An off-duty police officer has spotted a five-year-old child, allegedly abducted from her central Queensland home, in a nearby shopping centre.

The child was reported missing from her South Mackay house about 12.30am on Saturday and found in a Mackay CBD shopping centre in the afternoon.

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“The off-duty officer approached the child and the person with the child and was able to secure the people until the arrival of the police,” Detective Inspector Ian Haughton told reporters on Saturday.

Det Insp Haughton says no one has been arrested or charged over the alleged abduction.

“This is very early in the investigation. Our main concern was the location of that child,” he said.

“It appears that the people that were with the child are known to the child, so we’re establishing those links now.”

Det Insp Haughton said the girl was safe and well.