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

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(snipped)

I have seen the reason for heading to Bolton may have been with an aim of getting to the ferry to go to Ireland, however the car allegedly caught fire and it seems they didn’t continue their journey.
There's no ferry's from Bolton, we're pretty landlocked here! They would need to go via Liverpool or Hull I imagine. They did head to Liverpool before heading to Essex so possibly that was their plan
 
As far as I know, there were no police or media reports that said this. I said in an earlier post in this thread that I *wondered* if that's what happened. I thought I'd made clear that this was my speculation only, but apologies if not.
No I apologise, I felt sure I had read it in the media but obviously I didn’t.

I am still wondering how it’s known the baby is male (and I’ve only seen that on the MEN report linked by a previous poster). It does imply she has had a conversation of some sorts with somebody after giving birth. Perhaps 111? MOO
 
There's no ferry's from Bolton, we're pretty landlocked here! They would need to go via Liverpool or Hull I imagine. They did head to Liverpool before heading to Essex so possibly that was their plan
Hi, yes, I know Bolton well. But they were possibly on route to Liverpool. It's unlikely it was their destination.
 
No I apologise, I felt sure I had read it in the media but obviously I didn’t.

I am still wondering how it’s known the baby is male (and I’ve only seen that on the MEN report linked by a previous poster). It does imply she has had a conversation of some sorts with somebody after giving birth. Perhaps 111? MOO
It's been mentioned in a few places, e.g. here in the Mirror: Mum and baby who vanished after car broke down on motorway 'seen 200 miles away' which says "Constance Marten, Mark Gordon and their tiny son". It's conspicuously absent information in more recent police statements, so maybe there's a kind of post facto attempt at the preservation of privacy going on - a bit late really, given the saturation coverage.

We don't know anything about the antenatal history here. Their situation gives every appearance of having social causes rather than being about avoiding medical care per se, so perhaps the baby's sex was noted during an ultrasound scan, and that detail was originally thought to be helpful, or just came out unintentionally.

JMO

ETA: Just to repeat, it may not be accurate information. At least one paper (the DM if memory serves) originally seemed to think the missing child was the one photographed (pixeled out) in CM's arms at a railway station, despite the fact that that child was manifestly not a newborn. So... <shrug>
 
May I ask, has there been any confirmation of how many older children CM has other than through photos on FB?
Not that I know of. That info is very unlikely to come out unless a parent chooses to share it (on social media or elsewhere). Even in murder trials involving child victims, the British media rarely mention other children in the family.
 
So, as far as we know, there have been no sightings of the couple since they appeared at East Ham station in NE London by mid-day on Saturday 7th January. That´s now a full week ago.
Considering how jam-packed London is with CCTV cameras, it seems quite amazing if no cameras have been recording the pair for a week...Which makes me think that they´re likely staying in the local area of Newham/East Ham. This is also very close to the location of the then main campus of the actor´s school where Constance Marten was a student around 2016. She likely knows the area very well since that time.
 
So, as far as we know, there have been no sightings of the couple since they appeared at East Ham station in NE London by mid-day on Saturday 7th January. That´s now a full week ago.
Considering how jam-packed London is with CCTV cameras, it seems quite amazing if no cameras have been recording the pair for a week...Which makes me think that they´re likely staying in the local area of Newham/East Ham. This is also very close to the location of the then main campus of the actor´s school where Constance Marten was a student around 2016. She likely knows the area very well since that time.
They are likely not that noticeable, especially apart and or without the baby. Alone she's a nondescript white woman doing some shopping.

I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't quite look like the photos put out there either. A priority for missing persons investigations is to get the most recent clear photos of the people missing as possible for media releases. Whether the photos used are from arrests or driving licences (and honestly they could be either) they are unlikely to be all that recent. They're also not great for recognising someone. Super close and washed out, flat harsh lighting, his has a weird focal point which I'm sure is warping things a bit too. Not what you'd pick if you had options. Especially as, even if she/they were arrested recently, police don't use a mugshot for a press release unless they really have to for obvious reasons.

