Boys Find Baby's Body Buried in Sand

Police in Sydney searching for infant's mother
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 1, 2014 12:17 AM CST
Boys Find Baby's Body Buried in Sand
People walk and rest on Maroubra Beach in Sydney today.   (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Two young boys are receiving counseling after making a horrifying find at a beach in Sydney, Australia, yesterday. The boys, ages 6 and 7, discovered what police say was the decomposed body of a "very small infant child" while they were digging in the sand at Maroubra Beach, the BBC reports. Investigators, who have not yet been able to determine the age or sex of the baby, have urged the mother or anyone who knows her to come forward. "Police are concerned about the welfare of the mother involved and hope she sought medical assistance," a police spokesman says.

Police are checking birth and death records and visiting local hospitals to see if there are any newborns unaccounted for. The southern part of the beach in the suburb of Randwick is fairly isolated by Sydney standards, but it's still patrolled by lifeguards. "To say that I am shocked is an understatement," the local mayor tells the Sydney Morning Herald. "I cannot imagine the circumstances that led to this tragic event." (Only a week ago, a 30-year-old Sydney woman was charged with attempted murder after her newborn was found in a stormwater drain, where it had survived for around five days and was rescued after passing cyclists heard its cries.)

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