Foundling | Tortoise Investigates

Episode 1: On the Verge

Release date: March 24, 2026
Reporter: Lucy Greenwell
Main Participants: Jess (the foundling), Lucy’s family, Aldwyn Jones (police), Terry Hunt (journalist), Jean (local resident)

Overview

This inaugural episode of the six-part series "Foundling" explores the real-life mystery of a newborn baby girl who was found abandoned by a country lane in rural Suffolk in 1987. Decades later, journalist Lucy Greenwell, compelled by childhood memories of the incident and a personal connection to the place, sets out to find Jess—the abandoned girl, now an adult—and uncover what happened and why. The episode weaves together family folklore, rural community recollections, and the complexities of adoption, secrecy, and trauma.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Enduring Family Mystery

• Lucy recalls how the story of the foundling baby became an oft-repeated myth in her family, a puzzle retold at every gathering ([02:53]).
  • Quote: "It's that thing that always comes up when you’re together. Someone mentions a name, a place, or a particular memory, and there you all go again." — Lucy ([03:12])

2. Recounting the Discovery (Oct 6, 1987)

• Narration recreates the day Jess was found:
  • Baby found in a Sainsbury’s bag, wearing a nappy and too-large vest.
  • Found by a nanny, wrapped in a jumper, and taken to hospital ([04:08]).
• Community and family remember the "miracle" of the baby’s survival.

3. Media, Memory, and Local Impact

• Early TV coverage and the retelling of the event:
  • Young Lucy and her sisters felt like detectives, knowing the nanny who found Jess ([06:32]).
  • Family and community can't stop speculating: "How do you find a baby?" ([06:06])

4. Context of Abandonment and Its Rarity

• The episode discusses the wider phenomenon, with reports of other abandoned infants—most not surviving ([07:45]).
• Lucy’s lifelong curiosity about the fate of such babies, and in particular, the unknown mother: "Who would carry a beautiful, healthy baby girl to a lonely country lane and just dump her in a plastic bag?" ([08:50])

5. Jess: From Foundling Baby to Adult

• Introduction to Jess, 38, adopted and thriving but left with questions ([11:15]).
  • Quote: "I always hoped it was this lovely love story, that they just couldn’t be together." — Jess ([10:38])
• Jess shares childhood memories, revealing an idyllic upbringing yet haunted by a sense of rejection and secrecy.

6. Learning the Truth

• Jess discovers her origin in a B&Q carpark as a child:
  • Her parents break the news that she was abandoned and her mother is unknown ([14:12]).
  • Quote: “I instantly felt very little again. I felt really young, because it felt like it was too much information.” — Jess ([14:45])
• Rejection and shame become entwined with her otherwise happy childhood ([15:29]).

7. Jess’s Quest for Answers

• Adolescence brings peer curiosity, but she initially shies away from searching.

The Verge

• In her 20s, Jess embarks on a pilgrimage to the roadside where she was found, seeking insight.
  • Helps validate and memorialize the place of her rescue ([21:43]).
  • Anger surfaces at the remoteness of her abandonment ([22:36]):
    • Quote: “Of all the places you could have left me, you’ve left me somewhere that nobody goes. Like, unless you were local to that village, like, nobody goes down that lane.” — Jess ([22:36])
  • Jean, a local, provides village context and confirms suspicions that only a local would know of the lane ([20:30]).

8. Police Investigation and Legal Framework

• Lucy explores the police’s attitude and the case files:
  • Discovery that abandonment is a crime punishable by prison; no statute of limitations ([25:16]).
  • Lucy and Jess are clear: their goal is not prosecution but understanding ([26:28]).
• Reluctant police and villagers underscore how the story still resonates and causes discomfort decades later.

Interview with Aldwyn Jones (Retired Detective Chief Inspector)

• He describes the rarity of foundling cases and recounts the rainy day of discovery, when crucial evidence may have been lost ([30:32]).
  • Quote: “It was a rarity to find the baby alive.” — Aldwyn ([30:18])
• Investigation details: analogue methods, house-to-house inquiries, a dedicated phone line, a green Austin car and suspicious phone calls ([35:03]).

The Press Perspective

• Terry Hunt, local reporter:
  • Remembers the scene as "very, very lonely, even for Suffolk" ([34:11]).
  • Still ponders the mystery years later: “Why didn't the person who left it leave it somewhere where they knew it was going to be found?" ([34:40])

9. Breakthrough – The Nanny Who Found Jess

• Following investigative tips, Jess tracks down Jennifer, the then-18-year-old nanny who discovered her ([39:18]).
• Their Facebook exchange provides emotional closure and more questions:
  • Quote: “If I'd been asked, I would have called you Rebecca. Heather never seemed you.” — Jennifer (message to Jess) ([41:16])

10. Repercussions and Reflections

• Jess and Lucy discuss the toll of unearthing these long-buried secrets:
  • Quote: "If I'd have known it was going to be as traumatic as it's been, I probably wouldn’t have carried on digging." — Jess ([42:08])

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Family Folklore:
  "It's that thing that always comes up when you’re together. Someone mentions a name, a place, or a particular memory, and there you all go again." — Lucy ([03:12])

• On Rejection:
  “I instantly felt, well, you do. You just instantly feel rejected, like you feel that you can't, that you're not really wanted. Although I had this incredible upbringing where I was so wanted, so loved, why didn't that person want me?” — Jess ([15:29])

• On the Verge:
  “Of all the places you could have left me, you’ve left me somewhere that nobody goes… Why would you think anyone would have picked me up from there?” — Jess ([22:36])

• On the act of leaving:
  "Most babies are abandoned, often in places where they can be found readily... that's always been the pattern of abandoned babies." — Aldwyn Jones ([34:50])

• On the rare rescue:
  “It was a rarity to find the baby alive.” — Aldwyn Jones ([30:18])

• On the burden of seeking truth:
  "If I'd have known it was going to be as traumatic as it has been, I probably wouldn't have carried on digging." — Jess ([42:08])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Lucy’s Family Recalling the Mystery: [02:53] – [04:08]
• Original News Coverage and Baby Discovery: [04:08] – [06:06]
• Jess’s Early Memories and Parental Revelation: [13:04] – [15:56]
• Jess’s Visit to the Verge & Local Interviews: [18:47] – [23:25]
• Police and Media Investigation Details: [30:06] – [35:49]
• Tracking Down the Nanny (Jennifer): [38:14] – [41:44]
• Episode Reflection and Looking Ahead: [42:05] – [42:58]

Tone and Style

• Intimate and investigative, blending memoir, journalism, and true crime.
• Lucy's narration is reflective, empathetic, and meticulous.
• Jess’s voice is open, vulnerable, sometimes wry, showing the lingering weight of abandonment and the ironies of community memory.

Conclusion & Lead-in to Next Episode

Lucy and Jess have begun to untangle a story knotted with secrecy, suspicion, and unanswered questions. The investigation’s emotional intensity is foregrounded, warning that seeking the truth can be fraught—"a spindle of lies" as Jess puts it ([42:15]). The quest is far from over, and listeners are left anticipating deeper revelations to come.