A US state supreme court said a lower court was right to award custody of an eight-year-old girl to her non-biological mother in a lesbian custody case.

In a ruling, the Vermont Supreme Court upheld a 2009 order giving Janet Jenkins sole custody of Isabella Miller-Jenkins.

It rejected an appeal by attorneys for biological mother Lisa Miller.

Ms Jenkins is from Vermont. Ms Miller is from Virginia.

They were joined in a civil union in Vermont in 2000. Their daughter has been the subject of a long-running legal fight.

The custody ruling may be a moot point: Ms Miller has renounced her homosexuality, and she and her daughter failed to appear for a court-ordered custody swap in January. Their whereabouts are now unknown.

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