The Metropolitan Police are preparing to shelve a long-running and unique investigation to find the mother of three babies who were separately abandoned in plastic bags in east London.
A Sibling Mystery Unfolds Over Seven Years
For years, detectives have pursued an exhaustive search for the parents after DNA tests confirmed a heartbreaking link: all three abandoned infants were siblings. The first child, a boy named Harry by hospital staff, was discovered wrapped in a white blanket within a bush near the Greenway in Plaistow, Newham, in September 2017.
Almost two years later, in January 2019, a second baby boy was found in the same vicinity. He was wrapped in a white towel inside a shopping bag and named Roman. DNA analysis later revealed he was Harry's brother.
The trail led to a third chilling discovery in January 2024. A dog walker found a newborn girl in a Boots shopping bag in temperatures as low as -4°C. She was named Elsa, after the Disney Frozen character, due to the freezing conditions. Miraculously, all three children survived.
An Investigation Spanning the UK
The Met, working with a geographic profiler from the National Crime Agency (NCA), pinpointed a potential residential area for the mother encompassing roughly 400 houses. The abandoned spot on the Greenway—a footpath built over a sewage pipe—was chosen deliberately.
Detective Inspector Jamie Humm noted the location offered no CCTV, dashcam, or doorbell camera footage, allowing for a "covert entrance and exit" while ensuring the babies were found quickly.
Officers embarked on a painstaking door-to-door campaign, asking residents to volunteer DNA samples. The investigation expanded across the UK, with detectives travelling to Scotland, Wales, East Anglia, Birmingham, and the Cotswolds, following genetic leads and even tracing the family trees of deceased individuals.
Case Nearing Its End
Now, almost two years after baby Elsa was found, the extensive trawl is nearing its end. A formal review is due to decide whether to close the case.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford, who leads the Met's public protection command, stated: "I now think that the mother may have gone abroad. She may have been forced to leave the area; she may be being controlled. If someone comes forward with new intelligence we will investigate, but we have exhausted pretty much everything we can do."
The case remains officially open, but the prospect of identifying the parents of Harry, Roman, and Elsa now appears increasingly remote, marking a sombre conclusion to one of the force's most determined cold case investigations.
