Police contact GPs after baby remains found on common (From Streatham Guardian)

Police contact GPs after baby remains found on common

10:35am Tuesday 18th September 2012 in News

Police have contacted GPs and health centres in a bid to trace the mother of a baby whose remains were found last week.

A week-long police search of Tooting Bec Common failed to find any further evidence after human remains were discovered there.

A council contractor found a pair of baby's legs at a grasscutters depot near Dr Johnson Avenue on Tooting Bec Common, last Monday morning sparking a massive police search.

A post mortem examination last Wednesday confirmed that the remains were of a white baby under two weeks old.

But forensic experts was unable to confirm either the gender or the cause of death.

The search of the common, which lasted until Friday using police officers and sniffer dogs, was hampered by the dense vegetation in parts of the common.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Dunne, who is leading the investigation, said overgrown areas were searched but some thickets were so dense that they could not be checked without doing permanent damage to the common and to the wildlife who use it as a refuge.

An appeal for information last week has not produced any leads so far and police have now contacted local GPs and health centres in the hope that someone in the medical profession holds vital clues which could crack the case.

Det Chf Insp Dunne said said: "My main focus has to be on identifying the parents of this child and any criminal inquiries would come after that. We are very keen to find the parents, particularly the mother of this child, as quickly as possible so that she can get the medical or other support she needs."

The investigation into the death is being led by the Homicide and Serious Crime Command.

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives on 0208 721 4906. If you wish to remain anonymous then place call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.