After three-year-old Kienan Hiebert was miraculously returned unharmed to his family home in Sparwood, B.C., the hunt to find his abductor intensifies.

The youngster was snuck into his home under the cover of darkness around 3 a.m. local time on Sunday morning.

He hadn't been seen since his parents put him to bed on Tuesday last week.

The tight-knit community in southeastern B.C. is breathing a sigh of relief about the outcome, with acting mayor Sharon Fraser calling the event "a miracle."

"In Sparwood the sunshine is shining so beautifully bright because this little guy is found. And the mom and dad are so thrilled and the children are all laughing and praying. What more could you ask for?" she told CTV News.

Authorities are now renewing their call for the suspected abductor, Randall Peter Hopley, 46, to turn himself in.

Paul Hebert, Kienan's father, told reporters on Sunday that his little boy was healthy and in good spirits.

"I thank God Kienan was returned unharmed," he said, breaking into tears.

He also thanked the person who snatched Kienan for bringing him back to his family home.

"It was the right thing to do," he said. "Kienan is happily home and he's playing with his brothers and sisters. Thank you, thank you."

At the same press conference, Cpl. Dan Moskaluk said this is the best possible outcome to the case.

"This young boy was returned by an abductor. In 26 years of policing I have never seen this," Moskaluk said.

He also appealed directly to Hopley: "Randy, we just want to talk to you. What we've got left to do is speak with you. It's very, very important that we speak to you right now."

The hunt to find the missing boy, who was the subject of an Amber Alert and a search in two provinces, finally came to a halt on Sunday morning.

Police received a 911 call saying the boy was at his family home, which was unoccupied at the time. The Heberts moved into a neighbour's home shortly after their son's disappearance.

It was there that police found Kienan sitting alone on a couch, holding a blanket.

Police are staying tight-lipped about the progress of the investigation, and have kept mum about how someone could break into the family home twice without being detected.

On Monday, Moskaluk refused to say whether the Hebert home was under 24 hour surveillance when Kienan was brought back.

"We cannot discuss any of the details at this point about how things unfolded. All we can state, again, is our number one priority is his safe return and that was achieved," he told CTV News Channel.

"We have a child who was abducted for four days who was returned safely. We carry on with our investigation at this time and we still need the support of the media and public's patience and support as to getting through this ordeal in Sparwood."

For Jeff Smedley of Prince George Search and Rescue, who spent days searching for the child, the outcome could not be better.

"This is the third child service for me in 29 years. Two successful, like this one, and one not successful," he said. "This is great."