Missing baby search: Couple further arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter as 200 police look for their child
A couple have been further arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter as hundreds of police look for their newborn baby.
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were arrested in Brighton on Monday on suspicion of child neglect after being spotted by a member of the public at about 9.30pm.
Police said more than 200 officers were involved in an urgent operation to find the child and have been searching an allotment and woodland in the city.
A helicopter, sniffer dogs and drones are also involved as the area widens to include the South Downs towards Newhaven – where the couple were previously spotted.
It’s believed they had been living rough in a tent and moving frequently to avoid being found.
In an update this afternoon, officers said the couple had now also been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
Marten, 35, and Gordon, 48, were reported missing on 5 January after their car caught fire on the M61, near Bolton.
They were spotted multiple times in the days that followed, including in Liverpool, Essex, south London and East Sussex.
Concerns about their baby grew as it’s not thought to have had any medical care.
Marten, who is from a wealthy family, is said to have lived an isolated life with Gordon – a convicted sex offender – since 2016.
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From Liverpool to Brighton – mapping the sightings
CCTV breakthrough suggests couple ‘sleeping in tent’
Met Police Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said the couple had not given them information about the child’s whereabouts – or even disclosed its gender.
“We now have to consider the possibility that the baby has come to harm,” he told reporters.
He said he still hoped the baby could be found alive but that the cold weather was an obvious risk to its safety.
“Clearly the risk is getting higher… this may not end in the way we would like, but we need to remain hopeful,” he said.
Chief Superintendent James Collis, from Sussex Police, said the search area was “vast” at more than 90 square miles, and appealed for people to contact them urgently if they have any information.
Marten’s father, Napier Marten, speaking to The Independent, said it was “an immense relief” to know the couple have been found but that it was “very alarming news her baby has yet to be found”.
