Greater Manchester Police make direct appeal to mother after baby’s remains found in Salford park

Police in Greater Manchester have made a direct appeal to the mother of a baby whose remains were found in a park.

The remains were discovered by a woman walking her dog just before 12.30pm on Wednesday in the vicinity of Ashton’s Field in Little Hulton, Salford.

At a press conference this afternoon, detective chief inspector Charlotte Whalley from Greater Manchester Police urged the mother to come forward.

She said: “Our priority is to find answers and to make sure the mum is safe.

“We know that this baby’s mum is somewhere out there, potentially watching this, and we would appeal for anyone who may know them or had their suspicions about a pregnancy to come forward so we can find her and speak to her.

“Trained officers are ready to support her no matter what the circumstances are. Please contact us.”

DCI Whalley also revealed more details about the police investigation, saying their “main focus is trying to identify the mother”.

A post-mortem by a Home Office pathologist will be carried out on the remains “early next week”, DCI Whalley added.

She said there is “quite a high level of emotion and grief within the community” and that people have approached officers with good information.

The baby was not buried when the dog walker found her, but police believe there was some fabric around the baby.

DCI Whalley said the dog walker “made a phone call to a relative out of sheer shock, then called the police immediately” after she found the remains.

Greater Manchester Police added that it has been working with soil experts, anthropologists and archaeologists to establish how long the baby had been there and whether it was buried in undergrowth.

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Police had said on Wednesday that they did not know the identity of the baby or the parents and that detectives were pursuing “several lines of enquiry”.

Officers said they also did not yet know the sex or ethnicity of the child – who they have named “Baby A”.

On Wednesday, the district commander for Salford, chief superintendent Neil Blackwood, urged anyone with information to get in touch and said that “even the most minor detail” could be “crucial” to the police’s investigation.

“If you have seen anyone in the area over the last few days, or know who the parents could be, please call us as soon as you can,” he added.

“All of this is extremely sensitive, and this investigation needs to be handled with the utmost care it deserves, and it is going to take time.

“We know that this news will devastate our communities, and while we do not have all the answers to these questions yet, I want to reassure residents that we will do all we can to find out what has happened here.”