Constance Marten: Police find child’s ear muffs near arrest site

Police searching for the missing new-born have found pink earmuffs close to where Marten and her sex offender partner were arrested

Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile

A pair of child ear muffs have been found in the hunt for the missing baby of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon

Police Officers have recovered a pair of pink child's ear muffs while searching for the missing baby of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon.

The couple was caught and arrested in Brighton last night after a tip-off from the public. They were found without the baby and police believe the couple left their infant out in the open.

Photos released from the scene in Brighton show officers placing a pair of childs’ ear muffs in an evidence bag - though it is unclear whether they belong to their newborn.

The pair of pink child's earmuffs are collected by a police officer in Roedale Valley Allotments, Brighton

Marten, 35, and Gordon, 48 - were arrested on a residential street shortly before 9.30 pm - on suspicion of child neglect issues. The couple has not revealed where the baby is.

The aristocrat was reported missing after their car broke down near Bolton, Greater Manchester, on January 5. The pair abandoned their burning car and a nationwide hunt for the three began.

Officers believe Marten withdrew £15,000 of cash and the pair had been dependent on burner phones with multiple sim cards to stay hidden.

The couple have been hiding since their infant was born in early January, and have been moving around the country, paying for everything in cash and hiding their faces when on CCTV.

They are believed to have been sleeping rough after being spotted buying camping equipment.

The pair were last seen with their baby in Newhaven, East Sussex, on January 9. CCTV images show the hooded couple dumping their child's pram.

Cops believe Marten had given birth in the car without any medical assistance, days before the couple fled.

Detectives say Marten, 35, gave birth a day or two before the couple and baby left their broken-down car by the side of a highway in northwest England on Jan. 5

Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford from the Met police said they found a part of the placenta in the abandoned car on the M61 and are awaiting test results to see if it is a boy or a girl.

"At the moment, we are still in the position where they have been arrested on suspicion of child neglect and there is a search for the baby.

"We are looking at open land, outbuildings where they may have placed the baby while they were in the local area before we arrested them.

"There's nothing to say they were in the caravan, we still think they were living in the outdoor environment and that is leading us, and the arrest location, to the outdoor search."

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

The pair of pink child's earmuffs are collected by a police officer in Roedale Valley Allotments, Brighton

Detectives say Marten, 35, gave birth a day or two before the couple and baby left their broken-down car by the side of a highway in northwest England on Jan. 5

A pair of child ear muffs have been found in the hunt for the missing baby of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.