Police are continuing to search for the missing baby of aristocrat's daughter Constance Marten and her boyfriend Mark Gordon.
Authorities have warned that they "have to consider the baby has come to harm" after another freezing night.
Marten, 35, and Gorden, 48, were on the run for seven weeks before being arrested on Monday night on suspicion of child neglect. The Metropolitan and Sussex police forces said in a statement around 4.30pm yesterday that the pair had since been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
More than 200 police are searching for the newborn within a 10-mile radius between Brighton and Newhaven, East Sussex, around the area where the pair were arrested.
Police are carrying out tests on the baby's placenta that was found left in the couple's car found abandoned on the M61 in Bolton, Greater Manchester, on January 5. The baby is not believed to have seen a doctor since it was born.
Follow our live updates below...
07:39Benjamin Lynch
Constance Marten shouted at police to "get off" her and was in tears as she was arrested on Monday night.
The Sun reports a witness who saw the arrest said police were tipped off by a member of the public who saw the appeals for the coupe's whereabouts.
They told the newspaper: "The call came in from a member of the public who spotted them and thought they recognised the media appeals.
"He was apparently walking in front of her, which he has been in the other photos where they’ve been spotted. They just looked odd at that time of night."
They continued: "Originally it was one police car who spotted them, then when they realised who it was the rest of them all very quickly turned up.
"He was restrained for a while on the floor and to begin with was very animated. He was screaming and shouting. She was yelling at them to get off him."
Image:
Daily Mirror)07:21Benjamin Lynch
Police are continuing to search for the missing baby of Constance Marten and her boyfriend Mark Gordon.
Both have been arrested on suspicion of child neglect and gross negligence manslaughter.
The search began in freezing temperatures of -1C.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said that as "time passes we are against the clock due to the risk posed by the climate and weather conditions."
Image:
Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)06:36Benjamin Lynch
Constance Marten grew up in Crichel House, a Dorset estate, as part of a prominent family with links to the royals.
Her father Napier Marten was a page to Queen Elizabeth.
Ms Marten attended a boarding school in Wiltshire growing up, before attending Leeds University studying Arabic and Middle Eastern studies, the Sunday Times reports.
She later studied an NCTJ qualification in journalism before taking up an acting course at a drama school in Essex.
Read more here.
06:23Benjamin Lynch
Constance Marten, 35, and her boyfriend Mark Gordon, 48, were arrested after a tipoff from a member of the public.
The pair were arrested late on Monday in Brighton and a search was launched to find the couple's missing baby.
Marten and Gordon were first arrested on suspicion of child neglect, but a further arrest on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter has since been made.
Police say they "retain hope" the child will be found alive, but Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said the authorities "have to consider the baby has come to harm."
04:49Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas
Constance Marten 'shunned' her loved ones when she met Mark Gordon several years ago, it is claimed.
Th 35-year-old heiress reportedly stopped replying to her friend's messages after meeting him and is understood to have cut off ties with her family.
Old friend Noisette Tahoun said: "She seemed fine when I visited her in the UK, and then she would message me saying we needed to catch up and find the right time.
"But when she got with her recent partner, she started being distant from everyone and not replying to any messages. I spoke to her sister to check if she was okay, but she wasn't hearing back from her either."
The pair had been missing and travelling around the UK until they were detained on Tuesday. The whereabouts of their newborn baby is still unknown and a police search is underway.
Read more here.
03:13Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas
The urgent search for the baby of aristocrat Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon in Sussex has now moved into its third day.
A huge operation involving 200 officers has continued overnight, with police drones, dogs and a helicopter all reportedly being used.
Detective superintendent Lewis Basford said that the risk to the missing youngster was getting "so great" that authorities "have to consider the baby has come to harm".
Constance and Mark had been missing and actively avoiding detection since the infant was born in early January before being detained on Tuesday.
Image:
Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)00:56Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas
No information about Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon's baby has been recieved since the pair were placed in custody, a police chief confirmed earlier.
It came as the force said it was now considering the grim possibility that the newborn had "come to harm".
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said: "We have had a significant period of time in custody facility with both Constance and Mark.
"At this time we have not furthered that information, which has now obviously led to the position where we feel that the risk is getting so great that we now have to consider the possibility that the baby has come to harm.
