Baby found in bushes next to road

A FOUR-month-old baby boy was found dumped in the bushes alongside the R334 between Uitenhage and Motherwell yesterday morning.

Police spokesman Sergeant Majola Nkohli said the child had been found in the bushes at about 7am.

Nkohli said police and medics were alerted to the child by a passer-by who heard him crying.

“Uitenhage police were dispatched to the scene and found a baby boy, believed to be four months old, in the bushes.

“The baby was only wearing a diaper and had nothing else with him or on him,” he said.

Metro EMS operations manager Ashwell Botha said his team was called to the scene and found the child to be in good health.

“The baby was taken to Uitenhage Provincial Hospital for medical examination and social workers were alerted so they could assist,” he said.

A case of child abandonment is under investigation by the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit.

Last month, the body of an infant was found buried in the sand on Pollok Beach in Summerstrand.

The body, which was badly decomposed, was found by a passer-by walking a dog near the Pipe surf spot.

The body was partly buried and due to decomposition, police could not determine the sex or age of the infant.

Authorities, however, suspect that the infant was about two months old.

Yesterday, police spokeswoman Colonel Priscilla Naidu said due to advanced stages of decomposition, the postmortem could not establish a cause of death.

“DNA samples have been taken,” she said.