Police appeal to mother after baby's remains found in field

Detectives investigating after the remains of a baby were found in a field have appealed for help to track down the mother and make sure she is safe.

The infant, called Baby A by Greater Manchester Police, was found 'covered in snow' by a dogwalker near Ashtons Field in Salford on Wednesday.

The baby's age, gender and ethnicity are all currently unknown and police have appealed to their family to come forward.

The force is trying to establish the baby's identity and how long it had been in the field. 

At a press conference on Friday, Detective Chief Inspector Charlotte Whalley said: 'Our investigation is in the early stages and we do not know the background or circumstances that led to this baby being separated from a mum.

'We don't know the pressures the mum might have been under before she gave birth or in the times afterwards, but our priority is to find answers and to make sure the mum is safe.

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

'We will do anything we can to help the mum. Trained officers are ready to support her, no matter what the circumstances are, please contact us.' 

Enquiries are ongoing and residents have been told to expect an increased police presence in the area. 

Earlier in the week, the force said it was following several lines of inquiry to understand how long the baby was in the field and how they died.

Where the child was found in the field is close to a road layby near warehouses and not far from two junctions of the M61 motorway, north west of Manchester.

Ms Whalley told reporters at the press conference at GMP HQ in Manchester that a post-mortem examination of a child, which includes more procedures including a full skeletal survey, has still yet to take place.

This will now be carried out next week with the results expected on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Until then police could not give details about the sex or ethnicity of the child or cause of death.

Ms Whalley said: 'The main crux is to identify the mother.

'We have had fantastic support from the community but there's a high level of emotion and grief but people have been approaching us to give us good information.'

The officer said the dog walker, a woman, found the baby and made a call to a relative first 'out of sheer shock' before then immediately calling police, at around 12.22pm on Wednesday.

She said police had recovered some fabric material with the baby, but gave no further details on that, but said detectives are now working with soil experts, archaeologists and anthropologists to try to establish how long the child's body had been there before it was found.

Ms Whalley added: 'When the walker found the baby the body was not buried, we are trying to establish if the baby had been buried prior to that.'

Police say they will be carrying out a full search of the area around where the baby was found and this will carry on into next week.

Speaking on the day of the grim discovery, Chief Supt Neil Blackwood said: '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.

'The most important thing for us right now is to find answers for this baby and I would urge anyone who has any information at all to get in touch with us. 

'Even the most minor detail could be crucial to our investigation.'

Greater Manchester Police said the force will 'do everything we can to get answers' and thanked the public for tributes left at the scene in Baby A's memory.