More than 200 police officers are continuing their search for a missing baby, amid mounting fears the infant may have come to harm. The parents, Constance Marten and Mark Gordon, were arrested in Brighton on Tuesday on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter, after being missing for 53 days. A search began when their car was found on fire near Bolton.
Police said Ms Marten had recently given birth and the baby may have been born in the back of the vehicle, without a midwife or medical attention. Ms Marten, 35, and Gordon – a convicted rapist and registered sex offender – were detained after a member of the public saw them and called the police. Initially held on suspicion of child neglect, they were further arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. They remain in custody, but have not provided any information about the condition or whereabouts of the baby.
Police do not know the sex of the infant. Allotments and a golf course next to a nature reserve – near to where they were arrested – were searched on Tuesday. Det Supt Lewis Basford urged the public to help with the search and report any potential sightings in Brighton and Newhaven. He asked people living in these areas to report any suspicious behaviour or items found in their gardens, outbuildings and sheds, between then and now.
The car belonging to Ms Marten and Gordon, 48, was found on fire on the side of the M61 motorway in Bolton on 5 January. After their car was found on fire, police said the family left the scene and travelled to Liverpool, Essex, London and East Sussex. They appeared to have covered their faces when in public, travelling at night and using cash to purchase supplies, in order to avoid being found.
Their home is in Eltham, in south-east London, but they have been living nomadically since September last year – when Ms Marten first started to show signs of pregnancy. Police have not ruled out that someone could be looking after the baby – though they added this was unlikely. Det Supt Lewis Basford said the risk to the baby – who is now thought to be about two months old – increased as time went on, particularly while the weather is cold.
Police previously said Ms Marten’s inherited wealth may have allowed the couple to remain at large for an extended period. She is from a privileged background, having lived in a stately home growing up. She became estranged from her family after meeting 48-year-old Gordon at drama school in 2016. They believe the baby was alive at the time of the last previous sighting of the family in Newhaven, but little more is known about the family’s movements in the weeks since.
More than 200 police officers are continuing their search for a missing infant as fears mount that it might have come to harm. Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were arrested in Brighton on Tuesday on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter after being missing for 53 days. Police believe Ms Marten had recently given birth, with the baby possibly born in the back of their car without medical attention.
The couple remain in custody but have not provided any information about the condition or whereabouts of the baby. Allotments and a golf course near to where they were arrested were searched on Tuesday. Det Supt Lewis Basford urged members of the public to help with the search and report any potential sightings in Brighton and Newhaven. He asked people living in these areas to report any suspicious behaviour or items found in their gardens, outbuildings and sheds between then and now.
The car belonging to Ms Marten and Gordon was found on fire on the side of the M61 motorway in Bolton on 5 January. After this, they travelled to Liverpool, Essex, London and East Sussex, covering their faces when in public and using cash to purchase supplies to avoid detection. They had been living nomadically since September last year when Ms Marten first showed signs of pregnancy.
Police have not ruled out that someone could be looking after the baby but added this was unlikely. Det Supt Lewis Basford said the risk to the baby – now thought to be about two months old – increases as time goes on, particularly while the weather is cold. Ms Marten is from a privileged background, having lived in a stately home growing up before becoming estranged from her family after meeting Gordon at drama school in 2016. The last sighting of them was in Newhaven but little is known about their movements since then.