The frantic search continues for a mother and newborn baby after ‘birth marks’ were discovered on a riverbank, as police respond to fears the baby could be in the water.
A manhunt for a mother and baby was launched about 4.30pm on Monday after a passerby walking a dog spotted a placenta and umbilical cord on the banks of the Cook River in Earlwood, south-west Sydney.
The ‘birth certificate’ was later confirmed by police as human.
Search teams, boats and divers returned to the river at first light on Tuesday after a massive search of the area overnight.
When asked if police were concerned the baby could be in the water, Chief Inspector Christine McDonald said the whereabouts of the mother and child were police’s main concern.
‘At this stage our main concern is for the whereabouts of the mother and child. We see that as a real urgent matter for us to find her and her child, hopefully safe and healthy,” she told a news conference on Monday evening.
Police have responded to fears there could be a newborn baby in the Cook River in Sydney’s south-west after a passerby walking a dog saw ‘evidence of birth’ at 4.30pm on Monday
Police have confirmed that a placenta and umbilical cord found on the riverbank are human
Chief Inspector McDonald said it remained unclear whether the child was born on the banks of the Cook River or elsewhere.
‘All we know is that a placenta and an umbilical cord were found. It is clear that our search will identify what took place,” she said.
“Whether that birth or delivery of that child took place at this location, or at another location, has yet to be determined.”
Police urged the mother and child to go to a hospital, saying they do not have to talk to police if they do not want to.
Detectives hope a busy footpath near the riverbank will mean there were witnesses who may have seen the mother and child.
“That’s why we’re appealing for information tonight and tomorrow morning as people hear the news that this placenta and umbilical cord have been located,” Chief Inspector McDonald said on Monday.
More to come.
Chief Inspector McDonald said it remained unclear whether the child was born on the banks of the Cook River or elsewhere as mother and child are urged to go to hospital.
Detectives were seen removing evidence from the riverbank in brown paper bags (pictured)