Police have released photos of clothing found at an Auckland recycling centre in the hopes of finding the mother of a newborn girl discovered dead there on Monday night.
The infant's body was discovered at Visy Recycling in Onehunga, and police on Tuesday revealed it was moved there via a rubbish truck. A post-mortem carried out on Wednesday confirmed the baby was a girl born at full-term.
Despite appeals to the public, only limited information has been uncovered that would help police identify the mother, and they have now released images of clothing they found in the hopes someone might recognise it.
Auckland City Police Detective Inspector Scott Beard says several items of baby, kids and adult clothing were found in a blue plastic bag at the facility during a scene examination this week.
He says the baby may also have been in the bag.
The clothing includes a child’s beanie, a distinctive pink child’s sweater and pink t-shirt, women's belts, two women's tops and a sequined skirt that appears to have been cut up.
There were also two baby onesies with colourful prints on them located in the area, which may also have come out of the bag.
Det Insp Beard says while detectives can't determine conclusively that the clothing is linked to the mother or the baby, anyone who recognises the items is urged to contact police immediately.
"We are asking that if this clothing is known to you or you recognise who this clothing belongs to, please contact us. This information will greatly help us with our enquiries," he said.
"Not only do we want to identify the baby girl's mother to ensure her welfare and get her the medical assistance and support she needs, but we also want to get some answers for the sake of this little girl.
"She has no name and no one to mourn and bury her. The sooner police can identify her mother, the sooner this baby girl can be treated with the respect she deserves and [be] laid to rest."
Anyone with information is urged to call 105 and quote file number 210816/2825, or to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
