The frantic search for a mother and a newborn continues after ‘signs of birth’ were discovered on a riverbank as police respond to fears the baby could be in the water.
Emergency services were called to the banks of the Cook River in Earlwood, southwest Sydney, at about 4.30pm on Monday after a passerby walking a dog spotted a placenta and an umbilical cord.
The organs were later confirmed by police to be human.
Search teams, boats and divers returned to the river at first light on Tuesday after a large-scale search of the river and surrounding areas was conducted overnight.
When asked whether police were concerned the day-old baby could be in the water, Detective Chief Superintendent Christine McDonald said the whereabouts of the mother and child was her main priority.
‘At this stage our main concern is for the whereabouts for the mother and the child, we see that as a real urgent matter for us to find her and her child, hopefully safe and healthy,’ she told a press conference on Monday night.
Superintendent McDonald said it remained unclear whether the baby was born on the banks of the Cook River or elsewhere.
‘All we know is that a placenta and an umbilical cord were located. Obviously, our search will identify what has taken place,’ she said.
‘Whether that birth or delivery of that child occurred at this location, or another location, is yet to be determined.’
Police have urged the mother and child to present at a hospital and said they do not need to speak to police if they don’t want to.
‘It is very important, and it is extreme urgency that we find the mother and child as soon as we can. Obviously, we will be contacting hospitals, we ask that she goes to a hospital,’ Superintendent McDonald said.
‘If any family and friends have any information, our request is that she gets to a hospital as soon as possible.’
Detectives are hopeful a busy walking track near the riverbank will mean there are witnesses who may have seen a pregnant woman or a ‘woman in distress’.
Police are also seeking CCTV footage from Lang Road, Wardell Road, Ewen Park or Tennent Parade in Earlwood, about 10km southwest of Sydney’s CBD.
‘That’s why we are appealing for information overnight and tomorrow morning when people are hearing the news that this placenta and umbilical cord have been located,’ Superintendent McDonald said on Monday.
‘There’s lots of houses and businesses in this area, and we do hope that someone will have CCTV footage, anyone that may have seen a pregnant woman or a woman in distress.’
As inquiries continue police are urging anyone with CCTV vision or information about the incident to contact Burwood Police or Crime Stoppers.