Police have appealed to the mother of a baby found dead in a field in Greater Manchester to come forward to receive support.
The baby’s remains were discovered on Wednesday by a dog walker near Ashtons Field, close to the M61 in Little Hulton, Salford.
The mother’s identity was a mystery, and police said it was too early to tell the infant’s sex or ethnicity, or how long the body had been there before being discovered.
A Home Office post-mortem examination was due to be carried out to find out how the child died.
Now detectives have issued a plea to the mother to identify herself and to anyone who knows her to get in touch, saying they would “do anything” to help her.
Detective Chief Inspector Charlotte Whalley, of Greater Manchester Police, said: “Our priority is to find answers and make sure the mum is safe.
“We know the baby’s mum is somewhere out there, potentially watching this, and we would appeal to anyone who may know the mum or had 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.”
Officers were called to Ravenscraig Road, near the field, at around 1pm on Wednesday, and there was a major police presence at the scene throughout the afternoon.
Chief Superintendent Neil Blackwood urged members of the public to come forward with any information that could help their investigation and vowed police would do all they could to establish how the baby died.
He said: “At this stage, we are following several lines of enquiry and we are working with local partner agencies to understand who this baby could be, how long they have been here, and how they sadly died.
“We are now calling this baby Baby A. 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 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.”
