On the evening of January 5th firefighters from Bolton Central and Farnworth stations were mobilised to a burning car on the nearby M61. When they arrived at 6.33pm it was engulfed in flames.
It appeared to be a routine case of dousing the flames of a small vehicle after a dramatic fire. The Peugeot was on the hard shoulder between junctions three and four near Farnworth. Crews used two hose reels, foam, and lighting equipment to put out the fire over 30 minutes. But the owner of the vehicle was not at the scene.
Despite the damage to the scorched car crews made a disturbing find. A placenta was found in the back seat of the charred vehicle. Police believe a baby was born in the car one or two days before.
The vehicle had been bought six days earlier. Travelling in it were the child's parents, aristocrat Constance Marten, and her partner, Mark Gordon. The burning car was the start of an extraordinary nationwide hunt for the family which would go on for 53 days before a major break through.
During that time four different police forces and hundreds of officers would become involved in the search; Mr Gordon's disturbing previous convictions would be revealed along with Ms Marten's family's links to the Royal Family.
The odd couple background of the missing parents meant their disappearance became intriquing news for national newspapers and television. But at the centre of the investigation from day one was authentic concern for the welfare of the child.
Less than 24 hours after the motorway fire was discovered, GMP's Head of Public Protection, Chief Superintendent Michaela Kerr, issued a direct plea to Constance. She said: "As a mum, I would like to make a direct appeal to Constance. Constance, I know this is an exceptionally hard time for you and you are likely feeling scared but I promise that our number one priority is the same as yours – to keep your beautiful new born safe.
"As you know, it’s really important that both you and your baby are assessed by medical professionals as soon as possible so please make contact with emergency services or make your way to your nearest hospital, wherever that may be. I would also like to appeal to members of the public – not just in Bolton but across Greater Manchester and beyond."
Her use of the word beyond was prophetic.
The couple fled Greater Manchester the same night of their car mishap.They walked away from the vehicle to Anchor Bridge which links Little Hulton with Highfield. They paid cash at about 6.30pm to travel by taxi to Liverpool. From there they continued in a taxi to Colchester.
Essex Police then took over the inquiry from GMP and scoured all of Colchester's hotels and B&B's after being tipped off that the couple and their child had stayed in one hotel under false names.
As the search drew a blank Mr Gordon, 48, was exposed as being a convicted sex offender. His 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. The couple have been together since 2016. But since that time Constance, 35, once a promising drama student, had no contact with her family. It was feared that due to her wealth, derived from her family's land ownership, she was able to remain at on the run indefinitely.
Then Constance's estranged father Napier Martin - who is a former page to the late Queen - appealed through The Independent for his daughter to let police know where she is 'as soon as possible'.
Scotland Yard then became involved as the geography of search switched. The Met said that detectives from Essex Police established the trio took a taxi from Harwich to East Ham station on January 7th. While near Harwich port, Essex, Constance was seen appearing to carry the child under a bright red shawl.
Constance was sighted on January 7 at East Ham station in Newham, east London, between 11.45am and 12.30pm. Each time Ms Marten and Mr Gordon were spotted on CCTV, they were covering their faces or looking away, and kept their baby covered up.
At 6.19pm that day Mark went into Argos on Whitechapel Road, E1, London, and bought two big bags full of items, paying in cash, including a blue two-man tent, two sleeping bags and two pillows – which sparked fears they have been camping, including at times when the temperature plummeted to sub-zero.
Detectives have traced the family to Newhaven in East Sussex. They were dropped off in a taxi at 04:56 on Sunday, January 8th just outside the entrance to the port. They then walked to where the A259 crosses over the B2109. They were seen sheltering from the rain, under the overpass, at about 6am.
That was the last time they were seen until when the couple were arrested by officers from Sussex Police in Stanmer Villas, Brighton in the early hours of today after a member of the public reported seeing them shortly before 9.30pm last night. There was no sign of their newborn baby.
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were both initially held on suspicion of child neglect but were both further arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter as police continue to search for a missing baby. In a press conference this afternoon, Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford of the Metropolitan Police said more than 200 officers have been involved in an ongoing search operation.
He said the new arrests came as the 'risk is getting so great that we have to consider the possibility that the baby has come to harm'." He added: "We still have hope that the baby can be found," but said that, as time progresses, "clearly the risk is getting higher and we have to be open to the fact this may not end the way that we like."
Police were searching woodland near the villas in Brighton and a nearby allotment, checking every shed.
