Mitchells Plain police are appealing for help to establish the identity of a newborn baby who was caught on a fishing line at Mnandi beach over the weekend.
The horrific discovery left the fisherman traumatised after the baby boy was reeled in onto the beach on Saturday night.
According to a Daily Voice source, the incident has left cops puzzled as they wait for the outcome of the post-mortem results to determine whether or not the child was murdered.
“It was a horrible scene because the baby did not wash up on the beach but was mistakenly reeled in by a fisherman when casting his line.
“He was very traumatised,” says the source.
“From what we could see it is a newborn baby boy but the race of the baby is not clear.
“Due to the bad state of decomposition, it appears the baby was in the water for some time and it is unclear if there are injuries on the body.
“At this stage the police are waiting for the post-mortem result so whether or not the child was murdered or not,” the source adds.
Colin De Hart, deputy chairperson of the Community Police Forum (CPF) says the incident has shocked the community and he appealed to struggling moms to seek help.
“The community is very shocked and while the circumstances surrounding the death of the baby are not yet clear, we want to appeal to mothers who feel they cannot cope to rather come to us and we will help to have the child placed in a safe place,” says De Hart.
If you have information call Detective Constable Jonathan Jacobs on 021 370 1681.
If you are a mother in need of help call De Hart on 084 317 1358 or Valderina Charles on 071 265 0089.
monique.duval@inl.co.za