Baby Ava was found by a dog walker in a field in Little Hulton, Salford, on November 21, and a fresh appeal has been made by Greater Manchester Police to try and locate the mother
Police today made a Christmas appeal for information after a newborn baby was found abandoned on a field in Greater Manchester.
A piece of pink fabric is thought to have been used to wrap around the baby whose remains were found a month ago on the edge of a snow-covered field. Scientists are hoping to find DNA on it which may be from the child’s mother, grandparent, or a relative.
If it does yield such information it will be checked against the National DNA Database and other systems which store biometrics of people who do not have any criminal record but have given their DNA voluntarily.
Police already have a full DNA profile of ‘Baby A’ or ‘Baby Ava’, found in Salford. But the results of further forensic tests on the cloth due in the next few weeks could dramatically change the inquiry.
Concern remains for the welfare of the child’s mother who will be in a distressed state and in turmoil trying to cope with the trauma which led her to leave Baby Ava on land just off a main road.
Bouquets continue to be placed at the scene by the public including a single red rose in a plastic domed container to protect it from the harsh weather. It has the message ‘Rest in Peace Baby A you’re in our hearts’. Baby Ava was discovered by a dog being taken for a walk at Ashtons Field, Little Hulton, Salford. The dog stopped in its tracks just inside the field off Cleggs Lane, which is next to a layby.
The lone woman owner of the dog went to investigate when she realised her pet had found something. The find was made on Wednesday November 21st. The woman initially phoned a relative “in shock” but then called 999 more or less immediately at 12:22pm. The baby was found near an entrance to the field through a gate suggesting whoever left the child did not linger.
A botanist is working with police, examining soil where Ava was found. The remains were on the surface but their work is ongoing to establish if at some point they were buried and, crucially, how long they had been there. Anthropologists and archaeologists are also assisting the inquiry, reported the Manchester Evening News.
Greater Manchester Police has consulted with a behavioural psychologist via the National Crime Agency. They have suggested that the mother may be local and had knowledge of the location where the child was left. As a result police have concentrated on the two local communities of Little Hulton and Farnworth which lie either side of a bridge over the M61 on Cleggs Lane, close to where Ava was found.
Those communities have already played a key part in the police investigation. Detective Chief Inspector Charlotte Whalley from GMP’s Major Incident Team said: “The public response has been amazing. We have concentrated on the two local areas that lead to where Ava was found.
“Our presence within the community has also been constant over the past month. More than 1,000 flyers appealing for information have been distributed to those living and working locally and that has prompted a lot of phone calls.”
Police have visited schools, GP practices, midwifery services, and hospitals. “Everyone wants to help and everyone knows about the case. We have never had such total support,” said DCI Whalley. Police have also visited mums and toddlers groups in the areas, food banks, volunteer groups, and sought the support of children’s services and adult services provided by Salford and Bolton councils.
But police also have to consider the possibility that with the close proximity of the motorway network whoever left the child may have arrived and left in a vehicle and be from outside the immediate area. CCTV could yet reveal vital clues once experts have been able to tell police when they believe Ava was left.
Her cause of death remains unascertained, but police say “all possible lines of enquiry are being followed, and we are awaiting results from several specialist tests, which we hope may provide us with new avenues to explore”.
Gifts laid for Baby Ava from the community at the scene including teddies, and perhaps most poignantly a little blue jacket with a fur-lined hood went to a good cause. Detective Chief Inspector Whalley said: “The tributes to Baby Ava have now made their way to their forever homes, and we would like to thank the community who have come together and shown immense support for her and our officers who are investigating this case.
“We are still committed to establishing who Ava’s mum is and the full circumstances that led to her and Ava being separated. Our determination to get answers for Ava is unrelenting and will continue throughout the festive period and beyond. We ask anyone who may have information which could help us, no matter how small, to come forward to us, as this may provide the key to unlocking the investigation.”
Experts are also trying to establish a precise age for Ava and her ethnicity. But it is believed she was weeks rather than days old. Neighbourhood police teams and a Major Incident Team of around 15 detectives are working on the case, plus a team skilled in scrutinising CCTV and evidence from automatic number plate recognition cameras.
