The body of a newborn baby discovered at a recycling facility in the south Auckland suburb of Onehunga was moved to the centre via a truckload of waste, police say.
The body was found at Visy Recycling on Victoria St on Monday evening.
Auckland City Police Detective Inspector Scott Beard said officers were working as quickly as possible to establish the facts.
“At this stage we don't know who the mother is; we don't know at what point around Tāmaki Makaurau the recycling was picked up," he told media on Tuesday outside the central Auckland police station.
Earlier he confirmed a scene examination was ongoing.
"Numerous enquiries are underway and the priority for police to is identify and locate the mother of the child. We are extremely concerned for her welfare," he said.
He also offered an important message for the woman who may need medical assistance.
"We want to give you the support and help that you need."
He said earlier in the day enquiries had been made with hospitals and police were working work closely with them.
Det Insp Beard did not give details about the baby's ethnicity, sex or age. A post-mortem will be carried out on Wednesday.
"These types of investigations can be extremely complex and police has a significant amount of work to undertake to try and establish how the baby has come to be at the facility. This will involve going through hours’ worth of CCTV footage," Det Insp Beard continued.
"What would assist police greatly is for anyone who knows anything about this baby or the mother of the child to contact us urgently. We have teams of specialist staff and this will be treated sensitively and with respect."
Anyone with information can contact 105 quoting file number 210816/2825. Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
