Police in fresh bid to trace parents of Baby S

A police force has launched a fresh bid to trace the parents of a baby found dead at a recycling plant five years ago.

On the anniversary of the discovery of Baby S, Suffolk Police is asking the public to review bin collection points to help them find the relatives of the newborn.

The body of the baby girl was found on 14 May 2020 at Sackers Yard in Needham Market, and an inquest in 2022 found she had suffered a traumatic brain injury.

Det Insp Dan Connick, of the joint major investigations team, said: "There's no-one advocating for that child, there's no family we can identify, so someone's got to be the voice of that child."

He revealed the two routes - red and blue - that bin lorries at the time would have taken, but added that while the infant was "most likely" picked up on the blue route, the red route could not be ruled out.

"The bins being collected were industrial bins from companies but some were behind locked gates," Det Insp Connick told the BBC.

"We're here to find the answers, there's help available if that's what's needed. There's a father out there, grandparents, potentially siblings."

The newly-released red route runs between Rattlesden and Wherstead, passing through Barking, Needham Market, Claydon, Sproughton and Ipswich, whilst the blue route runs from outside Darmsden to Washbrook, through Ipswich before reaching Brightwell.

It is not clear whether the parents would face criminal charges for the disposal of the baby's body.

Det Insp Connick added: "Until people come forward and tell us what happened we're not able to give any answers to what the outcome might be.

"But the safeguarding of individuals and the wellbeing of individuals and families is our paramount consideration."

A full DNA profile for the mother has been found and that is currently being searched against a national database.

Officers also have a partial DNA profile for the father and have conducted a "complex" investigation involving familial DNA searches which has taken them across the country.

No match has yet been made for either parent.

From the DNA profile gathered the officers have confirmed the baby was either black or had mixed ethnicity.

Baby S was discovered as the country was emerging from lockdown. Officers are keen to speak to anyone who may remember noticing someone pregnant around that time.

"A pregnancy would be something that would be quite hard to disguise if you were living with someone," said Det Insp Connick.

"The baby was full-term, it would have been quite hard to have not noticed that.

"I really urge people to have a think back to that time coming out of lockdown five years ago, the nice weather, where you were and if there's anything relevant, no matter how small, please contact us.

"We can say with certainty that the baby was alive when it was born, it took a breath and it died subsequently."

The senior officer also told the BBC that staff at Sackers Yard had been "profoundly affected" by the discovery of the baby and continued to visit the grave to clean it and leave flowers.

He said: "It's something that reaches right to the core of us as human beings - we want to find the answers.

"Their information could provide answers for a lot of people.

"If you put yourself in the place of those people who were working at Sackers Yard that day, what they came across that day, it still resonates with them.

"Help them find the answers - contact us, work with us, help us find some of those answers and help us find a conclusion."