Police update appeal for missing couple and newborn baby as concern ‘continues to grow’
Police have updated an appeal to trace a missing couple and their baby, as it is believed they are camping out in the Sussex countryside.
Constance Marten, 35, and Mark Gordon, 48, and their newborn baby went missing in early January.
A month after the car they were travelling in was found on the M61, police have appealed directly to them to get in touch.
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon
Concerns grow ‘day by day’
Officers said the previous offer of a £10,000 reward for any new information on the trio’s whereabouts is still active, and reiterated that concern for the individual’s wellbeing “continues to grow”.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said the baby is “at the heart of the investigation” and that concerns are rising “day by day” for the child’s wellbeing.
He said the public should be aware that the couple have made an effort to remain inconspicuous, and that their “change of disguise” as well as movement and “shielding” of the baby has made it hard to locate them.
“We know they’ve worn masks, we know they’ve changed coats at various times just within the two to three days since the Met Police have taken the inquiry and followed them,” he said.
He added that the couple have “now removed the stroller” and are “more aware and paranoid that actually the police and members of the public will be more cognisant of a baby”.
CCTV footage of the couple in Newhaven, East Sussex
In a message to the couple, Det Supt Basford said: “Constance and Mark, your baby has spent the first month of its short life exposed to the elements when it should be safe and warm and, most importantly, seen by medics.
“After a month you must be running low on cash. Please pick up the phone and let us know, at the very least, that you are okay. We are ready to come to you and see that you and the baby get medical attention.
“We know that the baby was still alive on 8 January and finding the baby remains our top priority.”
He also appealed particularly to those who may have spent time in the countryside near Newhaven and elsewhere in Sussex, where the couple are believed to be camping.
He urged that any detail, no matter how small, was important, including if an individual gave the couple directions or saw them buying food, drink or nappies.
Ms Marten, who is from a wealthy family, has lived an isolated life with Mr Gordon, a convicted sex offender, since they met in 2016.
It is thought most of the couple’s belongings were destroyed in the blaze that affected their vehicle.
Read more:
Where have the couple been spotted?
Couple and baby sleeping in tent in sub-zero temperatures, police say
Since then, Ms Marten and Mr Gordon have taken a taxi to Liverpool, and from there to Harwich in Essex. They have also been seen in east London, before travelling to north London and then on to East Sussex.
Pictures released on 8 January showed the pair walking near Brick Lane, east London, at around 11.45pm where they dumped a pushchair.
Constance Marten entering Flower and Dean Walk, east London
Carrying bags near Brick Lane, east London
When spotted in East Sussex, they were carrying bags containing a two-man tent, sleeping bags and pillows that they had bought from Argos.
The last known sighting of the pair was at 6.15am on 8 January, where they walked along Cantercrow Hill, East Sussex, into the fields beyond.
They were carrying a number of bags and their blue tent, although given the time that’s passed they could have moved some considerable distance.
Rory McIlroy has completed a career Grand Slam in golf with his win at the US Masters tournament.
The Masters was the last major tournament left for McIlroy to complete the modern golf Grand Slam – a feat only five others have managed before him.
McIlroy, who was making his 11th attempt at completing the Grand Slam, faced off Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff to decide the Masters champion, after they finished tied on 11 under at the end of regulation on Sunday.
McIlroy reacts as he wins. Pic: AP
McIlroy reacts after winning against Justin Rose at the Masters. Pic: AP
“It’s my 17th time here and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time,” McIlroy said just before slipping on the Green Jacket during the presentation ceremony.
“I’m just absolutely honoured and thrilled and just so proud to be able to call myself a Masters champion.”
McIlroy had missed his six-foot putt for par, a bogey which dropped him back to 11 under, where he joined Rose – leading to a dramatic play-off between the two.
Only five other golfers have been able to complete a career Grand Slam, including Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.
Pic: AP
McIlroy is a two-time winner of the PGA Championship, claiming the prize in 2012 and 2014.
The 35-year-old also won his first major title, the US Open, in 2011, and won The Open Championship in 2014.
How did McIlroy get to the victory?
McIlroy recovered from losing his overnight two-shot advantage with an opening-hole double bogey to initially take control at Augusta National, only to blow a four-shot lead over his closing six holes.
The world No 2 bogeyed the last to close a one-over 73 and slip back to 11 under alongside Rose, who overturned a seven-stroke deficit and posted a stunning final-round 66 to force a play-off.
The players returned to the 18th for the play-off, where McIlroy made amends for his 72nd-hole blunder by firing a stunning approach to within three feet of the pin and making the birdie putt required for a life-changing win.
UK
Race to keep British Steel furnaces running with last-minute efforts to secure raw materials under way
Last-minute efforts to keep British Steel operating are to be carried out today, as the plant races to secure a supply of raw materials.
The Department for Business and Trade said officials are working to secure supplies of materials, including coking coal, to keep British Steel operational, as well as to ensure all staff will be paid.
It added that setting up new supply chains was “crucial” as a fall in blast furnace temperature could risk “irreparable damage to the site, with the steel setting and scarring the machinery”.
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British Steel: What happens next?
Companies including Tata – which ran the now-closed Port Talbot steelworks – and Rainham Steel have offered managerial support and materials to keep the Lincolnshire site running.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said in a statement that “when I said steelmaking has a future in the UK, I meant it”.
“Steel is vital for our national security and our ambitious plans for the housing, infrastructure and manufacturing sectors in the UK,” he added.
“We will set out a long-term plan to co-invest with the private sector to ensure steel in the UK has a bright and sustainable future.”
Unions said Jingye decided to cancel orders of key materials for the steelworks
Earlier this month, unions said the steelwork’s owner, Chinese company Jingye, decided to cancel future orders for the iron ore, coal and other raw materials needed to keep the furnaces running.
It meant the Scunthorpe plant had been on course to close down by May, bit it sparked urgent calls for government intervention.
Emergency legislation was passed on Saturday bringing the steelworks into effective government control, and officials were on site as soon as the new legislation came into force.
However, the business secretary has warned that does not mean the plant is guaranteed to survive.
Appearing on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Mr Reynolds also said he would not bring a Chinese company into the “sensitive” steel sector again.
“I don’t know… the Boris Johnson government when they did this, what exactly the situation was,” he added. “But I think it’s a sensitive area.”
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‘I wouldn’t bring a Chinese company into our steel sector’
Jingye stepped in with a deal to buy British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant out of insolvency in 2020, when Mr Johnson was prime minister.
The minister added that while The Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill stops short of the full nationalisation of British Steel, “to be frank, as I said to parliament yesterday, it is perhaps at this stage the likely option”.
The Conservatives accused the government of acting “too late” and implementing a “botched nationalisation” after ignoring warnings about the risk to the steelworks.
Read more:
A sticking plaster, not a solution: What next for British Steel?
How Trump, China and Reform all played their part
Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said: “The Labour Government have landed themselves in a steel crisis entirely of their own making.
“They’ve made poor decisions and let the unions dictate their actions.”
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