HONOLULU -- After 12 years, a missing child case that originated in Hawaii is drawing to a close in Egypt.

The story about a mother's search for her 3-year-old daughter aired on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Wednesday.

"I just want to hug her, and I just want to feel her again," former Honolulu resident Janet Greer said.

Greer said she has been aching to hold the child who has been the center of a bitter international child custody fight. Dowsha was born in Hawaii in April 1994.

Greer never married the girl's father, Madgy Elgohary, who at the time worked as a Honolulu taxi driver.

The last place Greer saw her daughter was right in front of the Honolulu Police Department's main station on Beretania Street. She was handing Dowsha over to the child's father for the Memorial Day weekend.

Greer was heartbroken when Dowsha was not returned.

"Right then, I knew he had her. I fell on the ground because I knew she was gone," Greer said.

The case to win visitation rights has dragged on and on in Egyptian courts.

Greer recently got some help from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who threw the spotlight on the case after meeting with the Egyptian foreign minister.

"I mean as a mother the idea that I wouldn't see my daughter for 12 years is extremely painful to me just to think about it. So, we are very hopeful this will be resolved," Clinton said.

Hawaii's Missing Child Center said Greer e-mailed to say she had appealed to the Egyptian administration to help cut through the red tape.

News of mother and daughter finally reuniting comes as President Barack Obama speaks in Cairo.

Greer hopes her painful quest is over.

"I love her and I miss her so much, and I just want her back in my life again," she said.