societyMar 17, 20263:52

Introducing... Foundling

The Walkers: The real Salt Path | Tortoise Investigates

About this episode

On 6th October 1987, a newborn baby is found on the verge of a remote country lane in Suffolk. Police comb the area for clues and appeal for witnesses, but the mother is never found. The baby, Jess, is adopted. Journalist Lucy Greenwell has never forgotten the day when Jess was discovered. She was a child and lived nearby. For decades Lucy has wondered; what happened to Jess, and what could have driven a mother to leave her child in such an isolated place? When Lucy tracks Jess down, she finds a woman already deep in her own search for the truth, and a story far more tangled than either of them expected. What unfolds is a tale of long-held secrets and unintended consequences that spirals out of Jess’s control.

Foundling is a 6 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer.

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Reporter - Lucy Greenwell

Producer - Katie Gunning

Original theme music - Tom Kinsella

Sound design and additional music - Rowan Bishop

Podcast artwork - Blythe Walker Sibthorp

Narrative editor - Gary Marshall

Editor - Jasper Corbett

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The Walkers: The real Salt Path | Tortoise Investigates — Introducing... Foundling. Machine-transcribed; use the interactive transcript above to jump the player to any line.

The six pound three and a half ounce baby is doing well in hospital after being dumped in an orange and white plastic bag around mid-morning yesterday. Imagine growing up with no idea about where you were born or who gave birth to you. The opening scenes of your life are a complete blank. All you know is that as a newborn baby, you were abandoned. You are a fouling. I was found on the side of a road in a village in Suffolk. I was wearing at best and a nappy. This is how Jess's life begins in 1987. For decades Jess has been looking for answers.

No one's going to put their DNA out there, no one would want to be found. Then DNA gave her names. And out there are people who hoped they'd never be found. We all sat there and was like, what has just happened? I'm Lucy Greenwell and Jess's story has gripped me since I was a child because I remember the day the baby was found. It was my friend's nanny who discovered Jess, who wrapped her in a jumper and handed her to the police. When you saw the baby, what did it look like? Very happy. It was good and smiling. But right from the start, there were questions and rumours. We were like, why did you stop? What made you stop to look what it was because she said it was in a plastic bag? The mystery of that baby has never been solved. And I've always wondered, what does it do to you to know that you were left?

You've got this little seed in your brain right from when you were born that you're not loved and you're not wanted. And why would anyone do that? Lay their baby down and just walk away. This bork of terror, of them paralyzed, of that fear just taking over. As Jess's search takes her closer to the truth, things spiral out of her control. I think I'll always be angry because you constantly think in, could it have ended differently, had things been different. Jess had hoped to find her parents. She could never have anticipated the ripple effect her search would have. Or the lies and deception it's uncovered. She would just kept saying she felt violated. That's the word it should keep using. No words can express when you think that someone has dumped you on the side of a road that they'd then go and do it again.

From tortoise investigates and the observer, this is Foundling, a story about the decisions we make and the secrets we keep. Findling launches on Tuesday the 24th of March. Search for Foundling on your favourite podcast platform and follow the feed to make sure you don't miss the first episode. To listen to the entire series on Tuesday the 24th of March, subscribe to the observer. You can subscribe using the link in the show notes.

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