A girl who was found abandoned as a newborn in a carrier bag in east London is to be adopted.
The child, named Elsa by the hospital staff that cared for her, was found in January 2024 by a dogwalker in Newham.
She is the third of three siblings abandoned in the capital over seven years.
She is to maintain contact with her brother Harry, 8 and sister Roman, 6, who were discovered in the same area of east London in 2017, 2019 respectively.
Their parents have never been found, despite extensive police enquiries.
The Metropolitan Police has since said that their enquiries have been "exhausted", but reiterated a plea for anyone with information to come forward.
Elsa has been cared for by foster carers after being discovered by a dog walker in a shopping bag in Newham on January 18 2024, while Harry and Roman, not their real names, have been adopted.
At East London Family Court on Thursday, Judge Carol Atkinson ruled that Elsa should remain with those currently caring for her, which would "pave the way" for them to apply to adopt her.
In her judgment, she said that Elsa's story was "quite extraordinary", adding that only eight children were registered as abandoned in England and Wales between 2008 and 2018.
She said: "Elsa is a beautiful little girl, a raucous bundle of excitement and laughter.
"I am pleased to have seen photos of her. I know from reports that she lights up the space around her.
"She is happy and settled in her new family, as yet unaware of how she differs from other children."
She continued: "Her best chance in life comes with a permanent placement in an alternative family."
She also said: "These siblings share something quite extraordinary.
"No one that they will meet in life is likely to understand what it is like to be a foundling, but they each know and understand."
In June 2024, Judge Atkinson ruled that the media could report the familial link between Elsa and her two siblings following an application by the Press Association and the BBC.
Elsa was believed to be around an hour old when she was found wrapped in a towel in a reusable shopping bag at the junction of Greenway and High Street South in East Ham, east London.
Hospital staff named her Elsa in reference to the character from the film Frozen.
In September 2017, Harry was found wrapped in a white blanket in Balaam Street, Plaistow.
Roman was found in similar circumstances in a play area off Roman Road, Newham, in late January 2019, as freezing temperatures and snow gripped the city.
In written submissions for Thursday's hearing, Kate Claxton, for Newham Council, said that there would be contact between the siblings going forward, including play dates and letters.
Police have been unable to identify the siblings' mother despite establishing a full DNA profile and reviewing hundreds of hours of CCTV footage, with a £20,000 reward offered for three months last year.
Last year, their search narrowed to around 400 homes that experts believed the person who abandoned the children, who may or may not have been their mother, could have travelled from.
But this proved unsuccessful, with officers stating that they "cannot discount" a fourth child being found as time passes.
Speaking to PA in May, Detective Inspector Jamie Humm, the case's senior investigating officer, said it was "wholly unprecedented" but that police must conclude that the person who abandoned the children "did not want to be found".
Mr Humm also said that he believed that the mother "is vulnerable, is in danger, and is in a position where they feel that they are unable to come forward for whatever reason".
On Thursday, Judge Atkinson said that the way in which Elsa was abandoned caused her "significant physical harm", but said that police had been "tenacious" and "tireless" in their efforts to find the parents.
Detective superintendent Lewis Basford, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "This remains one of the most unique investigations we have worked on.
"It has recently involved the investigation team speaking with hundreds of members of the public and travelling across the country to contact possible relatives.
"This familial DNA work has been complex and involved identifying potential matches to the DNA of the three children, before exploring all of that person's family structure.
"At this stage, this latest phase of enquiries has not resulted in us identifying the biological parents of the three children.
"While this has been disappointing, the lengths we have gone to have proven the team's dedication to safeguarding children and ensuring the welfare of the mother.
"This remains our priority, and we will continue to review all information and intelligence made available to us to establish whether a new phase of the investigation can be launched.
"At this stage, our enquiries are exhausted, but I continue to urge anyone who may be sitting on information to contact us."
