A friend of an "awesome and kind" mum who went missing 15 days ago with her newborn child and sex offender partner has urged her to make contact. Constance Marten and Mark Gordon abandoned their burning car on the hard shoulder after it broke down on January 5th, near junction 4 of the M61, at Farnworth, Bolton.
With the couple is their baby boy who it is believed was born very recently. Constance is from a land-owning family with links to the Royal Family and is thought to have access to substantial resources.
The family have no luggage as most of their belongings were destroyed in the fire. After leaving the vehicle, which they had bought six days earlier, they walked to Anchor Bridge, which links Little Hulton, and Highfield.
They used cash to travel by taxi first to Liverpool and then Colchester. The last sighting of them was in London and Scotland Yard have now taken over the search for them. Neither Constance or her baby have been examined by medical professionals since she gave birth.
Her friend, Noisette Tahoun, has now urged Constance to reach out to her loved ones and come back to them as soon as possible. She told The Mirror: "Constance is a magnificent person and just awesome, very kind and fun to be around. She's spontaneous and the life of the party. I really wish to know anything about her and how she's doing."
Noisette first met the aristocrat, whose dad was a page to the late Queen, when they worked together at a productions company in Cairo, Egypt. Constance was spending a year abroad for her degree in Arabic and Middle Eastern studies at the time.
The pair fast became friends with Noisette visiting London in 2012 and staying in touch with Constance for a few years afterwards. In 2016, when Constance met Mark, she stopped replying to her friend's messages and is understood to have cut off ties with her family.
Noisette said: "She seemed fine when I visited her in the UK, and then she would message me saying we needed to catch up and find the right time. But when she got with her recent partner, she started being distant from everyone and not replying to any messages. I spoke to her sister to check if she was okay, but she wasn't hearing back from her either."
Referring to the advice she would give her friend if she could see her again, Noisette said: "She just needs to stay in touch with everyone who loves her. Regardless of what has happened in her life, she needs to try and stay positive and be around her family in the UK."
Constance was last sighted on January 7 at East Ham station in Newham, east London, between 11.45am and 12.30pm. The Met said that detectives from Essex Police established the trio took a taxi from Harwich to East Ham station that day.
While near Harwich port, Essex, Constance was seen appearing to carry the child under a bright red shawl. Each time Ms Marten and Mr Gordon are spotted on CCTV, they are covering their faces or looking away, and have kept their baby covered up.
Investigators say the couple appear to know how to evade authorities - making the search for them harder. Police believe they could be anywhere in the UK and are appealing to the public to come forward with any information that may help find them.
Investigators said it is unusual for hotels to accept cash payments and appealed to staff at hotels or hostels where the couple may stay to come forward.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said: "This is a complex investigation with officers from across the Met continuing to work around the clock to find Constance, Mark and their baby.
"There is nothing to suggest that any of them have come to any sort of intentional harm - we just need to ensure they are okay, especially the baby, and do not require any medical assistance for any underlying issues. The last confirmed sighting of them was more than a week ago in East Ham - they could now be anywhere in the UK, which is why it is vital that members of the public continue to contact us with any suspected sightings
"The assistance you've provided so far has been invaluable. Please don't forget about Constance, Mark and the baby - if you see them or think you have seen them then please contact us as a matter of urgency."
Some 200 officers are working on the search and have scoured through more than 200 hours of CCTV footage since the pair were last seen on January 7.
Mr Gordon's conviction relates to a Florida attack on a woman in her early 20s when he was 14. He served 20 years in a US jail for rape and battery.
