Baby found abandoned in bag has same mystery parents as two other dumped babies

A baby found in a shopping bag in east London earlier this year has two siblings who were abandoned in similar circumstances, a court has heard.

Judge Carol Atkinson said on Monday (June 3) at East London Family Court that it can be reported that the child, known as Baby Elsa, has a brother and a sister who were discovered alone in 2017 and 2019 respectively.

The parents of the three children have yet to be identified. Scotland Yard has repeated its call for anyone with information to come forward.

Baby Elsa was found in freezing temperatures in East Ham on January 18 this year. It is believed she was less than an hour old when she was found by a dog walker, wrapped in a towel in a reusable shopping bag with her umbilical cord still attached.

She was discovered at the junction of Greenway and High Street South. She was named Elsa by hospital staff who cared for her, in reference to the freezing temperatures in which she was found and the character from the film Frozen.

The Metropolitan Police said at the time it was "highly likely" Elsa was born after a "concealed pregnancy".

The woman who left her was spotted entering the Greenway from the High Street South entrance at around 8.45pm on the night of January 18, around half an hour before she was found.

Appealing for her mother to come forward in January, Ch Supt Simon Crick urged anyone with information to urgently get in touch.

The BBC reported that a previous court hearing was told it took doctors three hours to record Elsa's temperature due to the cold, with the Met Office confirming temperatures dropped as low as -4C on the night.

A court-appointed guardian asked the court at the earlier hearing to change the name picked by hospital staff, but Judge Atkinson refused the request as it gave the child something to "hang on to".

Barristers for Newham Council told the court in April that due to ongoing investigation into the identity of her parents, no final decision on her care could be made, with a future hearing expected at a later date.

Baby Roman was also found in freezing temperatures just under five years before Elsa. Police were called to a park area close to Roman Road and Saxon Road in East Ham at around 10.15pm on January 30, 2019.

The force said at the time the baby was found wrapped in a white towel which was put in a shopping bag and then placed on the ground next to a bench in the small children's play park. No attempt had been made to hide her.

She was found by a dog walker, Rima Zvaliauskas, who told the BBC in 2019 she was "shocked and stressed" at the discovery after hearing a noise coming from a bag. Roman - not her real name - has since been adopted.

Baby Harry was found wrapped in a white blanket and abandoned in a park on September 17, 2017. The boy, named Harry by medical staff, was discovered in an area off Balaam Road in Plaistow, east London.

Harry - not his real name - was cared for at a hospital before being discharged. He has since been adopted.

Det Insp Jamie Humm from the Met's North East Command Unit which covers Newham said: "We understand the significant public interest that will come following the lifting of restrictions that allow this information to be reported.

"It is significant news and our work has focused on trying to locate the mother and provide support to her.

"We have worked 24/7 in each of these three cases to identify the parents, so far without success.

"We have also had to be mindful of the sensitivities that exist now all of the children are being cared for. Their welfare, including their privacy, is paramount.

"We continue to investigate and will consider the next steps in our investigation."