Woman ‘assisting’ Perth detectives investigating death of baby boy found in Alexander Heights stormwater drain

A woman is assisting detectives as they investigate the death of a baby boy found in a stormwater drain this week, police have confirmed.

In an update on Wednesday night, authorities said a woman in her 30s was “assisting police with enquires” and is “receiving appropriate care and support”.

“The Western Australia Police Force would like to thank the community for their concern, support and assistance,” WA Police said.

Detectives had made a number of appeals for information about the whereabouts of the newborn’s mother.

The child was found by tradies carrying out routine maintenance work in Perth’s north about 1pm on Monday.

Police believe the child was wrapped in a sheet and placed in the drain on La Salle Rd in Alexander Heights in the days before he was found, and had called for his mother to reach out for help.

Police have fielded plenty of calls from people who believe they have seen something that could help.

“We’ve got some leads,” WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said earlier on Wednesday.

“The job now is to sift through which ones may be relevant and which ones may not.

“(Homicide squad detectives) will follow everything down.

“So my message continues to be to our community, even if it doesn’t seem relevant, if you’re in the area, just ring up Crime Stoppers and tell us what you saw.”

Physical and forensic testing has been completed over the last 48 hours, with the analysis of that “still ongoing at this stage”.

Authorities have been down the stormwater drain to collect information.

Detective Senior Sergeant Stephen Cleal said on Tuesday that it was a “highly distressing and confronting situation”.

“(The tradies) were clearing the drains in the area of any debris or checking for blockages. It was routine work,” he said.

“There was no information that sent workers to that drain. This was a chance discovery.

“They were very unprepared. Not that you can prepare for a discovery like this, but they were very unprepared.”

Floral tributes and toys have been left at the scene where the boy was found.

Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers.