Missing girl, 3, found in field with dog

A three-year-old US girl is safe after spending the night in a rural Missouri cornfield, her faithful dog by her side.

In fact, the tiny Yorkshire terrier played a role in her rescue.

The ordeal began around 8.30pm on Thursday with a call to emergency services that the girl had wandered away from her home near the town of Qulin, 280 kilometres south of St Louis.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt Clark Parrott says a search began that included an aeroplane but the girl was not found overnight.

Volunteers joined police to search a cornfield on Friday morning. Just after 8am, search dogs began barking - and a tiny dog voice started yapping in response.

Searchers found the girl with her dog. The child had several mosquito bites but was otherwise unharmed.