Urgent search for mum and baby after human placenta found in city centre park
An urgent search has been launched for a mum and her baby after a human placenta was found in a city centre park.
The discovery was made in the Holly Brook Park area of Southampton on Wednesday, June 21. Detectives fear that the mum or baby may have come to harm, and are appealing for anyone with information to get in touch with Crimestoppers.
An investigation has been ongoing, but is yet to locate the pair over two months later. A reward of up to £5,000 is now being offered for anonymous information that leads to the successful identification of those "responsible for the unlawful concealment of a birth".
Beth Simpson, Hampshire Regional Manager for the charity Crimestoppers, said: “There is increasing concern for the wellbeing of the baby and its mother, who are yet to be found. We are urging anyone who may know something to contact our charity anonymously as soon as possible.
“We have put up this reward as it is believed that someone may know or suspect who the mother is and we hope it will prompt someone to speak to us. Crimestoppers, which is completely independent of the police, keeps its promise of 100% anonymity to more than a thousand people who trust us with their crime information every single day.
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“Share what you know by calling our UK Contact Centre on freephone 0800 555 111, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or use our website’s secure anonymous online form at Crimestoppers-uk.org. No one will ever know you contacted us. We cannot trace your call or track your IP address and we never ask for or record any personal information."
Detective Chief Inspector Elizabeth Pirie, of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary, reiterated the appeal to anyone who may know the identity of the mum. She told ITV Meridian: "We hope the mother and baby are safe, but we cannot exclude the possibility that one or both have come to harm. We are aware that this publicity may cause the mother to be reluctant to come forward, however we expect that were the mother intending to and capable of contacting the authorities, she would have done so by now.
“Therefore we are appealing to anyone who knows the identity of the mother to get in touch with Crimestoppers as per this appeal. We accept the report of two arrests may have caused concern. We are able to confirm that both of these individuals were arrested based on specific circumstances and have been completely discounted from the investigation.
"Our enquiries have also led to several other individuals being discounted without the need for arrest, so an arrest based on your information is not inevitable. We appreciate the sentiment from some members of the public that the woman will never make herself known and for us to leave her alone.
"However, we must consider a range of possibilities and that the mother and her child could be in distress or may have come to harm. In that instance, we are confident that the vast majority of the public would want and expect us to find out what has happened to both individuals and if necessary bring anyone that has caused them harm to justice.
"We are keeping a very open mind about the many scenarios that could have led to the placenta being discovered and ask for the public’s help in finding out what has happened here. We shall continue to visit people in the local community as we carry out our enquiries. Please do not be alarmed and we ask for your understanding whilst we follow this process.
"We sincerely hope the mother and baby we are looking for are safe and well. We continue to ask for the public’s help and to share information about anyone they suspect of having given birth in these circumstances. Please see the Crimestoppers appeal for more information about how to do this."
Anyone with information is urged to get in touch with Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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