"I can now confirm that they have been further arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter and that they remain in custody at police stations in Sussex.
"The baby was not with them and we have not found the baby as yet."
22:58Amy-Clare Martin
A woman has told how she heard Constance Marten and Mark Gordon having a blazing row minutes before police swooped to arrest them.
The arguing couple were caught on doorbell footage bickering at Stanmer Villas, Brighton, moments before officers finally caught up with the couple.
As 200 police continue to comb Sussex looking for their missing newborn baby, they were this afternoon re-arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
Moments after they were recording rowing, they were taken into custody on suspicion of child neglect.
Read our full story below:
22:49Alice Peacock
An eyewitness has told of how officers pinned Mark Gordon, 48, to the ground for up to 40 minutes as the manhunt came to an end in Brighton, East Sussex.
Meanwhile, Constance Marten was seen begging cops to release him, pleading: "He's not well."
Allotment owner Cyril Holis, 29, told The Mirror he was sleeping in his van when he witnessed the dramatic moment police arrived on the scene.
He said Marten sat next to Gordon on the floor as he was arrested.
“I was in the van - they got him at around 9pm." he added. "A couple of police were struggling to take him down and then a second car arrived.
“I looked out and saw them shouting and struggling.”
He added: “He was trying to fight. He didn’t look happy. They kneeled on him for like 40 minutes. I was quite scared for him actually.
“She was arrested as well but later on. She didn’t do anything she just kneeled next to him trying to calm the situation down."
Image:
Cyril Holis)18:49Alice Peacock
Constance Marten and Mark Gorden couple were seen loading up on supplies at a local food bank without the baby nearly a week before their arrest.
The couple were seen looking “shifty” at a foodbank in the Brighton area up to a week ago, a worker told The Mirror.
A worker said a pair matching their description dropped in without an appointment last Wednesday [22/02]. They did not have their newborn with them at the time.
The worker, who did want to be named, said: “She was putting the food in bags and he was standing back. I said, ‘Are you together?’, but he was standing back they looked a bit shifty.
“It was more her face that I recognised. It was probably Tuesday or Wednesday last week.”
18:04Alice Peacock
Police searching for the Constance Marten's infant have said the 'risk to the baby is getting higher' as the temperature drops.
In a press conference headed by Detective Superintendant Lewis Basford of the Met Police, media were updated on the ongoing search for the infant.
"As time progresses, as the weather as it is closing tonight, as it was last night, in terms of the cold and the impact that would have on a baby, clearly the risk is getting higher," said Detective Basford.
According to the Met Office, temperatures in Brighton are expected to drop to 0C around 1am on Wednesday.
The search being carried out by the Metropolitan Police and Sussex Police, stretches between Brighton and Newhaven. Residents in the area are being asked to check sheds and outhouses.
There were rising fears the baby may have died, with police arresting Marten and her boyfriend Gordon on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
17:20Alice Peacock
Police believed Constance Marten and Mark Gordon had been living outdoors before they were found.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford told reporters: “Working hypothesis still remains that we believe them to have been in the open land and open areas, that is why our focus and our search is where it is.
“We are conscious to the fact that there are outbuildings, it’s a vast amount of land."
He added: “From the initial assessments we have, which links in to our rationale and reason for why we are doing open land searches, is because upon locating the couple, and arresting the couple, there is significant intelligence information that brings us to a hypothesis that they have been spending a significant time outdoors.
“Living in the countryside and obviously the vast land here in Sussex.”
Image:
Jeremy Selwyn)17:01Alice Peacock
The couple arrested on gross negligence manslaughter in relation to a missing infant remain in custody as the search for the baby continues.
In a press conference this afternoon, the Met's Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said: "I can confirm that they were initially arrested on suspicion of child neglect.
"I can now confirm that they have been further arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter and that they remain in custody at police stations in Sussex.
"The baby was not with them, and we have not found the baby at yet."
Image:
Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)16:46Alice Peacock
Police officers involved in the search for Constance Marten's newborn baby "still have hope" the child may be safe and well.
In a press conference held near to Roedale Valley Allotments in Brighton, Lewis Basford, from the Metropolitan Police, said their priority remains finding the missing infant.
