Police are searching for a four-year-old girl who vanished while walking her dog in rural Alabama.

Evelyn Vadie Sides of Lee County was last seen at 2.30pm on Wednesday in the small town of Loachapoka, half a mile west of Auburn.

Lee County Sheriff’s Office said that Evelyn was under the supervision of a family friend while walking her dog when she “essentially just disappeared.”

Few details have been released, but while Evelyn was not near her home at the time of her disappearance, she was familiar with the location.

Foul play is not currently suspected in her disappearance.

Hundreds of law enforcement officers were drafted in to search for Evelyn on Wednesday, but by the time many arrived “we were fighting darkness,” according to the Sheriff's Office.

The search continues with helicopters, drones, and searchers on horseback. The area is heavily wooded and sparsely populated.

Evelyn is three-feet tall and weighs 40 pounds. She has red hair and green eyes with a red mark on her nose. She was wearing a short-sleeve floral dress when she disappeared.