Constance Marten and Mark Gordon latest: Police update as huge search for missing baby continues in Sussex

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Police have given an update as they search for a missing baby in Brighton

Police have given an update on the search for a missing baby in Sussex after a couple were arrested in Brighton in the early hours of this morning (February 28). Metropolitan Police say more than 200 officers are searching for the newborn after Constance Marten and Mark Gordon went missing with the infant in January.

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In an update on Tuesday afternoon, police said the couple were initially arrested on suspicion of child neglect. They have been further arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. They remain in custody.

As part of a press conference, detectives said: "Whilst we hold hope that the baby is still alive, we agree that the risk to the baby is extremely high."

Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford added: "We are currently looking into all available areas that the baby could be in the open land.

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"That will include the search of outbuildings and anywhere the baby could have been left by the couple to seek shelter away from the climate and extreme temperatures.

"The search will include every facility in this location, going out into the open land to try and locate the baby.

"I have always remained hopeful that the child is alive, and the investigation we have led is all about the safe recovery and location of the baby.”.

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He added: “We feel the risk is getting so great that we have to consider the possibility that the baby has come to harm”

Sussex Police said their focus is on a vast open land search spanning over 91 square miles. The police helicopter, sniffer dogs, thermal imaging cameras and drones are being used to assist officers on the ground.

The Metropolitan Police have joined forces with Sussex Police to carry out a mass manhunt for the childThe Metropolitan Police have joined forces with Sussex Police to carry out a mass manhunt for the child
The Metropolitan Police have joined forces with Sussex Police to carry out a mass manhunt for the child

Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were found in Brighton in the early hours of Tuesday morning. They had disappeared in January with police making several appeals for information about their whereabouts including that of their baby, who was thought to be days old when the couple went missing.

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Officers spent most of Tuesday scouring an allotment and golf course on the Sussex Downs. The search also included helicopters, drones and police dogs in a bid to find the missing infant.

Earlier on Tuesday, the lead detective in the case from Metropolitan Police, Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford urged the public to be vigilant. Police also asked people in the area to look through sheds and outhouses.

Constance Marten, 35, and her ex-convict boyfriend Mark Gordon, 48, were last seen in the early hours of the morning on January 8 in Newhaven, East Sussex. The couple sparked a police hunt after being spotted leaving a burning car on foot on the M61 near Bolton earlier in the month with their newborn baby. They are then believed to have travelled to Liverpool, Essex and London.

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Last month (January) detectives offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to Ms Marten’s and Mr Gordon’s whereabouts. She comes from a wealthy family with connections to the royals, and has lived an isolated life since meeting her lover Gordon in 2016. He was previously imprisoned in the USA for rape.