In the final extract from The Observer podcast Foundling, Jess, who was abandoned as a newborn, sets out to find her birth father and discovers a terrible secret

In this second extract from the Observer podcast Foundling, Jess finally identifies the woman who abandoned her as a baby and has an emotional meeting with her half-sister – but her joy proves shortlived

The tale of a baby girl abandoned in a country lane, haunted Lucy Greenwell when she was a child. In this extract from the new Observer podcast, Foundling, she tells what happened when decades later the two of them searched for answers together

Every year babies are abandoned by their parents. Following a long reporting project exploring the story of one foundling on a search for her biological parents, Alexi Mostrous asks, 'why do mothers abandon babies?'. To try and make sense of these complicated, often hidden stories, he's joined by the series reporter Lucy Greenwell and the series' producer Katie Gunning.

Jess gets some surprising visitors and Lucy receives a call from Jess's birth father.   Credits:  Reporter - Lucy Greenwell Producer - Katie Gunning Original theme music - Tom Kinsella Sound design and additional music - Rowan Bishop Podcast artwork - Blythe Walker Sibthorp Narrative editor - Gary Marshall  Editor - Jasper Corbett  

Jess is shocked when she makes a new discovery about her birth mother. Credits:  Reporter - Lucy Greenwell Producer - Katie Gunning Original theme music - Tom Kinsella Sound design and additional music - Rowan Bishop Podcast artwork - Blythe Walker Sibthorp Narrative editor - Gary Marshall  Editor - Jasper Corbett  

Jess ignores a plea from her birth mother to stop searching for answers. She decides to track down her father.  ** If you have questions about the series, we will be publishing a subscriber only bonus episode. You can email your questions to foundling@observer.co.uk   Credits:  Reporter - Lucy Greenwell Producer - Katie Gunning Original theme music - Tom Kinsella Sound design and additional music - Rowan Bishop Podcast artwork - Blythe Walker Sibthorp Narrative editor - Gary Marshall  Editor - Jasper Corbett  

Jess's DNA results lead her to a close blood relative, who has her own extraordinary story.  ** If you have questions about the series, we will be publishing a subscriber only bonus episode. You can email your questions to foundling@observer.co.uk   Credits:  Reporter - Lucy Greenwell Producer - Katie Gunning Original theme music - Tom Kinsella Sound design and additional music - Rowan Bishop Podcast artwork - Blythe Walker Sibthorp Narrative editor - Gary Marshall  Editor - Jasper Corbett  

Jess does a DNA test. And she and Lucy travel to visit a house where Jess's birth mother once lived, and try and work out how nobody noticed a thing. ** If you have questions about the series, we will be publishing a subscriber only bonus episode. You can email your questions to foundling@observer.co.uk   Credits:  Reporter - Lucy Greenwell Producer - Katie Gunning Original theme music - Tom Kinsella Sound design and additional music - Rowan Bishop Podcast artwork - Blythe Walker Sibthorp Narrative editor - Gary Marshall  Editor - Jasper Corbett  

Foundling is a six-part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer. This is episode 1 - On the verge Journalist Lucy Greenwell goes in search of Jess following rumours and unanswered questions about where she was born and who gave birth to her.  To listen to the rest of the series, just search for Tortoise Investigates wherever you get your podcasts. Credits:  Reporter - Lucy Greenwell Producer - Katie Gunning Original theme music - Tom Kinsella Sound design and additional music - Rowan Bishop Podcast artwork - Blythe Walker Sibthorp Narrative editor - Gary Marshall  Editor - Jasper Corbett  

Journalist Lucy Greenwell goes in search of Jess following rumours and unanswered questions about where she was born and who gave birth to her.  ** If you have questions about the series, we will be publishing a subscriber only bonus episode. You can email your questions to foundling@observer.co.uk   Credits:  Reporter - Lucy Greenwell Producer - Katie Gunning Original theme music - Tom Kinsella Sound design and additional music - Rowan Bishop Podcast artwork - Blythe Walker Sibthorp Narrative editor - Gary Marshall  Editor - Jasper Corbett    

On 6th October 1987, a newborn baby is found on the verge of a remote country lane in Suffolk. Police comb the area for clues and appeal for witnesses, but the mother is never found. The baby, Jess, is adopted. Journalist Lucy Greenwell has never forgotten the day when Jess was discovered. She was a child and lived nearby. For decades Lucy has wondered; what happened to Jess, and what could have driven a mother to leave her child in such an isolated place? When Lucy tracks Jess down, she finds a woman already deep in her own search for the truth, and a story far more tangled than either of them expected. What unfolds is a tale of long-held secrets and unintended consequences that spirals out of Jess's control.   Foundling is a six-part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer