Macabre discovery in the Grande-Synthe canal (North). The body of a newborn baby was found on Monday evening floating in a sports bag by children, we learned Tuesday from the Dunkirk prosecutor's office, confirming information from the Dunkirk Lighthouse.
They "proceeded to repatriate the bag to the bank while it was stagnant in the water," added the prosecution. Upon discovering its contents, a child warned his mother who herself "called the police."
An open investigation
The medical examiner came to the scene on Monday evening, but at this stage "it was not possible to determine whether the child was born at term or if it was premature", nor "the date of death" .
A preliminary investigation was opened by the Dunkirk prosecutor's office and an autopsy ordered to determine the causes of death and identify "the stage of maturity of this child". Criminal investigations are also underway, in particular to try to find "the parentage of this infant".