Christmas appeal hopes to trace Baby Carrie's mother

Police investigating the murder of a newborn baby in the outskirts of Belfast earlier this year have taken the unusual step of hand-delivering over 1,000 Christmas cards to homes in Carryduff in a fresh attempt to trace the baby's mother.

Officers, who have dubbed the child Baby Carrie, say the days leading up to what would have been the baby's first Christmas must be a particularly difficult time for her mum. The senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Roy McComb, said at a time of family reunions Carrie’s mum was bound to feel the strain.

“We realise that this must be a particularly emotional time for Carrie’s mum who would have been about seven months’ pregnant this time last year. Like any mother without her child at Christmas she must find this a very distressing experience to cope with," he said.

“We are appealing to Carrie’s mum, anybody who might know her or anyone whom she may have confided in to get in contact with us. Family members or friends may remember her pregnancy this time last year. We genuinely want to give her the support she needs during these painful days.”

Detectives will be delivering the cards to around 1,000 randomly picked homes in the Carryduff area. DCI McComb said the tragic story of Baby Carrie had "drawn the entire community closer together". One detective had even come out of retirement to help out the team of officers distributing the cards, he added.

“There is still tremendous community interest and support for Baby Carrie. She continues to live on in people’s hearts and we are as committed as ever to finding out what happened to her. That is why we have taken the unusual step of delivering Christmas cards containing this appeal for Carrie’s mum to come forward.”

Anybody with any information that would help the investigation is asked to contact police on 02890 259793 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

(GMcG)