Recovered/Located UK - Constance Marten & Mark Gordon & Newborn, left a broken down car on motorway, Bolton Greater Manchester, 5 Jan 2023

[StillDiggin]

Police are searching for a couple who have gone missing with their newborn baby after their car broke down on a motorway.
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon left the car near junction four of the M61 near Bolton on Thursday night and walked towards Anchor Lane bridge, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said.
Officers believe Ms Marten had recently given birth and neither she nor her baby had seen medical professionals.
They are appealing for information.
The bridge the couple walked towards links the Highfield and Little Hulton areas.

Couple and newborn baby missing after M61 breakdown - police

Constance Marten and Mark Gordon went missing with their baby after breaking down on the M61.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Amonet]

So concerning! I hope this family are safe.

 

[Perodicticus potto]

I'm virtually certain that the mother in this case is a photojournalist who previously worked for Al Jazeera. Her website (now defunct) is archived here. It includes links to social media profiles that are still online, though not updated in years; the woman in the Facebook photos is almost definitely the same person in the police handout. She goes by the nickname Toots and has other children (presumably they're safe and accounted for). It looks like Mark Gordon could be the father of the older kids as well as the missing newborn.

I'd usually expect these kinds of details to be in a missing-persons story, but the information in the media and police statements has been scanty. Something feels very odd here.

 

[Northern Sigh]

Where they were headed isn’t that far from Royal Bolton Hospital. I hope they were headed there. There aren’t any large bodies of water or rivers on the route. It’s very odd and worrisome.

<mod snip - no link for screenshot>

 

[Perodicticus potto]

Where they were headed isn’t that far from Royal Bolton Hospital. I hope they were headed there. There aren’t any large bodies of water or rivers on the route. It’s very odd and worrisome.

I did wonder if the baby was born suddenly (<modsnip - no link> and they made their own way to hospital because of the ambulance shortage. If there's a 999 call on record, that could explain how police know about the birth. Very worrying.

 

[meanmaryjean]

This is so strange. And the lack of ambulance response makes sense. A family member in Devon called for help (literally couldn't get up) and waited hours for help.

 

[StillDiggin]

also the ‘car breakdown narrative‘, may not tell the whole story as I believe the motorway was closed last night.

 

[Amonet]

also the ‘car breakdown narrative‘, may not tell the whole story as I believe the motorway was closed last night.

Yes, can you find any cached articles about the road closure? I've seen several mentions of it.

 

[Amonet]

Where they were headed isn’t that far from Royal Bolton Hospital. I hope they were headed there. There aren’t any large bodies of water or rivers on the route. It’s very odd and worrisome.

Does this match up with what the news articles are saying about the direction they were heading?

 

[StillDiggin]

LIVE M61 shut after car fire with diversion in place

The M61 has been shut by police

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

 

[Amonet]

I did wonder if the baby was born suddenly<modsnip - no link> and they made their own way to hospital because of the ambulance shortage. If there's a 999 call on record, that could explain how police know about the birth. Very worrying.

I would have thought with a car broken down on the hard shoulder that police could come out and take mum and baby to hospital?

But there's mention of baby being swaddled, so I thought perhaps someone might have seen them on their journey away from the car. If they made a 999 call and couldn't get an ambulance maybe that's where the swaddling info comes from?

ETA does that hospital have a maternity unit? Or would they try to head for a specific maternity unit elsewhere?

 

[Perodicticus potto]

I was thinking they might have called 999 from home and been told, "An ambulance won't get there for hours, make your own way to hospital" (this is very common in the UK at the moment). Then the breakdown happened, but events after that don't make sense. It does seem that someone saw them and the baby afterward.

Edit: Royal Bolton has both a maternity ward and A&E - don't know which would be advised in this situation.

 

[StillDiggin]

Does this match up with what the news articles are saying about the direction they were heading?

Yes, police are saying towards Highfield which must be Anchor Lane, which is about 1,5 miles to the hospital. The motorway is the border between Little Hulton Salford and Farnworth Bolton.

 

[TGIRecovered]

LIVE M61 shut after car fire with diversion in place

The M61 has been shut by police

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Could car fire actually be their broken-down car?

 

[StillDiggin]

Could car fire actually be their broken-down car?

This is the exact location and time given out by the police. They appear to have left the vehicle safely, as reported here seen on Anchor Lane.

Police urgently search for couple and new born baby 'after their car broke down'

Constance Marten and Mark Gordon's car broke down on the M61 on Thursday - they haven't been seen since

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

 

[musicaljoke]

I'm virtually certain that the mother in this case is a photojournalist who previously worked for Al Jazeera. Her website (now defunct) is archived here. It includes links to social media profiles that are still online, though not updated in years; the woman in the Facebook photos is almost definitely the same person in the police handout. She goes by the nickname Toots and has other children (presumably they're safe and accounted for). It looks like Mark Gordon could be the father of the older kids as well as the missing newborn.

I'd usually expect these kinds of details to be in a missing-persons story, but the information in the media and police statements has been scanty. Something feels very odd here.

Those kind of personal details are not included in missing persons stories in Canada, and generally not in the UK either. Police around here release nothing more than the person's name, description and last known location, so it seems a bit personal and unnecessary to post that the new mom had not received medical attention.

If the mom was in the hospital now, would the hospital release the information to LE in a missing person's case like this?

 

[Perodicticus potto]

@musicaljoke <modsnip>

To answer your question: Yes, under certain circumstances hospitals can share patient information with police in the UK.

 

[musicaljoke]

@musicaljoke <modsnip>

To answer your question: Yes, under certain circumstances hospitals can share patient information with police in the UK.

<modsnip> I was writing about the content, or lack thereof, of police missing persons announcements.

 

[Amonet]

Those kind of personal details are not included in missing persons stories in Canada, and generally not in the UK either. Police around here release nothing more than the person's name, description and last known location, so it seems a bit personal and unnecessary to post that the new mom had not received medical attention.

If the mom was in the hospital now, would the hospital release the information to LE in a missing person's case like this?

BBM--Yes, this is common here when a female goes missing immediately after an unattended birth. So I would take from that that baby had been born very close to the car breakdown and disappearance.

A hospital should tell police that they have a person or have seen them so that police know the situation. Actual medical details should not be made public is all. But there are legitimate reasons for a brand new mum and infant to have a medical check-up.

 

[Perodicticus potto]

Here's a bizarre discovery: The mother was Tatler magazine's "Babe of the Month" back in 2008. This suggests she's in her 30s (maybe early 40s) and from a high socioeconomic background. This isn't the typical mother who disappears with a newborn baby. I have a bad feeling about this.