A three-month-old baby has been found dead in Germany less than 24 hours after being abducted from a pram outside the family home, in a case that has shocked the south-western state of Baden-Württemberg and is now the subject of a major police investigation, according to Welt.

According to police, the infant was allegedly taken by an unknown individual while lying in a pram outside the family’s home. The child’s 37-year-old mother told investigators that she had left the baby unattended on the pavement for just a few minutes while carrying her shopping up to her second-floor flat.

She told authorities that she had just returned from shopping and temporarily left the baby outside the building while taking the bags upstairs. However, when she returned, the child had disappeared.

A large-scale search operation was immediately launched in the area, involving police officers, tracking dogs and drones. Investigators focused their efforts on a wide area surrounding the location where the infant went missing.

On Friday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the reported abduction, the body of a baby was discovered near a stream connected to the Rankbach River, which runs through the area.

Authorities are examining whether the body is that of the missing child, while formal identification procedures remain under way.

Speaking to the German newspaper BILD, the infant’s grandmother said that her daughter had returned from shopping carrying several bags and was preparing to take them up to the apartment when the incident occurred.

Investigators are examining all possible scenarios, including the possibility that the mother and child had been followed as they returned home from nearby shops located around 15 minutes from their residence.

According to local reports, the pair had gone shopping shortly before the stores closed, at around 10pm, while the missing-person report was filed at approximately 11.30pm.

A police spokesperson said the child had been left unsupervised for a short period and that an “unknown person took the baby from the pram and carried it away”.