Missing couple and newborn baby sleeping in tent in sub-zero temperatures, police say
Police searching for a missing couple and their newborn baby believe the family has been sleeping in a tent in sub-zero temperatures.
Officers have been trying to find Constance Marten, 35, and Mark Gordon, 48, since their car broke down on the M61 near Bolton on 5 January.
Police say they went into an Argos in Whitechapel, in east London, two days later to buy camping gear.
They say Gordon, a convicted sex offender who served 20 years in a US jail for rape and battery, went alone and bought two big bags of items, including a blue two-man tent, sleeping bags and two pillows.
The family was last seen walking along Brick Lane, towards Bethnal Green Road at about 10pm.
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Where have the couple been spotted?
Missing couple spotted on CCTV in London
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said: “We are extremely concerned that a newborn baby – less than a week old at the time on 7 January – has been exposed to sub-freezing cold temperatures if Mark and Constance have been camping out somewhere as our evidence suggests.
CCTV of the couple on Whitechapel Road. Pic: Metropolitan Police
“No child, especially a tiny, newborn baby, should be forced to endure such dangerous, potentially life-threatening, conditions.
“This is why it is absolutely vital that anyone with information about their whereabouts contacts us as a matter of urgency – whether it is with a recent or older sighting. Every piece of information is crucial to enabling us to find the baby and ensure it is okay.
“My officers will continue working tirelessly behind the scenes to piece together the family’s movements and current whereabouts. It could be that they are trying to blend in with homeless communities, either here in London or further afield, or they could be camping in more rural or wooded areas.
Mr Gordon bought two big bags of items, including a blue two-man tent, sleeping bags and two pillows
“They could be absolutely anywhere in the country. Please keep your eyes peeled, especially while you are out and about in waste ground or beauty spots, or while you’re walking the dog, and report any information, no matter how insignificant you think it is, to us.”
On 5 January, police were called to the hard shoulder of the M61 where a car Ms Marten and Mr Gordon had been using was on fire.
It is believed most of their belongings were destroyed in the blaze.
Police say Ms Marten, who grew up in Crichel House, a Dorset estate, as part of an affluent family with links to the royals, may have given birth just a day or two before the fire but neither she nor the baby were assessed by medical professionals.
Sightings of the couple were then reported in Liverpool and Harwich before they were seen in Colchester, Essex, on 6 and 7 January.
Detectives have now established that they took a taxi from East Ham in east London, being dropped off in Whitechapel Road at 6.14pm on 7 January which is where they appeared on CCTV.
There have been no reported sightings of the couple since then.
A police officer has described the moment he was shot with a crossbow – as his “extremely dangerous” attacker was sentenced to nine years in jail.
Jason King, 54, fired the weapon at PC Curtis Foster after stabbing a neighbour, a man in his 60s, following an altercation in Downley, Wycombe, on 10 May last year.
PC Foster was struck in the leg by a crossbow bolt while King chased after him and his fellow unarmed officer.
Jason King armed with the crossbow chases the officer. Pic: Thames Valley Police
King stabbed his neighbour in the stomach following an altercation. Pic: Thames Valley Police
“I knew something had impacted me, but my adrenaline was so high that the pain wasn’t really there,” PC Foster said.
“I first realised I was bleeding quite a lot when I could feel it running down my leg, and then I touched my leg with above my trousers, and my whole hand was red where it’d gone through my trousers already.”
PC Foster and his colleague cleared the area of civilians, while armed officers chased King to a local park.
King also fired the crossbow at a police dog but missed.
He was ordered to drop the weapon, but instead started running with it in hand towards the exit of the park to where PC Foster had escaped.
An armed officer fired one shot at King, striking him in the abdomen, to stop him.
PC Curtis Foster was hit in the leg by a crossbow bolt shot by King. Pic: Thames Valley Police
PC Foster. Pic: Thames Valley Police
‘Covered in my blood’
As King was apprehended, paramedics and his fellow officers treated the seriously injured PC Foster.
“There was a lot of blood. My two colleagues that turned up initially on scene were covered in my blood – that’s how much blood I’d lost,” PC Foster said.
“When we got to the hospital, the doctor had a feel of it and said that I was really lucky it didn’t strike an artery. It was a couple of centimetres away from hitting an artery in the back of my leg.”
PC Foster has since made a full recovery, as did the neighbour King stabbed.
King himself was taken to hospital under police supervision with potentially life-changing injuries and was discharged 10 days later, when he was arrested and taken into police custody.
King was apprehended by armed police officers in a nearby park. Pic: Thames Valley Police
On Wednesday, King was jailed at Aylesbury Crown Court for nine years with a further three years on extended licence having previously pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding, having an article with a blade or point, having an offensive weapon, wounding with intent and affray regarding the incident.
“Jason King will now serve a substantial prison sentence as a result of his violent actions on 10 May 2024. The community and residents of Downley are much safer for it,” said senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Nick Hind.
He added: “The courage of our officers in dealing with this incident was second to none.”
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‘Significant threat to police’
DI Hind explained that the impact the incident had in the local community couldn’t be underestimated as King was “an extremely dangerous man, who posed a significant threat to police, other emergency services and members of the community”.
A mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct was made after the police shooting of King.
The IOPC, which concluded its investigation in November, commended “everybody involved in this incident”, according to DI Hind.
A member of rap trio Kneecap was greeted by hundreds of supporters as he arrived at court this morning, charged with allegedly supporting a proscribed terror organisation.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig in London in November last year.
Demonstrators waving flags and holding banners in support of the rapper greeted him with cheers as he made his way into Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
The rapper is mobbed by fans and media as he arrives at court. Pics: PA
Supported by his Kneecap bandmates Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh, it took the rapper more than a minute to enter the building as security officers worked to usher him inside through a crowd of photographers.
Fans held signs which read “Free Mo Chara”, while others waved Irish and Palestinian flags.
As the hearing got under way, O hAnnaidh confirmed his name, date of birth and address, with the court hearing an Irish language interpreter would be present.
During a previous hearing, prosecutors said the 27-year-old is “well within his rights” to voice his opinions on the Israel-Palestine conflict, but said the alleged incident at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town was a “wholly different thing”.
O hAnnaidh is yet to enter a plea to the charge.
Bandmates Naoise O Caireallain (pictured, centre) and JJ O Dochartaigh are supporting O hAnnaidh. Pic: Reuters
Who are Kneecap?
Kneecap put out their first single in 2017 and rose to wider prominence in 2024 after the release of their debut album and an eponymously titled film – a fictionalised retelling of how the band came together and their fight to save the Irish language.
The film, in which the trio play themselves and co-star alongside starring Oscar nominee Michael Fassbender, won the BAFTA for outstanding debut earlier this year, for director and writer Rich Peppiatt.
Last year, they won a discrimination case against the UK government after Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch tried to refuse them a £14,250 funding award when she was business secretary.
They are known for songs including H.O.O.D, Fine Art, and Better Way To Live, featuring Fontaines DC frontman Grian Chatten.
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