Scotsman.com News - Scotland - Edinburgh - Police give up hope of mum coming forward

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Scotsman.com
Tuesday, 26th December 2006

Scotland - Edinburgh

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Edinburgh Evening News Tue 13 Sep 2005
Baby Gary has been looked after by a foster...

Baby Gary has been looked after by a foster family but will now be put up for adoption.
Picture: Tim Hurst

Police give up hope of mum coming forward

ALAN MCEWEN CRIME REPORTER

POLICE have given up hope of abandoned baby Gary's mother coming forward one month after he was found in woodland near Holyrood Park.

Detectives working to trace his mum have admitted that she is unlikely to make contact with them.

The adoption process is now likely to go ahead shortly to give Gary the best chance to bond with his new parents.

Gary is being looked after by a foster family in Edinburgh and social workers say he is making tremendous progress.

The tiny baby was discovered in a plastic carrier bag on the edge of the Dumbiedykes estate two weeks ago.

But officers vowed to continue their efforts to track down his mum using the latest DNA and forensic technology. Hair and fingernail samples have been sent to Queen's University in Belfast to undergo isotopic examination in a bid to determine where she was originally from.

An analysis of isotopes - different forms of the same chemical element - can reflect the geology of the area where someone has grown up. Samples can be linked to individual locations through subtle differences in drinking water, for instance.

The technique was used in the case of the mutilated torso of a child, known as Adam, who was found in the River Thames in 2001.

His mother's birthplace was narrowed down to an exact village in north Africa and police in the Capital hope the results will cut their search down in a similar way.

It is the first time in Scotland the isotopic tests have been carried out on a living person during an inquiry.

A local woman will be used as a comparison to determine whether his mother was from the city or further afield.

The results are expected to take three to four weeks. Detective Sergeant Euan Anderson, leading the inquiry, said: "The mother is not coming in at this stage and if it was a concealed pregnancy there may not be more information to come in.

"She may not want to be contacted but we have to think about Gary's long-term wellbeing. He was abandoned, not abandoned to be found.

"We want to find her because of genetic medical problems Gary could face later in life. When he is 14 or 16 he has the right to know about that."

Social workers and police are also compiling a "life book" containing information on Gary's weight, what he was wearing when he was found and other details about his discovery. They are also storing a sample of his mother's DNA from the scene.

The idea is to give Gary the best chance to trace his parents in the future when DNA technology may make the task far easier.

"We have full DNA results for Gary and his mother," added Mr Anderson. "Gary's DNA is 50 per cent from his mother and 50 per cent from his father so that has now generated a new line of inquiry for us to try and find him.

"His mother may only be 14 or 15 years old which mean she wouldn't be on our DNA system. She might pop up on it in two or three years' time if she commits a crime and has a mouth swab.

"But this case will remain open even if it's not pro-active.

"The case will be reviewed in four weeks' time when a decision will be made whether to let it rest for now or widen the investigation even further."

Baby Gary, named after the first police officer on the scene, was found semi-naked and wrapped in a blanket in woodland on the edge of Holyrood Park at around 11.30pm on August 12. He was less than an hour old.

This article: http://news.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=1931812005

Last updated: 13-Sep-05 12:25 GMT