Baby found in shopping bag has brother and sister who were also abandoned

A newborn baby who was abandoned in a shopping bag has two siblings that were also found in similar circumstances, it has been revealed.

The link has emerged following DNA testing on the infant, who was discovered in sub-zero temperatures by a dogwalker in east London earlier this year.

The results confirmed that the baby girl, named Elsa by hospital staff, is related to a boy and girl who were also abandoned in the same area in 2017 and 2019 respectively.

Police are yet to find out who their parents are and investigations are ongoing.

Baby Elsa was thought to have been less than an hour old when she was found in Newham after a passer-by heard her crying.

The dogwalker discovered her wrapped in a towel inside a reusable shopping bag near the junction between the Greenway footpath and High Street South at around 9.15pm on 18 January.

They then kept the child warm by wrapping her in blankets until paramedics arrived and were afterwards praised by police for helping to save her life.

Officers later said the baby was “safe and well“.

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A court previously heard that because the investigation into Elsa’s birth is continuing, her birth cannot be registered yet and no final decision about her care can been made.

A judge at East London Family Court has now ruled that reporting restrictions could be changed to allow the publication of the link between the three children, following an application by members of the media.

It can be reported that Elsa’s sister, known as Roman, was found in similar circumstances in a play area off Roman Road, Newham, in late January 2019, in freezing temperatures.

Her brother, known as Harry, was found wrapped in a blanket in Balaam Street, Plaistow, in September 2017.

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Harry and Roman – not their real names – have since been adopted.

Only certain details of the three children, who are black, may be reported.

‘Very, very unusual’

On Monday, judge Carol Atkinson ruled the restrictions should be lifted in the interests of “openness of justice”, the PA news agency reported

The judge added: “There is a clear public interest in reporting this story.

“The abandonment of a baby in this country is a very, very unusual event and there are years where there are no children abandoned, and because of that it is the story of the abandoning of a child that is of public interest.

“It is for the same reason, in our current society, of enormous interest and importance that people know that there is a mother and father out there who felt the need to relinquish their children in this way, three times, and that is of considerable interest, it seems to me.”

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A further hearing in baby Elsa’s case is expected to be held at a later date.

Anyone with information that could help identify the parents is urged to contact the Metropolitan Police.

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