A £20,000 reward has been offered to trace the parents of three newborn babies who were dumped shortly after birth in East London.
One year ago Baby Elsa was found alive in a shopping bag near the Greenway footpath in east London. The tiny tot was just an hour old.
Medics at a London hospital named her “Elsa” after the character in the Disney film Frozen because when she was found she was “extremely cold”.
Police have now released a photo of the Boots carrier bag.
In February 2019, baby “Roman” was found in freezing temperatures. He was wrapped in a white towel and also placed in a shopping bag.
And baby “Harry” was discovered in September 2017, also wrapped in a blanket, and again shortly after he was born.
The BBC revealed last year that DNA tests confirmed that all three abandoned babies are full siblings. All three of the youngsters’ names have been changed and they are in good health.
Crimestoppers have now offered a cash reward to anyone who has information that will help locate the parents.
Cops probing the case have poured through 450 hours of CCTV footage and completed a full DNA profile of the children’s mother.
Specialist investigators working with the police have narrowed their search to Plaistow or East Ham, where they believe the mother and possibly father have been living for the last six years.
Detective Inspector Jamie Humm said: “We have serious concerns for the wellbeing of the parents, especially the mother.”
He said he believed someone in the area would have been aware of the mother’s pregnancies and “within the community there may have been concerns for this mother’s welfare”.
Inspector Humm urged people to contact the police if they had any information, no matter how small it may seem.
He added that all three children were “thankfully” healthy.
The Family Court heard in December that Elsa, who was found on January 18, last year is in foster care and “doing very well”.
However, the local authorities say they cannot register Elsa’s birth while the police investigation is active. It has meant they can not seek approval for her adoption.
The older children have already been adopted.
It is reported that the court heard that officials were “very concerned” about the delay.
Nine hearings have taken place so far before the senior judge Carol Atkinson in East London Family Court.
In December she feared that Baby Elsa was living with an “ongoing state of uncertainty”, and it was not possible for carers to “progress the relationship” with her older siblings while the proceedings were still ongoing.
Professor Lorraine Sherr of University College London has made a study of children abandoned at birth.
She explained the delay in the court process was a “double whammy” for the little girl.
“She can’t get on with her new life, or build relationships with her siblings,” she said. “Nor does she know who her parents are.”
She added that children who are abandoned