Manchester police are desperately searching for parents of mauled baby found in Rochdale
Law enforcement authorities are desperately searching for the mother of a child whose body was found by a petrified passer-by on April 4. The child was named "Pearl" after authorities could not ID her immediately. She was found naked with her umbilical cord still attached to her body in a bad state.
Pearl's infant body was lined with bite marks from wild animals, reported The Daily Star. Accord to Greater Manchester Police (GMP), Pearl could be the “product of incest or rape”, although authorities are trying to nail the actual cause of her condition.
Lewis Hughes, the Detective Chief Inspector of GMP, said: "We believe the mother may be somebody in distress. Whoever left Pearl here was someone with no emotional attachment for that baby. There was not a scrap of clothing on her. She has been treated with no compassion. If it was the mother [who dumped Pearl], she could be a rape victim or a victim of abuse or incest. It may be a mother who has concealed the birth from others."
The shocking discovery of the child, who was left in woodland near a housing area called Heywood in Greater Manchester for over four weeks, left local residents speechless. The toddler was allegedly carried up a hill in Roch Valley Woods by the perpetrator and pushed over a ledge into the undergrowth, according to reports.
Officers said Pearl may have been alive when she was abandoned and could have been left to die after being carried up the hill and rolled down a steep rock face. Law enforcement specialists were forced to abseil down to retrieve the poor infant's body.
As of now, Greater Manchester authorities have renewed their quest to trace the baby's biological parents. Pearl was found by a dog walker near the Back O' Th' Moss estate close to the River Roch. Although the baby's DNA has been cross-referenced with UK's national databases, it is hard to zero in on the biological parents because the records, which threw up thousands of potential matches, include data from people who have either come into contact with the police or have been convicted of other crimes.
In a conversation with the Sunday Times, DCI Hughes asserted that they would most probably find what they were looking for in the neighborhood surrounding the woods where the baby was found.
There are over 20 investigators working day and night with the Greater Manchester Police on the case but are still trying to locate the mother and establish the dead tot's identity after almost a month of efforts. Empathizers and well-wishers left flowers and cards at the scene where Pearl was found.
Police had made a fresh appeal for information two weeks after her body was discovered while revealing that the baby was found without any clothes and that they had decided to call her Pearl. “Obviously all children are precious and this child, who was found in the woods, is no different,” said DCI Hughes at the time.
He also added that the authorities had received "very limited" information to help with the case.
Detective Constable Kelly Bragg said: "Sadly the baby had died and our main priority at this time is the well-being of the baby girl's mother as she may be in need of urgent medical attention.
"If you are the baby's mother I would ask you to get in touch, either directly to me or ask a family member or friend you can trust to contact me on your behalf, and we will do everything we can to help you.
"We also understand that it may be difficult for the baby's mother to come forward and as such, I am also asking for anyone who may have information that might assist us to get in touch on 07387 705768."
The police are urging anyone with related information to contact them on 0161 856 4810 or 07387 705768 quoting incident number 368 of 04/04/18. One can also report to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 if they would like to preserve their anonymity.