Now it might be that they initially used them because they'd come from out of area so the police force who realised they were missing from the car with a baby, felt the risk was high/immediate and only had these photos to hand (in which case they're mugshots) - but no new photos have popped up or been released either. No cropped group shot, no pic of them standing together, no family pictures with the other kids, no smiling selfie. The only other photos of her attached to articles is from at least feb 2020.

So it seems despite all this manpower they haven't got hold of a better photo of them, not through family or friends even. That's... Well it's odd on it's own, but my main point was that if it's been a rough few years for her, she might pass under the radar fairly well.

The problem for them is when they want to move as a group. Older rougher black dude, white woman with a posh accent and a days old newborn - but no pram/nappy bag/baby stuff etc. Even in London they run much more of a risk of getting noticed and recognised.

A house search is also usually a top priority, but I've not seen much coverage about where they were living before all this started.
 
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You could be right. <modsnip - sleuthing children of missing persons>
<modsnip - sleuthing children of missing persons> I know that physically she could have had three children between what appears to be late 2016 and mid-2019, but it is right. Two seems more likely imo.
 
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A big problem with this case is the information released. There's a not insignificant number of people who distrust social services and believe they just want to take her baby for no reason. Mostly these people know that it is not medically necessary for most babies to be seen after birth. It's not ideal of course but mostly it would be OK. People are seeing this and think it's SS trying to take someone's baby so won't report. If more information was released as to why they need to know the baby is safe, whether that be they believe the baby to be at risk due to the mother being seriously unwell, <modsnip - not victim friendly> or whatever other reason, the appeal would likely be far more successful. Note: I'm not saying anything of those reasons listed are true. They are just examples.

The weather tonight is awful. I hope they are somewhere safe and dry.
 
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A big problem with this case is the information released. There's a not insignificant number of people who distrust social services and believe they just want to take her baby for no reason. Mostly these people know that it is not medically necessary for most babies to be seen after birth. It's not ideal of course but mostly it would be OK. People are seeing this and think it's SS trying to take someone's baby so won't report. If more information was released as to why they need to know the baby is safe, whether that be they believe the baby to be at risk due to the mother being seriously unwell, <modsnip - not victim friendly> or whatever other reason, the appeal would likely be far more successful. Note: I'm not saying anything of those reasons listed are true. They are just examples.

The weather tonight is awful. I hope they are somewhere safe and dry.
If the reason was she/they were abusive or neglectful to the other kids, or because of previous convictions it would be, especially with the current national coverage, massively intrusive to their kids privacy, and to them for that matter, they aren't out as wanted by police at the moment.


Blasting past offences or social service concerns across the media when they have not been said to have broken any lawd would be a <modsnip> move and make it a hell of a lot less likely they come out willingly.

Ultimately it is not information the public needs to know to help find them.
 
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<modsnip - quoted post removed>

<modsnip - sleuthing children of missing persons> <modsnip - discussing comments on social media>

Also, for a person to have been born and raised in a large (I know, wealthy but that's not where I'm concentrating) family, to have siblings, for seemingly no relation or friend to be releasing appeals makes me wonder if this lady has been isolated for several years?
 
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If the reason was she/they were abusive or neglectful to the other kids, or because of previous convictions it would be, especially with the current national coverage, massively intrusive to their kids privacy, and to them for that matter, they aren't out as wanted by police at the moment.


Blasting past offences or social service concerns across the media when they have not been said to have broken any lawd would be a <modsnip> move and make it a hell of a lot less likely they come out willingly.

Ultimately it is not information the public needs to know to help find them.
They won't be releasing anything that would put the children at risk of harm or indeed will be intrusive to the children and it's not a criticism of the police. Their hands will be tied on what they can release. However unfortunately there's a not insignificant number of people who seem to think they should be encouraged to run. with the absence of additional information, it means a lot of people just would mind their own business and simply not report them. Others would probably help them. And of course, many people won't even be aware of this case at all. There hasn't been that much coverage and many people consume news online now and read the stories that interest them, rather than watching the 6 o clock news.
 
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<modsnip - sleuthing children of missing persons> <modsnip - discussing comments on social media>

Also, for a person to have been born and raised in a large (I know, wealthy but that's not where I'm concentrating) family, to have siblings, for seemingly no relation or friend to be releasing appeals makes me wonder if this lady has been isolated for several years?
I agree - her life seems incredibly isolated.
 
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