An aristocrat missing with her partner and their newborn baby could be sleeping in a tent “absolutely anywhere in the UK”, police said as new CCTV footage of them was released.
Constance Marten, 35, is believed to have been living off-grid since fleeing more than six weeks ago with the day-old baby and partner Mark Gordon, 48, who served 20 years in a US jail for rape and battery.
Neither the child nor Ms Marten have received any medical attention.
Police made a fresh appeal for information on Tuesday as a senior midwife urged the couple “to do the right thing” and not put their “baby at risk” by failing to access care.
Addressing Ms Marten, director of midwifery for Barts Health NHS Trust Shereen Nimmo said it’s never too late to seek help.
“Constance, my name is Sheeran and I’m here to speak to you as a midwife and a mother. I am not here to judge you but here to help you and your baby. All we want to do is help you.
“You’re putting your baby at risk by not accessing medical care, so it’s really important that you come and see a midwife, doctor or another healthcare professional as soon as possible.”
Police have released two CCTV clips showing the couple in two locations in Newhaven, East Sussex, on Sunday 8 January – the last confirmed sighting of the pair.
The first clip is taken from a petrol station forecourt on Avis Road, at 5.18am and shows the pair carrying a number of bags.
The second is taken from a house camera on Cantercrow Hill just over an hour later. It shows the couple carrying bags and walking hurriedly down the road.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford, of the Metropolitan Police’s East Area Command, said it is unknown if the baby was full-term or has any health issues.
Officers admit they could be a considerable distance away given the time that has passed. Police have viewed over 630 hours of CCTV and received more 350 calls from the public.
Det Supt Basford added: “We’ve been working around the clock behind the scenes.
“Information from the public has been vital to our investigation and we have our dedicated incident room – thank you to everyone who has made contact with us so far, we are so grateful to you.
“While sadly these calls have not yet led to the couple and their baby being found, it could take just that one call into us with the right information, at the right time, to help us find the family and make sure they are okay.
“They could be absolutely anywhere in the UK, so we need everyone to remain vigilant.”
A £10,000 reward has been offered for information leading police to the family.
Gordon’s conviction relates to a Florida attack on a woman in her early 20s when he was 14.
Police have issued a series of appeals after the couple’s car burst into flames on the M61 near Bolton on January 5 as they travelled to Liverpool, Harwich in Essex and Colchester.
Ms Marten’s father Napier Marten, a former page to the late Queen whose grandfather was the 3rd Baron Alington, and mother Virginie de Selliers have made emotional appeals for her safe return.
She grew up in Crichel House, a Dorset estate and her grandmother was a playmate of Princess Margaret.
Ms Marten was a promising drama student until she met Gordon in 2016. Since then the couple 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 about of cash to enable them to live off-grid and avoid the attention of the authorities.
Since vanishing, whenever they have been seen on CCTV their faces are covered and the baby is hidden from view, although taxi drivers used by the couple heard noises from a baby.
Det Supt Basford said: “When they were last sighted on January 8, they were in the possession of a blue two-man tent, so 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.
“Please be mindful that they might not always be out and about together. It could be that you just see Constance or Mark out by themselves getting supplies while the other is wherever they are staying with the baby.
“I would like to stress that we are not doing this and putting so many resources and efforts into finding the family just to be awkward or to interfere. We have a genuine concern for the health and wellbeing of the baby, and Constance and Mark, and it our duty to ensure that they are okay.”
Anyone who has information on the family’s whereabouts should call the incident room via 020 7175 0785 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