The comments come after Constance Marten, 35, and Mark Gordon, 48, were arrested last night after being spotted in Stanmer Villas, Brighton.
Mr Basford said the couple have now also been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
16:39KEY EVENT
The couple who were on the run for seven weeks before being detained on suspicion of child neglect have also been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
Constance Marten, 35, and Mark Gordon, 48, were arrested last night after being spotted in Stanmer Villas, Brighton.
Marten's newborn baby was not with them.
Police issued the update in a press conference held near to Roedale Valley Allotments in Brighton, West Sussex, where searches are currently being carried out.
16:02Alice Peacock
Image:
Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)15:00Ryan Merrifield
The missing baby of an aristocrat is "extremely high risk" as 200 police officers search for the child after their parents were arrested.
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were detained on suspicion of child neglect last night in Brighton after seven weeks on the run.
A Met Police spokesperson said: "Whilst we hold hope that the baby is still alive, we agree that the risk to the baby is extremely high.
"More than 200 officers have been engaged in the search and officers arrived within 6 minutes after the 999 call yesterday that led to the arrests of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon."
Click here to read the full story
Image:
PA)14:25Ryan Merrifield
Police are searching compost bins at Roedale Valley Allotments in a major operation to find Constance Marten's missing baby.
Image:
PA)13:59Ryan Merrifield
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon left their home in southeast London in September last year before going off grid.
The aristocrat's daughter had begun showing by then before giving birth soon before the couple's car broke down on the M61 in Bolton on January 5.
They had managed to elude police for seven weeks before being arrested last night.
Marten and Gordon were evicted from their home in Illford, east London, in August 2020 before going on to live in Eltham - their last known address.
Since going on the run, police believe they were living in a tent.
It is unknown if their baby was born at full term or has any health problems.
Police said there was no evidence that the mother or infant had been assessed by medical professionals since the birth.
Image:
PA)13:49KEY EVENT
Here is a timeline of events in the disappearance of Constance Marten, Mark Gordon and their baby:
- January 5 - an investigation is launched by Greater Manchester Police after the couple's car is found on fire and abandoned on the hard shoulder of the M61 in Bolton. Investigators discover the family walked away from the car to the Anchor Lane Bridge.
- January 6 - they take a taxi to Liverpool and then onto Harwich, Essex, at around 3.30am.
- January 7 - they are seen by a member of the public in Harwich at around 9am. Later that day, they are caught on CCTV near London's East Ham station between 10.30am and 12.30pm. From there they take a taxi to Whitechapel road, getting dropped off just before 6.15pm.
It is here that Mark Gordon goes into a branch of Argos alone and buys camping equipment including sleeping bags and a two-person tent.
The couple walk around the area for a few hours unsuccessfully trying to flag down taxis. Shortly before midnight they dump their buggy near Brick Lane, east London, and take a taxi to Haringey in north London.
- January 8 - At 1.25am the couple take another taxi from Allison Road, Haringey, all the way to Newhaven ferry port in east Sussex, where they are dropped off at 4.56am. They walk to where the A259 crosses over the B2109, and are seen sheltering from the rain under an overpass at around 6am.
At around 6.15am they walk along Cantercrow Hill into the fields beyond, carrying a number of bags and their blue tent.
- January 9 - Essex Police briefly take over the investigation due to the sightings in Harwich.
- January 12 - the Metropolitan Police take over the investigation once it is confirmed the couple travelled to east London.
- January 18 - the force makes a public appeal for help finding the family, revealing that Mr Gordon is a convicted sex offender who served 20 years in a US jail for rape and battery. They also say the couple have enough cash to live off-grid as they avoid the police.
- January 19 - Miss Marten's father Napier Marten appeals through the Independent newspaper for his daughter to hand herself in, saying: "I beseech you to find a way to turn yourself and your wee one in to the police as soon as possible so you and he or she can be protected."
- January 24 - Police repeat their concerns for the safety of the baby, saying they believe the couple are sleeping rough in freezing temperatures.
- January 31 - A £10,000 reward is offered by the Metropolitan Police for information leading to the family being found safe.
- February 7 - Constance's mother Virginie de Selliers publishes an open letter to her daughter, pledging to support her and telling her "you are not alone".
