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Missing couple Constance Marten and Mark Gordon found and arrested – but baby still missing

Sussex Police say "an urgent search operation" for the newborn is currently taking place in the area.

Emily Sergeant - 28th February 2023

A couple who originally went missing from the side of a motorway in Bolton have finally been found and arrested in Brighton, Sussex Police has confirmed.

But the search for their newborn continues, as police say the baby is still missing.

The couple, named by investigating officers as 35-year-old Constance Marten, and 48-year-old Mark Gordon, both went missing, along with their newborn baby after their vehicle broke down close to Junction 4 of the M61 near Farnworth in Bolton on Thursday 5 January 2023.

After the vehicle broke down and before going missing, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed at the time that the family left the motorway safely, and Ms Marten and Mr Gordon were then seen walking to the Anchor Lane bridge – which linked the Highfield and Little Hulton areas near Salford.

Ms Marten was believed to have very recently given birth at the time of the disappearance, and had not received professional medial care.

Over the coming days following their initial disappearance, sightings of the couple were reported in a number of places across the UK – including Liverpool, Essex, south London and East Sussex.

Police and local authorities believed the then-missing couple had been sleeping rough in a blue tent, and had avoided being traced by moving around frequently and keeping their faces covered in CCTV images.

This lead detectives to offering a £10,000 cash reward to anyone who could provide information leading to the couple’s whereabouts in late January.

It was later revealed by police that Ms Marten was from a very wealthy family and had a privileged upbringing attending a prestigious private school in Dorset, while Mr Gordon – a registered sex offender – was deported to Britain from the US in 2010 after spending 20 years in prison for a rape he committed aged 14.

Ms Marten became estranged from her family and had lived an isolated life with Mr Gordon since they met in 2016.

But last night (Monday 27 February), shortly before 9:30pm, a member of the public reported a sighting of the couple in Stanmer Villas in Brighton, and officers from Sussex Police attended the location and subsequently arrested the pair.

The couple remain in custody, Sussex Police confirmed.

Read more:

• Police appeal after couple and newborn baby go missing from side of M61 near Bolton
• Cash reward offered in hunt for couple and newborn baby who went missing from motorway in Bolton
• Police ‘increasingly concerned’ for woman last seen in The Millstone pub in Manchester

However, while the couple has been located, their newborn baby is still missing, and police have confirmed “an urgent search operation” is currently taking place in the area.

Anyone with information that could assist the search is asked to call 999.

Featured Image – GMP