- By Rachel Russel
- BBC News
March 1, 2023 at 09:20 GMT
Updated 16 minutes ago
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London Search and Rescue (LONSAR) officers search the area at Wild Park Local Nature Reserve in Brighton on Wednesday
Police fear a baby has suffered “serious damage” at the center of a massive search operation.
A 90 square mile compound in Brighton is being searched by hundreds of officers.
Police have asked for more time to question Constance Marten and Mark Gordon, who were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of manslaughter.
A search for the couple began in January after their car was found ablaze on the M61 near Bolton.
Police say Ms Marten recently gave birth and believe the baby may have been born in the back of the vehicle without a midwife or medical attention.
At a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, Metropolitan Police’s Det Supt Lewis Basford said a major search using drones, sniffer dogs and thermal imaging cameras was underway.
Earlier on Wednesday, officers from London Search and Rescue searched Moulsecoomb Wild Park, about a mile from Stanmer Villas in Brighton, where the couple were arrested.
Officers searched under sticks and logs near where the area meets the Hollingbury Golf Course.
A uniformed officer was also seen at the park’s entrance.
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Police and search and rescue teams work together to find the missing baby
Allotments and the golf course were searched on Tuesday. A Facebook group for the Roedale Valley allotments was told that police had broken into every shed on the site in their search for the baby.
Ms Marten, 35, and Gordon – a convicted rapist and registered sex offender – were arrested Monday after a member of the public saw them and called police.
They were initially held on suspicion of child neglect, but were arrested on suspicion of grossly negligent homicide.
Persons charged with the offense face up to 18 years in prison if found guilty of death caused by negligence.
This differs from unlawful manslaughter, which can carry a sentence of up to 24 years in prison if it is proven that someone willfully did something unlawful or dangerous that accidentally caused death.
The couple remain in custody, but police said they have not provided any further information on the child’s condition or whereabouts.
The sex of the baby is not known to the police.
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Constance Marten and Mark Gordon disappeared with a newborn baby more than seven weeks ago
In a statement released by police on Tuesday, Det Supt Lewis Basford urged the public to help search and report potential sightings in Brighton and Newhaven.
He said: “I would also ask people living in these areas to report any suspicious behavior or objects found in their gardens, outbuildings and sheds between then and now.
“Even if you are walking in these areas and discover something that you think we should know about, no matter how insignificant it may seem, please do not hesitate to contact us.”
A car belonging to Ms Marten and Gordon, 48, was set on fire on January 5 on the side of the M61 motorway in Bolton.
After their car was set on fire, police said the family left the scene and traveled to Liverpool, Essex, London and East Sussex.
They appeared to have covered their faces in public, been out at night, and used cash to buy supplies to avoid being found.
Their home is in Eltham, south-east London, but they have been living nomadicly since September last year – when Ms Marten first showed signs of pregnancy.
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Watch: CCTV shows missing baby couple about to be arrested
Police haven’t ruled out the possibility that someone could take care of the baby – although they added that it was unlikely.
Det Supt Lewis Basford said the risk for the baby – who is believed to be around two months old now – has increased over time, particularly in cold weather.
He said police must now “be open to the fact that this may not end the way we would like it to.”
Police previously said Ms Marten’s inherited fortune may have allowed the couple to remain at large for an extended period of time.
She comes from a privileged background and grew up in a stately home.
She became estranged from her family after meeting 48-year-old Gordon at drama school in 2016.
They believe the baby was alive at the time of the family’s last prior sighting in Newhaven, but little is known of the family’s movements in the weeks since.
After the couple were found on Monday, Ms Marten’s estranged father, Napier Marten, told the Independent he felt “immensely relieved”, although this was “mitigated by the very alarming news.” [her] Baby has yet to be found”