Police investigation into the discovery of baby Pearl continues
Date published: 01 May 2018
The scene where baby Pearl was found
Detectives continue to investigate after the body of a baby girl was discovered in Heywood.
At around 7.10am on Wednesday 4 April 2018, police were alerted to the body of a baby in woodland near to Peel Lane in Heywood.
Results from forensic analysis so far have identified that the baby is a girl and was extremely young, most probably new-born. She is also most likely to be Caucasian but mixed heritage cannot be ruled out.
Investigating officers chose to name the baby girl Pearl, meaning precious.
Despite extensive enquiries by detectives - supported by a behavioural psychologist - including national DNA database searches, the parents of Pearl, particularly her mother, have still not been identified.
Detective Chief Inspector Lewis Hughes, of GMP’s Major Incident Team, said: “I know how heart-breaking this case is for everyone involved from emergency services to members of the public and we all want to get to the bottom of what happened to Pearl.
“There have been some unhelpful headlines that circulated over the weekend and we feel it is important to update the public accurately.
“As part of our enquiries, we are working to establish who Pearl’s mother is and all possible scenarios such as what led to her being left in the woods.
“We will continue to update you with the facts of our investigation but I would ask people to not speculate, especially considering the distressing details of this case, and continue to urge anyone with any information to please get in touch.
“Any piece of information, no matter how big or small, could prove vital to this investigation and I implore you to contact police.
“A baby girl was left in the woods and we need to find out how she came to be there.”
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