ST. ALBANS — Wardens and troopers found a 5-year-old St. Albans girl, who had wandered away from her backyard four hours earlier, about a half mile from her house this afternoon.

Morgan Lawler’s family reported her missing at 9:30 a.m. She had been playing in the backyard of her home at 158 Bubar Road with the family dog.

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Searchers who found Morgan Lawler return her to her home this afternoon.

Authorities responded in force, with two aircraft, a state police canine unit and many searchers. The wardens last week successfully located a 12-year-old boy missing overnight in Dresden, who was found cold but unharmed in a smelt shack.

Wardens found the girl uninjured in the woods over a half-mile from her house. The dog had returned home on his own, the warden service said.