Mariah Kay Woods has been missing since Sunday night when her mother put her to bed.
Woods lives with her mother and her mother's live-in boyfriend on Dawson Cabin Road in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
Her biological father Alex Woods told WCTI 12 Tuesday that he found out his daughter was missing when the Amber Alert was issued and he hasn't seen her for about a year. He said he doesn't believe his daughter was abducted.
"Someone just walked right up in there, grabbed the 3-year-old out of the bed and she didn't cry, she didn't scream?" Alex Woods said. "Nobody heard anything? Four people in the house, two adults and two kids, someone just comes up and snatches the baby and walks out?"
WATCH: Officials give update on Mariah's case
ABC News reports that her mother reached out to the public in an emotion-filled plea Monday.
"Please, bring her back ... She's my baby, she's my everything," said Kristy Woods in a press conference. "(I) just want to be able to touch her and hold her and not let her go again. I'd give anything."
She is described as a white female standing about 2' 9" tall and weighing around 30 pounds.
Mariah has brown hair and blue eyes.
The FBI is assisting state and local law enforcement with the investigation; they have brought in the Child Abduction Rapid Deployment for further assistance.
Marines based at nearby Camp Lejeune are also assisting in the search.
Authorities said they have been using all means necessary to find Mariah, including ground searches assisted by a helicopter.