The search for a British heiress’ missing newborn intensified Tuesday – one day after the baby’s mother and her partner were arrested in connection to the child’s disappearance.
UK’s Metropolitan Police service reported they arrested aristocrat Constance Marten, 35, and 48-year-old Mark Gordon, a registered sex offender, in Brighton, southern England, Monday night.
Police said the couple faced child neglect charges in connection to the case.
On Tuesday, Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford of the Met’s East Area Command told reporters the child was not with the parents when they were taken into custody.
He also said they would not reveal the baby’s location, sparking an intensified search for the child, thought to be days old when all three family members disappeared.
Marten is the estranged daughter of aristocrat Napier Marten, who is a film and music producer.
Gordon is a registered sex offender, according to the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Sex Offender Registry, who was jailed in Florida after he raped a woman when he was 14. He served 20 years in prison and was deported back to the UK after serving his sentence.
The search for all three began in early January, with police releasing several appeals and offering a £10,000 (about $12,000 U.S.) reward for information that would lead to their discovery.
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Timeline of newborns disappearance
Here’s what we know so far from investigators:
- Jan. 5: Police identified the couple as the occupants of a car that caught fire on a highway in the northwestern town of Bolton, England. The pair were not at the scene and most of their belongings were destroyed in the fire. Police launched a missing person’s investigation.
- Jan. 6: Confirmed sightings of the couple by members of the public began pouring into police. The pair and their baby had left the highway safely, and police used sightings and security camera footage to track their movements throughout the UK. Officers believe the pair travelled to Liverpool and onward to Harwich, a town in Essex, in a taxi.
- Jan. 7: The pair is spotted in London with their faces covered leaving a taxi with an orange carrier bag and a stroller. Using cash, they paid for various items, including a tent, sleeping bags and pillows. The couple then dumped a buggy and other items later that day before continuing to travel.
- Feb. 21: In a renewed appeal for information, police said more than 630 hours of security camera footage had been reviewed and police had received more than 350 calls from members of the public.
- Feb. 27: The couple is arrested outside a store after a member of the public recognized them near a convenience store and called 911. Police located the couple and arrested them. The pair were heavily clothed for outdoor activity and an immediate ‘open-land search’ began.
Who is Constance Marten?
In an audio appeal to his daughter, published Jan. 19 by local outlet The Independent, Napier Marten said Constance was “much, much loved, whatever the circumstances,” adding that the family was concerned about her and her child’s welfare.
“Darling Constance, even though we remain estranged at the moment, I standby, as I have always done and as the family has always done, to do whatever is necessary for your safe return to us,” her father said. “I beseech you to find a way to turn yourself and your wee (little) one into the police as soon as possible so you and he or she can be protected.”
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Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.