Panic has gripped traders at the Asafo Market in Kumasi after a five-month-old baby boy was allegedly stolen by an unknown woman in the early hours of Sunday.

The baby was reportedly taken from the Cape Coast Bus Terminal section at the market, specifically at the Opera Site, on Sunday, September 20.

According to family members, the suspect, described as a dark, short woman believed to be in her late 30s, has since fled the area with the child, leaving the parents traumatised.

Speaking to Joy News, the uncle of the missing child, Osei Kuffour, said the baby's mother, 25-year-old Freda Owusu, is a food vendor at the market and had reported to work with the baby at dawn.

He explained that at about 5:00 a.m., while preparing food for sale, Madam Owusu left the baby sleeping on a bedsheet in the care of her sister, who was within the same enclave running errands.

She returned moments later to discover that both the baby and a strange woman who had been sitting close to their store were gone.

"The mother is a food vendor and was preparing food around 5 a.m. The child was sleeping, so she left him in front of the store, just at the very place she was working.

"The suspect is a woman we don't know in the area; she was sitting close to the store. The mother turned to get something but returned to find both the baby and the woman gone," Mr Kuffour recounted.

He said the woman is not known among traders at the busy market and was only spotted standing close to their workplace around the time the child disappeared.

Mr Kuffour revealed that the mother of the baby and her husband, Emmanuel Acheampong, have lodged a complaint at the Asokwa Police Station.

Police say investigations are underway, with efforts being made to trace and recover the child.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the baby is urged to report to the nearest police station.