Police offer £10k reward for information missing baby and parents Constance Marten and Mark Gordon
A £10,000 reward is being offered in the search for missing aristocrat Constance Marten, her newborn baby and her convicted sex offender partner.
The couple and their baby were last seen in Newhaven, East Sussex, on 9 January, the Metropolitan Police said, but they believe the family are still in the UK.
They are believed to have been sleeping rough after buying camping equipment from a branch of Argos in east London on 7 January.
Ms Marten, 35, and her partner Mark Gordon, 48, have lived an isolated life since they met in 2016.
Mr Gordon is a registered sex offender who served 20 years in a US jail for rape and battery.
According to a criminal record seen by ITV News, Mr Gordon was convicted of kidnapping and sexual battery while in Florida.
The 48-year-old was eventually deported from the US.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford, who is leading the investigation, 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.
“Finding the baby is our top priority and we are now offering a £10,000 reward to anyone who provides information which leads to them being found.”
The police probe began when officers were called to a car on fire on the hard shoulder of the M61, near junction four (Farnworth, Bolton) at 6.33pm on Thursday 5 January.
Police did not find anyone at the scene.
It is believed most of their belongings were destroyed in the car fire.
A missing persons investigation was launched by Greater Manchester Police, who established that the family left the vehicle and the motorway safely – walking to the Anchor Lane bridge which links the Highfield and Little Hulton areas.
Officers believe they then travelled to Liverpool and then onwards to Harwich via a taxi at about 3:30am on Friday 6 January.
Mr Gordon, Ms Marten and a baby were seen by a member of the public in Harwich at about 9am on Saturday 7 January. Officers also received a number of confirmed sightings of the family in Colchester on Friday 6 January and Saturday 7 January.
Subsequently, the investigation was handed over to Essex Police on Monday 9 January.
Police were able to place the couple near East Ham Station between 10.30am and 12.30pm on Saturday 7 January - the last confirmed sighting of the couple before the investigation was handed to the Met Police.
Detectives then found the couple and their newborn took a taxi from East Ham, being dropped off in Whitechapel Road at 6.14pm on Saturday 7 January.
The couple are seen leaving the taxi with an orange carrier bag and a pram.
They both have their heads and faces covered and Mr Gordon is wearing white plastic bags on his shoes, which he removes a short time later.
Mr Gordon entered Argos on Whitechapel Road, and bought two big bags full of items, paying in cash, including a blue two-man tent, two sleeping bags and two pillows at 6.19pm.
The purchase sparked fears they have been camping, including at times when the temperature plummeted to sub-zero.
The group then spent the next few hours walking along the Whitechapel Road area, where they tried to flag down three taxis but were refused - before they walked to the Brick Lane Area.
At about 11:46pm on Saturday January 7 they then went to Flower and Dean Walk near Brick Lane where they dumped a number of items, including the pushchair. They then got a taxi to Haringey.
At 1.24am on Sunday January 8 they then got in another taxi in Allison Road, Haringey, and travelled to Newhaven, where they were dropped off just outside the port at 4:56am.
This is the last official sighting of the family.
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