Report of baby thought to have fallen from Belfast ferry was false alarm

DUBLIN – Police in Northern Ireland say they have ended an overnight search of Belfast Lough after a woman's claim that her baby fell from a ferry into the water proved to be false.

The story that a 37-year-old woman and her infant plunged together into the harbor — but only the mother was rescued — made headlines Thursday across Britain and Ireland.

But police said officers have concluded the woman fell alone. She spent 15 minutes in the water and was treated for hypothermia in a Belfast hospital.

Police say other passengers on the ferry from Scotland reported seeing a baby with the woman, but after interviewing her family, they now believe she had no child with her.

The search lasted 18 hours and involved a police helicopter and several vessels.