Woman arrested as toddler and baby missing from London for five days are found in Essex

A newborn baby and a toddler who had been missing for five days have been found by police, who have arrested a woman.

They were reported missing from a family assessment centre in north-west London on Tuesday, when Jamie-Leigh Kelly, 31, left with her three-year-old daughter and newborn son, the Metropolitan Police said.

The children were found at an address in Harwich in Essex on Sunday.

The children were taken into police protection and then to hospital as a precaution.

A 31-year-old woman was arrested later on Sunday after attending an east London police station and was also taken to hospital for precautionary checks, a Scotland Yard spokesperson said.

They added: “We are no longer appealing for information about the whereabouts of Jamie-Leigh Kelly.”

Det Supt Lewis Basford, who is overseeing the investigation, said: “We are very pleased, and of course relieved, to have found the two children after an extensive inquiries over the past few days. They are safe and well and receiving precautionary medical attention."

A 63-year-old woman was arrested at the address in Essex on Sunday on suspicion of child abduction, assisting an offender and perverting the course of justice.

She remains in custody at an east London police station.

Two other people have been charged as part of the investigation, the Met said.

They will appear at Southend Magistrates’ Court in Essex on Monday, charged with two counts of child abduction.

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