Shevaun Pennington, from Wigan in central England, met the 31-year-old ex-marine officer Toby Studebaker over the Internet and had kept up contact with him for close to a year.

Studebaker, from the US state of Michigan, left the US armed forces in late June and flew to Manchester in northern England to meet the young girl, police said.

The pair then flew from London's Heathrow airport to Paris, landing at Charles de Gaulle airport on Saturday.

"We know know that everything was planned and that the flights had been booked in advance," Superintendent Peter Mason told ITV television.

Shevaun's parents, Stephen and Joanna Pennington, implored their daughter to return home during a press conference.

"Please we just want you back, we're not angry with you, we love you very much and just want you to come home," her mother said.

Shevaun is described as white, 1.60 metres tall (five foot three inches) tall, with mid-length fair hair and grey-blue eyes, while Studebaker is described as white, 1.75 metres tall, with brown hair and blue eyes.

WAR.WIRE