Baby abandoned in Australia may have Irish link

Australian police are searching for a woman they believe has travelled to Ireland after abandoning her baby in a public toilet…

Australian police are searching for a woman they believe has travelled to Ireland after abandoning her baby in a public toilet in Queensland.

The baby boy, aged between two and four weeks, was found by a member of the public in the toilet cubicle at the tourist resort of Surfers Paradise on Queensland's Gold Coast at about 7.45am on Monday.

He was wrapped in a towel and placed inside a black environmentally-friendly hessian shopping bag. A bag containing baby items and towels was left with the child.

Queensland police and the department of child safety conducted extensive inquiries to try to locate the birth mother, including releasing CCTV images of a woman leaving the scene.

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It was these images that led to a number of calls to the Crime Stoppers helpline from members of the public identifying the woman as Irish.

A statement issued by the Queensland police service said that, as a result of information received from Crime Stoppers, detectives were "now following a strong line of inquiry in relation to the identity of the mother. Police investigations are continuing."

Speaking to The Irish Times, a spokesman for the service said it could not confirm that the woman was Irish but believed that she had boarded a flight to Ireland.

"Investigators are making inquiries among her friends at present and trying to contact her through them," he said. "However, if we are not able to make contact with her, we will be seeking help from Irish police."

He said he understood there had been a number of unconfirmed sightings of the woman in Dublin, but Queensland police had not been formally contacted by anyone.

The baby was reported to be in good health and had been well cared for before being abandoned.

In local reports, acting detective inspector Mark White expressed concern for the well-being of the mother.

"The fact the baby is very young could mean that the mother is also in need of further medical assistance, may be struggling emotionally and in need of help," he said.

Officials are now considering the best course of action to take in the interests of the child.

A Garda spokesman said he could not comment on the case.