Police searching for a missing baby have found the remains of an infant.
Officers had been searching woodland to try and locate the baby of former aristocrat Constance Marten and Mark Gordon.
Marten, 35, and Gordon, 48, were arrested on Monday on suspicion of child neglect and later arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
Unfortunately, remains of a baby have been found in woodland close to where the pair were arrested.
Their baby was thought to be just days old when all three of them went missing in January.
Speaking at Sussex Police headquarters, Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford of the Metropolitan Police said: "It is my very sad duty to update this afternoon, police officers searching a wooded area close to where Constance and Mark Gordon were arrested, discovered the remains of a baby.
"This is an outcome that myself and that many officers who have been part of this search had hoped would not happen.
"I recognise the impact this news will have on many people who have been following this story closely and can assure them that we will do everything we possibly can to establish what has happened."
Hundreds of police officers and search and rescue experts scoured 90 square miles of the Sussex countryside in a bid to find the baby, who did not have any medical attention since being born in a car in Bolton on January 5, reports the Mirror.
Metropolitan and Sussex police used helicopters, sniffer dogs, thermal imaging cameras and drones.
Marten, 35, who comes from an aristocratic family with royal connections, first went missing with her boyfriend Mr Gordon, 48, when their car was found abandoned and on fire at the edge of the M61 on January 5.
From there they travelled around the country by taxi, avoiding police by paying for everything in cash, covering their faces while on CCTV and moving locations frequently, often after dark.
They were arrested in Brighton on Monday, minutes after a member of the public tipped off police, but their baby was not with them.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford from the Metropolitan Police gave an update on the search for Constance Marten and Mark Gordon's baby, saying officers "must consider that the baby has come to serious harm".
The couple remain in custody and investigators have applied for a 36-hour extension to hold them for further questioning.
Mr Basford told reporters in Brighton: "This is a hugely difficult and painstaking search operation, covering a vast area of some 90 square miles.
"We're using every resource we have at our disposal to find the baby."
He urged the public to remain vigilant and continue providing information to the investigation team.
Following the arrests, Constance's father Napier Marten said he was "very alarmed" that the baby remained missing.
He said that he loves his daughter dearly, but it would have been "far better" if she and Gordon handed themselves in earlier.
Mr Napier told the Independent : "For whatever reasons she and her partner went on the run, the consequences of their actions have increased many fold. It would have been far better if they had handed themselves in earlier."
He thanked the member of the public who tipped off police about the couple's whereabouts, as well as Metropolitan police officers for their "dogged investigation".
Mr Marten added: "When the time comes, I am longing to see Constance to reassure her that, whatever the weather, I love her dearly and will support her as best I can through the difficult weeks and months here on in."
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