A desperate search to find the baby of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon is continuing today, amid fears from police that the infant may have come to harm.
The pair - who went missing after their car was found burning on the M61 in Bolton in January - were arrested on suspicion of child neglect after being stopped in Brighton on Monday following several weeks on the run. The baby was not with them.
Marten, who is from a wealthy aristocratic family, and Gorton, a convicted sex offender, were then further arrested yesterday on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. Police believe the baby has not been seen by a doctor since birth.
As the huge search for the baby continues, here is timeline of what has happened since the pair disappeared in January:
January 5
An investigation is launched by Greater Manchester Police after the couple’s car is found on fire and abandoned on the hard shoulder of the M61 in Bolton.
Investigators discover the family walked away from the car to the Anchor Lane Bridge.
January 6
They take a taxi to Liverpool and then onto Harwich, Essex, at around 3.30am.
January 7
They are seen by a member of the public in Harwich at around 9am. Later that day, they are caught on CCTV near London’s East Ham station between 10.30am and 12.30pm.
From there they take a taxi to Whitechapel road, getting dropped off just before 6.15pm.
It is here that Mark Gordon goes into a branch of Argos alone and buys camping equipment including sleeping bags and a two-person tent.
The couple walk around the area for a few hours unsuccessfully trying to flag down taxis. Shortly before midnight they dump their buggy near Brick Lane, east London, and take a taxi to Haringey in north London.
January 8
At 1.25am the couple take another taxi from Allison Road, Haringey, all the way to Newhaven ferry port in east Sussex, where they are dropped off at 4.56am.
They walk to where the A259 crosses over the B2109, and are seen sheltering from the rain under an overpass at around 6am.
At around 6.15am they walk along Cantercrow Hill into the fields beyond, carrying a number of bags and their blue tent.
January 9
Essex Police briefly take over the investigation due to the sightings in Harwich.
January 12
The Metropolitan Police take over the investigation once it is confirmed the couple travelled to east London.
January 18
The force makes a public appeal for help finding the family, revealing that Gordon is a convicted sex offender who served 20 years in a US jail for rape and battery.
They also say the couple have enough cash to live off-grid as they avoid the police.
January 19
Marten’s father Napier Marten appeals through the Independent newspaper for his daughter to hand herself in, saying: “I beseech you to find a way to turn yourself and your wee one in to the police as soon as possible so you and he or she can be protected.”
January 24
Police repeat their concerns for the safety of the baby, saying they believe the couple are sleeping rough in freezing temperatures.
January 31
A £10,000 reward is offered by the Metropolitan Police for information leading to the family being found safe.
February 7
Constance’s mother Virginie de Selliers publishes an open letter to her daughter, pledging to support her and telling her “you are not alone”.
February 21
The Metropolitan Police make the latest in a number of public appeals to find the family, including a plea from midwife Shereen Nimmo to Marten to get her baby medical attention.
February 27
At 9.30pm the couple are arrested in Brighton on suspicion of child neglect after a tip-off from a member of the public. Police cannot find the baby.
February 28
A huge search continues to find the baby. Marten and Gordon are re-arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said police still hoped to find the child safe and well, with a helicopter, sniffer dogs, thermal imaging cameras and drones being used in the search.
He said officers had received no information about the welfare or location of the child since the pair were detained.
March 1
The search for Marten and Gordon's baby goes on with more than 200 officers searching an area of seven miles by 13 miles, from where the couple were last sighted to where they were arrested – including allotments and woodland.
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