Girl dies after hiding in microwave

A six-year-old American girl is believed to have died after crawling into an old microwave oven in her backyard.

Family, friends and police search frantically for Rebecca Maria Herrera before making the terrible discovery in the family's backyard on Sunday.

Police told the San Antonio Express newspaper that the entire neighbourhood was involved in the search, calling out Rebecca's name and checking nearby alleys and houses.

“It's a tight community," San Antonio policeman Lt Randy Smith told the newspaper.

Neighbours said Rebecca's father, a local policeman, was away, in Florida.

Rebecca's brother and a police officer found her, officials said, after her brother opened the microwave, which was sitting on top of air conditioning equipment.

“We heard people screaming that the baby was in the microwave,” said a next-door neighbor. "We just couldn't imagine — how does the baby get into a microwave?”

Police said the girl was small and liked to hide. She might have crawled in and closed the door accidentally not knowing that it could not be opened from the inside.