The body of a baby boy discovered at a golf course in Wirral may have been there for several weeks, Merseyside police said.
Police are continuing to treat the death as unexplained after an initial postmortem on Monday was inconclusive in determining the cause of death, according to DCS Lee Turner.
Officers are trying to find the boy’s mother to check on her welfare and safety, and to see if she needs medical help. “Clearly it will be as distressing for her as it is for anyone reading,” Turner said. “We just want to build a timeline of what’s happened throughout the pregnancy to lead into this event where the little boy has been left in the location that he’s been recovered in.”
The boy’s body was discovered by a couple walking their dogs on a public footpath through Brackenwood golf course in Bebington on Friday.
Police believe the body may have been there for at least four or five weeks but cannot be sure due to recent cold weather. The golf course has been closed to golfers under lockdown restrictions. The body was discovered in a wooded area off the public right of way.
Turner described the case as “absolutely awful”. He said the police wanted to extend support to the baby’s parents and other family members and give the boy some “dignity in death”. “Any death of a baby is tragic. When a baby is recovered in this set of circumstances, I think it touches everybody,” he added.
Forensic tests are taking place but may not prove conclusive in determining when or how the baby died, unless the boy’s mother came forward, Turner said.
Anyone with information should call police on 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
