£20,000 reward offered as police search for parents of three abandoned babies
Metropolitan PolicePolice have issued a new appeal seeking information about three babies in east London who were abandoned shortly after birth by the same parents.
Crimestoppers are also offering a reward of £20,000.
It’s exactly a year since baby Elsa was found alive in a shopping bag near Greenway Walk in east London, just an hour after she was born.
Police have now released photos of the Boots handbag.
The baby was so cold that hospital staff named her “Elsa” after the character from the Disney movie “Frozen.”
In September 2017, baby “Harry” was found shortly after birth, wrapped in a blanket.
Another newborn baby, Roman, was found in freezing temperatures in February 2019, wrapped in a white towel and in a shopping bag.
As the BBC revealed last year, DNA tests submitted to East London Family Court showed that all three abandoned babies were siblings.
Their names have been changed and all three are in good health.
Police reviewed more than 450 hours of CCTV footage and completed a full DNA analysis of the child’s mother.
Experts working with police believe the mother and possible father had lived in Plaistow or East Ham for the past six years.
Detective Inspector Jamie Humm said: “We are extremely concerned for the health of the parents, particularly the mother.”
He said he believed someone in the area would be aware of the mother’s pregnancy and that “there may be concerns within the community for the mother’s welfare”.
He urged people to contact police if they have any information, no matter how small it may seem.
“Fortunately” all three children are healthy, he said.
public mediaThe family court heard in December that Elsa was still in foster care and was “doing well”.
The older children have been put up for adoption, which was Newham Children’s Services’ plan for Elsa.
However, local authorities were unable to register Elsa’s birth during the police investigation.
Without this, the local authorities would not have been able to complete their evidence in the Family Court and seek its approval to adopt her.
The court heard officers were “extremely concerned” about the delays.
“uncertain state”
Senior judge Carol Atkinson of East London Family Court has held nine hearings so far.
She said in December that baby Elsa was living in a “continuing state of uncertainty” and that it was impossible for carers to “develop a relationship” with her older siblings while proceedings were ongoing.
Professor Lorraine Schell of University College London conducted a study of children who had been abandoned at birth.
She said the delay in court proceedings was a “double whammy” for the little girl.
“She was unable to move on with her new life and develop relationships with her siblings,” she said. “She also doesn’t know who her parents are.”
Children abandoned at birth may spend decades searching for their parents, even into their 70s and 80s, she said.
