An autopsy shows that the baby, found on Wednesday evening, was alive when it was born, police in Halle said. The district public prosecutor is investigating suspicions of manslaughter.

There are no clues about the mother, said senior prosecutor Hans-Jürgen Neufang. “The police are combing through the woods for clues,” he said, adding that it remains unclear whether the mother or someone else abandoned the baby.

The corpse was partially covered with a plastic bag, and police believe it had not been on the trail “all that long.”