- February 21 - the Metropolitan Police make the latest in a number of public appeals to find the family, including a plea from midwife Shereen Nimmo to Miss Marten to get her baby medical attention.
- February 27 - 9.30pm the couple are arrested in Brighton on suspicion of child neglect after a tip-off from a member of the public.
Image:
Met Police)13:30Ryan Merrifield
A large police presence remains at the scene where missing aristocrat Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon were arrested.
Two uniformed officers could be seen guarding the entrance to Golf Drive from Stanmer Villas, while teams used sticks to search bushes in the nearby woodland.
At the other end of Golf Drive, a number of marked police vans from both the Met and Sussex Police were parked by allotments, where more officers appeared to be searching the area.
Image:
Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)13:21Ryan Merrifield
Police are testing placenta found in Constance Marten and her boyfriend Mark Gordon's car to try and determine the gender of their missing two-month-old baby.
The couple have been avoiding police since the infant was born in early January, moving around the country, paying for everything in cash and covering their faces when on CCTV.
They were finally arrested at around 9.30pm last night on suspicion of child neglect by officers from Sussex Police.
Click here to read the full story
Image:
Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)13:07KEY EVENT
Constance Marten's dad has told of his "immense relief" after his aristocratic daughter was found, but says he is "very alarmed" that her two-month-old baby remains missing.
The couple have been avoiding police since the infant was born in early January, moving around the country, paying for everything in cash and covering their faces when on CCTV.
They were finally arrested at around 9.30pm yesterday on suspicion of child neglect by officers from Sussex Police.
Click here to read the full story
Image:
PA)12:53KEY EVENT
An aristocrat's daughter begged cops to release her boyfriend as they pinned him to the ground, pleading: "He's not well."
Eyewitnesses told how officers searching for Constance Marten, 35, and her newborn baby swooped on her lover Mark Gordon, 48, and kneeled on him for up to 40 minutes.
The couple were found after spending 54 days on the run but are reportedly refusing to reveal where the baby, which was born in their broken down car near Bolton, Greater Manchester, on January 5, is.
Click here to read the full story
Image:
Eddie Mitchell)12:06Ryan Merrifield
Constance Marten’s father Napier Marten has told The Independent of his “immense relief” that she has been found, adding this was “tempered by the very alarming news her baby has yet to be found”.
He added: “For whatever reasons she and her partner went on the run, the consequences of their actions have increased many fold. It would have been far better if they had handed themselves in earlier.”
12:00KEY EVENT
Police officers searching for Constance Marten's missing newborn baby have been snapped bagging up a pair of children's pink ear muffs.
Searchers were scouring Roedale Valley Allotments when the discovery was made.
Image:
PA)11:56Ryan Merrifield
It is understood the pair, who were arrested in Brighton last night on suspicion of child neglect, have so far refused to tell police the sex of their baby.
Investigators have sent the placenta found the couple's abandoned car off for testing.
Officers have been scouring a 10-mile radius of where the parents were arrested for the missing newborn.
11:26Ryan Merrifield
Image:
Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)11:20KEY EVENT
Witnesses have described how Mark Gordon was restrained on the floor by police during his arrest last night.
The couple were located on a residential street in Brighton shortly before 9.30pm and an urgent search continues in the area for girlfriend Constance Marten's newborn baby.
A mum said she saw Gordon restrained on the floor just yards from her home.
She told The Sun: “There was loads of shouting and screaming. It was chaos outside.
“I opened my door eventually to see this man on the floor restrained by police."
She said Gordon was then placed in an unmarked car and driven away, saying it was "dramatic" but he "did not struggle".
Another witness said she heard "a lot of shouting" around 9.30pm but "didn't think much of it" at the time.
Image:
Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)09:55Ryan Merrifield
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said: "It is a vast area and at present we are looking in the local vicinity to where the couple were arrested last night, seeking a shelter or location for where they may have been holed up and hopefully where the baby is present.
"The arrest location was close to open land and the couple were moving towards that land. And that's why we are focusing heavily on where we are right now.
"We know that they travel, we know they travel long distances.
"My plea to the members of the public here in Brighton and crossing over towards Newhaven is please be vigilant in the open land where you are, in the outbuildings that you may have on your own property, and assist us in that way by being vigilant."
