‘Hopeful the child is alive’: Police searching for missing baby as aristocrat and partner are found and arrested

UK

A mother and father who went missing with their newborn baby have been found and arrested, police say, although the baby is still missing.

Sussex Police said that Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were spotted in Brighton by a member of the public just before 9.30pm on Monday.

They were arrested on suspicion of child neglect and are in police custody.

Officers working  trace Constance Marten and Mark Gordon  and their newborn baby, have established that they went into Argos on Whitechapel Road, E1, at 18:19hrs on Saturday, 7 January to buy camping gear.
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Mark Gordon and Constance Marten

Their baby is still missing, however, and an urgent search operation is under way in the area, police said.

Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford told Sky News: “We are currently looking into all available areas that the baby could be in the open land.

“That will include the search of outbuildings and anywhere the baby could have been left by the couple to seek shelter away from the climate and extreme temperatures.

“The search will include every facility in this location, going out into the open land to try and locate the baby.”

DSI Basford said no further information on where the baby may be located has been gained from questioning the couple, while they remain in custody.

Read more:
From Liverpool to Brighton – mapping the sightings

CCTV breakthrough suggests couple ‘sleeping in tent’

“I have always remained hopeful that the child is alive, and the investigation we have led is all about the safe recovery and location of the baby,” he added.

Sky correspondent Sabah Choudhry reported there were between 10-15 officers searching the Roedale Valley Allotments in Brighton.

Police are appealing for members of the public to be “vigilant” in areas of open land, and any outbuildings they may have on their property.

Police search for missing newborn
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Police search Roedale Valley Allotments, Brighton
Police search teams in Roedale Valley Allotments, Brighton, where an urgent search operation is underway to find the missing baby of Constance Marten, who has not had any medical attention since birth in early January
Police search teams in Roedale Valley Allotments, Brighton, where an urgent search operation is underway to find the missing baby of Constance Marten, who has not had any medical attention since birth in early January

Marten, 35, and Gordon, 48, were reported missing after their car broke down near junction four of the M61, near Bolton, on Thursday 5 January.

Over the following days, there were sightings of them in a number of places, including Liverpool, Essex, south London and East Sussex.

Authorities previously believed the couple had been sleeping rough in a blue tent, and had avoided being traced by the police by moving around frequently and keeping their faces covered in CCTV images.

Police search teams in Golf Drive, Brighton, where an urgent search operation is underway to find the missing baby of Constance Marten, who has not had any medical attention since birth in early January. Ms Marten and her partner Mark Gordon are in police custody after being arrested in Brighton. The pair had been travelling around the UK by taxi since their car was found burning on the M61 in Bolton, Greater Manchester, on January 5. Picture date: Tuesday February 28, 2023.
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Police search teams in Golf Drive, Brighton
Police search teams scouring an area of woodland next to Golf Drive in Brighton, where an urgent search operation is underway to find the missing baby of Constance Marten, who has not had any medical attention since birth in early January
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Police in an area of woodland next to Golf Drive

In the days after they went missing, DSI Basford said the baby was “at the heart of the investigation” and that concerns were rising “day by day” for the child’s wellbeing.

Ms Marten, who is from a wealthy family, has lived an isolated life with Mr Gordon since they met in 2016.

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