Missing five year old reunited with family after sleeping in a Hamilton car yard overnight.

When Allen Inoke dropped his courtesy car off at a Hamilton car yard, he never realised his daughter was asleep in the back.

Five-year-old Glory would spend the night behind the locked gates of the Frankton yard, crying and sleeping in the courtesy car alone.

Her disappearance sparked a night-long search by police, family and residents, who trawled the streets of Fairfield.

CHRISTEL YARDLEY/FAIRFAX NZ Glory is happily reunited with her mother Adi after a night spent in a car yard.

"I'm overwhelmed," an emotional Allen Inoke said after returning with his daughter from a local medical centre on Wednesday.

"Sometimes it turns out other ways, I'm thankful somehow someone has seen her."

Inoke had left the couple's Ross Cres to drop off the borrowed Honda Airwave courtesy car back to Kiwi Cars in Frankton around 5.20pm on Tuesday.

CHRISTEL YARDLEY/Stuff.co.nz Five-year-old Glory Inoke was missing overnight before being found early this morning in a Hamilton car yard.

He arrived at the car yard just before closing and exchanged the vehicle for the family's four wheel drive.

"I parked the car there and the salesperson parked the car, moved it to park it properly and he didn't see her."

"She had jumped in the boot - there's a curtain in the boot of the Honda Airwave."

CHRISTEL YARDLEY/FAIRFAX NZ Glory returns home to her family in Fairfield.

Inoke and his wife Adi believed that, unbeknown to them, Glory had gotten into the car and fell asleep.

She told her mum; "Oh I was just in the car with dad".

"She probably sneaked in the car, she was sleeping in the back seat," Adi Inoke said.



"We were really busy the whole day - she was probably tired."



Believing each other had Glory the couple, who have six children aged from five to 16, did not realise their youngest daughter was missing until around 9pm on Tuesday night.



Allen Inoke had taken his eldest daughter to volleyball practice on Tuesday afternoon and returned home about 9pm to prepare dinner.

MORNING REPORT/RNZ The missing 5-year-old girl Glory Inoke has been found safe and well.

Other family members thought Glory had tagged along with her father to the practice.

Allen Inoke usually goes to work about 10pm at the Donovans Chocolates factory.

He said Glory would typically ask him: "Are you going to work?"

Police outside Kiwi New Cars on Greenwood St.

"I normally start at 10pm and I didn't hear her say [that]," Inoke said, adding that's when he realised Glory wasn't at home."

Police, family and residents searched surrounding streets and parks - all the obvious areas she might go to.

At 7.30am on Wednesday they received the news their five year old had been found inside the locked yard of Kiwi New Cars on Greenwood St in Frankton - 5km away.

SUPPLIED Missing girl Glory Inoke (right) has been found safe and well.

"She told me it was morning and she cried, she cried the whole night."

"She told me she went back to the courtesy car and said dad probably didn't know that I was inside the car."

Although the courtesy car was locked, Allen Inoke said his daughter managed to unlock it from the inside and clamber out into the darkness.

Parents Allen and Adi Inoke wait anxiously on the street before hearing the news their daughter had been found.

"She was wandering around."

Two young men driving past the yard recognised her from media reports and called police on Wednesday morning, Seargent Darren Hayes said.

"She was a bit distressed, and a bit upset."

They called police and took her to Subway for a drink while waiting for police to arrive, Hayes said.

After a long night of searching without a wink of sleep Glory's parents were overwhelmed to hear their youngest child had been found.

"I am so happy," Adi Inoke said.

Police took Glory to a medical centre where she was joined by her parents and checked over.

Kiwi New Cars owner Chris Chan said Allen Inoke dropped off the courtesy car and picked up his own vehicle just on closing at 5.30pm Tuesday night.

"He arrived just on the time we closed. They wouldn't have checked the car until we got into work this morning and then it would be cleaned up."

Chan said the last worker left the yard at 5.45pm. No one noticed anything unusual, he said.

"We found out this morning from one of my other workers he sent me a link and the photos we recognised Inoke as our customer."

"We pieced together that she could have been at our car yard because he's our customer."

Hugs and tears were shed when the couple arrived home at their Ross Crs house around 10am with Glory.

The Rototuna Primary School student was embraced by her siblings and aunties who gathered outside the family home where a barbecue was being cooked with food delivered by Heaphy Tce Four Square.

Glory's parents wanted to thank the people driving past the car yard who spotted their daughter and called police, and all of those who helped to search.

"I couldn't believe family friends and people all over Hamilton searching for her.

"I would like to thank all the members of the public who went out there searching, police they did a good job."