At the same time, Postimees reports, the DNA may belong to another individual, while the PPA are not ruling out that the mother could have been the victim of a crime, and that the infant had been taken from her forcibly.

The grisly discovery was made a fortnight ago, after a family pet dog had returned home with the deceased baby in its mouth, in the village of Suur-Lähtru, Lääne-Nigula Municipality.

Vello Palmits, heading up the investigation at Haapsalu PPA station, told the newspaper: "We have the DNA of the child plus also the DNA of, potentially, the mother, but no match has been found in the database so far."

"We are not only taking reference samples from women, but also from males who may have been in the area at the time. We are not ruling out a scenario whereby the child could have been taken from the mother by force, "

Following the discovery on February 5, the PPA conducted an extensive search of the surrounding area, but this has not yielded any substantive results to date.

The case was a unique one in Lääne County's recent history. In a similar case in 2015, the identity of the mother of a deceased infant found in a forested area has not been established.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!