(RepublicanView.org) – Three newborn babies abandoned in London over a seven-year period are all related, a court has heard. The discovery follows the finding of a young baby girl in January this year. Named Elsa by medical staff, the girl was found by a dog walker in east London, who quickly reported her discovery to emergency services. Subsequent DNA testing proved that the baby girl was a sibling of two previous infants abandoned in the same area of the British capital in 2017 and 2019.
Medics say Elsa was deserted in an East London park just one hour after birth and had a film of ice across her head when found inside a shopping bag. Family court documents revealed that the two boys found years earlier had been successfully adopted, and Elsa is currently in the care of child welfare services.
Police are searching for the parents and have asked for public assistance in locating a woman seen near the park wearing a heavy coat and scarf and carrying a rucksack. East London Family Court Judge Carol Atkinson lifted reporting embargoes on the relationship between the three children on June 3, hoping it would help police with their investigations. London’s Metropolitan Police have since intensified their search with door-to-door operations, CCTV surveillance, and public appeals.
Rima Zvaliauskiene, who discovered Elsa, said she heard a child crying while walking her dog and followed the sound. She told reporters she looked inside a bag and found the newborn, which looked “purple,” and immediately called for help. “I’m glad we were there, or the baby might not have survived too much longer,” she said.
Authorities said Elsa is doing well and that the three children will eventually be introduced to each other.
A study by University College London in 2009 concluded that an average of 16 babies are abandoned in England and Wales every year. The findings contradicted official figures that claimed the number was lower.
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