The baby has not had any medical attention since birth
An urgent search is underway for a missing baby after police on Monday arrested aristocrat Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon in Brighton.
The baby has not had any medical attention since birth in early January and it is unknown if is full-term or has any health issues.
The couple were located by officers from Sussex police in Stanmer Villas after a member of the public reported seeing them shortly before 9.30pm on Monday. The couple remain in custody and are being questioned by police.
Marten, 35, and Gordon, 48, have been travelling around the UK by taxi since their car was found burning on the M61 in Bolton, Greater Manchester, on 5 January. The couple walked along the hard shoulder of the motorway, with Marten carrying their baby in her arms.
Authorities previously believed the couple had been sleeping rough, and had been dodging police by moving around frequently and keeping their faces covered from CCTV. The couple travelled from Bolton to Liverpool, then to Harwich in Essex, then to east London and then to Newhaven in Sussex, where they were seen near the ferry port on 8 January.
#UPDATE | Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were located in Brighton shortly after 9pm on Monday.
The baby is still missing and we are working with @sussex_police to carry out an urgent search of the area.
☎️ Please call 999 with any information. https://t.co/x4wnowZm6K
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) February 28, 2023
Police told the BBC that Tuesday’s search was covering a large area between Brighton and Newhaven, where the pair were spotted a few days ago. A helicopter, drones and police dogs are all involved in the search and residents are being urged to check sheds and other outhouses, and to report anything unusual.
Following the couple’s disappearance, police offered a £10,000 cash reward for any information to help them find the trio.
Met Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford previously said: “We continue to be extremely concerned about the health and wellbeing of the newborn baby, which has had no medical care and has been on the move, and possibly exposed to sub-zero temperatures, for almost a month now.
“We’re also concerned for the welfare of Constance and Mark, because our enquiries suggest that they were constantly moving and awake for at least a few days – which must be especially draining on someone who had recently given birth with no medical attention.”
Greater Manchester Police’s Head of Public Protection, Chief Superintendent Michaela Kerr, also issued a direct plea to Constance. She said: “Constance, I know this is an exceptionally hard time for you and you are likely feeling scared but I promise that our number one priority is the same as yours – to keep your beautiful new born safe.”
In the days after they vanished, it was revealed former Marten has links to the Royal Family. She is the daughter of Napier Martin, a former page to the Queen, and granddaughter of Mary Anna Marten, whose godmother was the Queen Mother.
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