Body of missing toddler found in creek

The body of a toddler who fell into a fast-flowing Victorian creek has been found, just a few kilometres from where he disappeared yesterday afternoon.

Three-year-old Ishnael Baqaie, whose family recently arrived from Afghanistan, was playing with his parents in a park when he fell into the Dandenong Creek on Wednesday afternoon, a day after heavy rain lashed the state.

The body was found just after 4pm on Thursday, police said.

His parents did not see Ishnael fall into the water, but a witness saw him go under a bridge, Inspector Bruce Kitchen said earlier today.

"The boy was just playing. Parents took their eye off him for a second and he was gone," he told reporters at the scene on Thursday.

"The parents didn't see him go into the water at all."

He said the boy's family was extremely distraught.

"Greater Dandenong is a multicultural community and it affects everybody deeply," Insp Kitchen said.

Search and rescue crews covered a 6km range in the search for the boy.