Police appreciate offers from the public to hold a community funeral for a newborn baby found dead in a recycling plant last week, but say they're not in a position to release the girl's body and are still searching for her mother.
The baby was found at Visy Recycling on Victoria St in Auckland's Onehunga last Monday evening, but despite several pleas to the public for information - including releasing images of clothing also found at the site - police still haven't been able to identify the child's family.
After the images of the clothing and a bag which the baby may have been in was released, police said they received some information from the public that is now being reviewed.
Detective Inspector Scott Beard said on Wednesday that police have also been approached by multiple members of the public offering to host a community funeral for the child once alert level 4 restrictions have been lifted.
"While we appreciate the intentions behind this offer and the care shown by the community, due to investigative requirements we are not in a position to release the baby's body for burial at this stage and our top priority remains finding the girl's mother and family," he said.
"As we have said previously, the sooner Police can identify her mother, the sooner this baby girl can be treated with the respect she deserves and be laid to rest."
Decisions about funeral arrangements will be made after all possible enquiries to find the mother have been completed.
"We know that there is at least one person out there who knows what happened to this baby girl, and we urge them and anyone else who might know what happened to do the right thing and contact Police," Det Inspt Beard said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact 105 quoting file number 210816/2825 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
