Police searching for missing baby of Constance Marten find infant's remains with post-mortem to be held 'in due course'
1 March 2023, 19:01 | Updated: 2 March 2023, 01:34
Police searching for the missing baby of Constance Marten have found an infant's remains near to where she was arrested with her partner.
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Police had been desperately searching for any trace of the recently-born child throughout Brighton.
The couple remain custody as police were granted an extension to keep them detained.
On Wednesday evening police announced that the remains of an infant had been discovered in the search. The body was found in a wooded area near to where Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were found and arrested.
"This afternoon, police officers searching a wooded area close to where Constance and Mark Gordon were arrested discovered the remains of a baby," said Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford of the Metropolitan Police.
"A post mortem examination will be held in due course. A crime scene is in place and work at the location is expected to continue for some time.
Read more: Who is Constance Marten? Aristocrat background, children and age
"This is an outcome that myself and many officers who had been part of this search had hoped would not happen.
"I recognise the impact this news will have on the many people who have been following this story closely, and can assure them we will do everything we possibly can to establish what happened."
Read more: Who is Mark Gordon? Age, crimes and family background revealed
Police had said Marten and Gordon had not been cooperating after they were found in Brighton and held at an address in a residential street.
They were spotted by a member of the public after nearly two months on the run.
The pair had vanished from the Bolton area after their car was found alight on the motorway. They had an infant who, it was believed, had not been seen by medical professionals.
Chief Superintendent James Collis of Sussex Police said: "I would first and foremost like to extend my heartfelt condolences on behalf of Sussex Police to the wider family of the baby at this time.
"I understand that the conclusion of this search will be heartbreaking for the local community and the wider public who have been impacted by and so supportive of this search and the investigation from the outset."
They used taxis to travel across the UK, eventually emerging in London before they were finally tracked down to Brighton.
Police searched vast swathes of Brighton including woodland and allotments in a bid to find the baby.
A pair of small pink earmuffs were found during the search, as police feared the baby had been seriously harmed.
Marten, 35, comes from a wealthy family with links to the royals.
Gordon, 48, was jailed for 20 years in the US for rape and battery he committed when he was 14. He was eventually deported to the UK.
The couple had lived a relatively isolated life, moving between rental flats in the UK. They began dating after meeting in 2016.
