The girl kicked out a wooden panel on the basement door, wriggled through the narrow opening, then punched out a window and screamed for help, the authorities said. Two boys who had been playing outside the house heard her cries and led a pair of police officers to her.

''It amazes me that a girl who is only 7 years old has the composure to take the time to gnaw her way out of the duct tape and get out,'' said Chief Inspector Robert Davis of the Philadelphia police.

Erica was being treated tonight at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for a cut on her cornea.

Her escape, just before 8 tonight, came hours after the police announced that they were seeking two men -- James Burns, 29, and Edward Johnson, 23, -- for questioning in her disappearance.

After Erica was found, the authorities said both men were being treated as suspects.

The police said that the abduction was not random and that someone had hoped to extort money from the Pratt family. Investigators said it was not clear why someone would believe that a family in this working-class slice of Philadelphia would be able to afford a six-figure ransom.

Neighbors, though, suggested today that Erica may have been a target because of reports that her family recently received the proceeds from a life insurance policy. Although officials could not confirm whether a policy existed, investigators said they had not ruled out any motives.