A missing aristocrat and her newborn baby might be sleeping in a tent amid sub zero temperatures, according to worried police. They say Constance Marten, 35, and her 48-year-old convicted rapist boyfriend Mark Gordon were spotted buying camping gear in London's East End on Saturday, January 7 - the last official sighting of them.
Detectives are urgently appealing to the public to help them find the couple and their baby amid fears for their well-being. A team of officers working around the clock to trace them have established that they went into an Argos store in Whitechapel, east London, at 6.19pm on January 7 to buy a tent and other camping equipment.
Gordon went in alone and paid cash for two large bags full of items including a blue two-man tent, two sleeping bags and two pillows. He left the store at 6.40pm that evening. The couple and their baby then spent slightly more than three hours walking around the Whitechapel Road area, trying to flag down three black cabs, but they were refused.
Police say they then left the area on foot and were last seen walking along Brick Lane, towards Bethnal Green Road, at 10.01pm that night - the last official sighting of the family. Officers say Gordon is often seen walking alone ahead of Constance and the baby.
Met Police Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford, who is leading the investigation, said: “We are extremely concerned that a newborn baby - less than a week old at the time on January 7 – has been exposed to sub-freezing cold temperatures if Mark and Constance have been camping out somewhere as our evidence suggests.
“No child, especially a tiny, newborn baby, should be forced to endure such dangerous, potentially life-threatening, conditions. This is why it is absolutely vital that anyone with information about their whereabouts contacts us as a matter of urgency – whether it is with a recent or older sighting. Every piece of information is crucial to enabling us to find the baby and ensure it is okay.
“My officers will continue working tirelessly behind the scenes to piece together the family’s movements and current whereabouts. It could be that they are trying to blend in with homeless communities, either here in London or further afield, or they could be camping in more rural or wooded areas.
"They could be absolutely anywhere in the country. Please keep your eyes peeled, especially while you are out and about in waste ground or beauty spots, or while you’re walking the dog, and report any information, no matter how insignificant you think it is, to us.”
Everything we know about their disappearance so far
Police were called to a car on fire on the hard-shoulder near Junction 4 of the M61 in Lancashire on the evening of Thursday, January 5. However, the occupants were not at the scene.
Enquiries revealed that Constance and Gordon were the occupants of the car and that Constance had very recently given birth, possibly one or two days before, and had not been assessed by medical professionals. Manchester Evening News sources previously revealed how placenta was found in the back seat of the couple's vehicle by fire crews.
It is believed most of their belongings were destroyed in the fire.
A missing persons investigation was launched by Greater Manchester Police, who established that the family left the vehicle and the motorway safely – walking to the Anchor Lane bridge which links the Highfield and Little Hulton areas. Police believe they then travelled to Liverpool and then onwards to Harwich via a taxi.
The couple and their baby were seen by a member of the public in Harwich, Essex, at about 9am on Saturday January 7. Police also received a number of confirmed sightings of the family in Colchester, Essex, on Friday January 6 and the following day.
The investigation was handed over to Essex Police who reviewed hours of CCTV and were able to place the couple near East Ham Station in east London between 10:30am and 12:30pm on Saturday January 7. The Met Police took over the investigation and detectives have now established that the couple and their baby took a taxi from East Ham, being dropped off in Whitechapel Road at 6.14pm that evening.
The couple are seen leaving the taxi with an orange carrier bag and a pram. They both had their heads and faces covered and Gordon was wearing white plastic bags on his shoes.
Who is Constance Marten?
Ms Marten is from a wealthy aristocratic family with connections to the royals and was a promising drama student until she met Mr Gordon in 2016.
Ms Marten grew up in Crichel House, a £34 million Dorset estate, as part of an eminent family with links to the royals. The Sunday Times said her grandmother was a playmate of Princess Margaret, while her father was a page to the Queen, who died last year.
The Independent revealed that Ms Marten is directly descended from the 3rd and last Baron Allington. Writing on her Facebook page, she said she enjoys "naked picnics, siestas among hay bales and tractor scoops".
She is known to friends as 'Toots' and is believed to have studied Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Leeds. She had enrolled at a drama school in Essex but later dropped out in 2016, with friends left shocked as she was a promising actress.
Who is Mark Gordon?
Mark Gordon is a sex offender who served 20 years in a US jail for rape and battery. His conviction relates to a Florida attack on a woman in her early 20s when he was 14, in which he reportedly threatened her with garden shears after breaking into her home.
Although he grew up in Florida, he was born in Birmingham. He was deported back to the UK after spending 20 years in jail in the US for his crimes. Gordon broke into his victim's home through her bathroom window before entering her bedroom, The Daily Mail reports. He used tights to mask his face and was brandishing hedge clippers and a kitchen knife in each hand.
Since the couple met in 2016, they have led an isolated life cut off from family and friends. From around September last year they began living in a series of AirBnBs around the country on short lets and amassed a significant amount of cash to enable them to live off-grid and avoid the attention of the authorities.
What has Constance Marten's family said?
Ms Marten's father, Napier Marten, reportedly a former page to the late Queen, previously said he and his family are “deeply concerned” about his daughter and her baby. In an audio appeal, made through The Independent, Mr Marten said while he remains estranged from his “darling” daughter, his family is willing to “do whatever is necessary for your safe return to us”.
He said the family has lived “in great concern”, knowing of Mr Gordon’s past, “for some time”. In his appeal, Mr Marten said: “Darling Constance, even though we remain estranged at the moment, I stand by, as I have always done and as the family has always done, to do whatever is necessary for your safe return to us.
“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. Only then can a process of healing and recovery begin, however long it may take, however difficult it may be.
“I would like you to understand that the family will do all that is needed for your wellbeing. And I also wish you to understand you are much, much loved, whatever the circumstances.
“We are deeply concerned for your and your baby’s welfare. The past eight years have been beyond painful for all the family as well as your friends, as they must have been for you, and to see you so vulnerable again is testing in the extreme.”
Mr Marten thanked the police for “all their endeavours in bringing this tragic episode to a swift and safe conclusion” as he repeated his appeal for his daughter to “find the courage to present yourself to the police as soon as possible”.
Anyone with any information about the family’s whereabouts should call the incident room on 020 7175 0785.
