartment building because there was no evidence that she had left the premises.

The search expanded to include nearby schools, buildings and parks, Barkley said.

“No stones were let unturned for this little girl.”

Police said the mounted unit was called in because there’s a park and ravine in the area, allowing officers a good view from high up.

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“The question becomes where did she go, and why,” Barkley said.

Police said an Amber Alert wasn’t issued because they didn’t suspect she was abducted.