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

[Lucy6226]

<modsnip - quoted post removed>

I mean it's definitely something I'm mindful about...we don't know the circumstances or story behind his conviction or even if it plays a part in the reason they are missing or avoiding the authorities. But either way it doesn't look good and it is very concerning regarding Constance and the baby

 

[azure]

Not defending anyone but we have to remember that MG has served his time for the US offences. Unless he has committed more over here since then, then he is a free man, although with that type of conviction i imagine its a lifetime rock around his neck with regards to stigma/employment/travel/general acceptance. Whether his character has changed or not is a different matter... Was he completely mentally isolated after 20yrs in jail as a juvenile? did the experience stunt him emotionally during the important adolescent years?-i should think so. So maybe he struggles with mental health as well..im just being objective ! However tgat all aside, the main thing is that the mother & baby are well & cared for

Indeed, I find the article with MG's mugshot next to the surveillance photo of CM to be in very poor taste. There is no evidence (so far) that CM is anything other than a willing participant in this charade, and there is no evidence that MG is wanted for any recent crimes whatsoever. The photos make it look like the man in the mugshot, who happens to be a person of color, has forced the heiress, who happens to be white, to go off-grid. As of now we have no evidence of that at all-in fact quite the contrary as CM has apparently been dating MG since 2016.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

According to the Sunday Times, her grandmother was a playmate of Princess Margaret, while her father Napier Marten was a page to Queen Elizabeth. The newspaper reported that the family put the Dorset estate on the market in 2010 for £100million, before its sale to an American buyer.

Last September, Ms Marten and Mr Gordon began moving around the country, renting AirBnBs for brief periods. On January 5, they were on the M61 when their car broke down and caught fire near junction four at Farnworth, Bolton.


The couple then walked to Anchor Lane Bridge, where they got a taxi to Liverpool before getting another to Harwich here in Essex. They were seen around Colchester on Friday, January 6 and Saturday 7, when they took another taxi to East Ham Station in Newham, London, and were last seen.

Constance Marten, Mark Gordon and their newborn child were driving a car which was later found ablaze on the hard-shoulder of the M61 near Bolton

Missing couple spotted in Essex have 'substantial' cash to live off-grid

Constance Marten comes from a wealthy aristocratic family, while Mark Gordon is a convicted sex offender who served time in jail

www.essexlive.news

 

[Amaz0nia]

i honestly dont understand the relevance of who her father played with as a child, who her grandmother is, or who her brother married or the value of their private property. I wish the media would just shut up about it as its not helping at all in the way this story is being portrayed. The most important thing is the welfare of the baby and the mother. All this additional sensationalist waffle in the press makes for negative reading for the general public which the police are appealing for help from, not to mention the stereotypical undertones towards MG - whatever he may or may not have done, he did the crime and served the time and as far as anyone knows has nothing else on him at the moment. They <modsnip - not victim friendly> really need some sort of help and intervention to get their lives back on track to some degree or another.

 

[Telltale]

Indeed, I find the article with MG's mugshot next to the surveillance photo of CM to be in very poor taste. There is no evidence (so far) that CM is anything other than a willing participant in this charade, and there is no evidence that MG is wanted for any recent crimes whatsoever. The photos make it look like the man in the mugshot, who happens to be a person of color, has forced the heiress, who happens to be white, to go off-grid. As of now we have no evidence of that at all-in fact quite the contrary as CM has apparently been dating MG since 2016.

I mean in all fairness, they kept his record out of the press for at least 2 weeks.

In the original reporting it was both of their mugshots, it only changed after she was spotted on Essex CCTV (he wasn't it seems) so obviously they wanted that on the front page. Then someone dug up her Facebook picture which is getting used more now.

They genuinely don't seem to have a different photo of him. His CCTV pic (and now the old mugshot) gets used occasionally but he is appearance less distinctive than hers in the burgundy coat and red scarf.

 

[wizardizzo76]

Not defending anyone but we have to remember that MG has served his time for the US offences. Unless he has committed more over here since then, then he is a free man, although with that type of conviction i imagine its a lifetime rock around his neck with regards to stigma/employment/travel/general acceptance. Whether his character has changed or not is a different matter... Was he completely mentally isolated after 20yrs in jail as a juvenile? did the experience stunt him emotionally during the important adolescent years?-i should think so. So maybe he struggles with mental health as well..im just being objective ! However tgat all aside, the main thing is that the mother & baby are well & cared for

I agree that a 14 year old boy doing unspeakable things has plenty of scope for personal development and improvement. I doubt he saw much support and guidance (apart from "spiritual"?) within the Florida prison system as a young black man, though. I can imagine it is easy to feel empathy with someone who has essentially lost their entire life to something they did as a kid. (No matter how vile). You have to hope that this alone isn't why potentially other babies were removed (pure speculation), as otherwise I can see why they are acting as they are. And also that the estrangement from family wasn't purely over this, otherwise the announcements in press might well escalate the feeling of victimisation.

 

[Earthwindfire]

Seems so, by all accounts it was around 2015/2016. 2016 is when she dropped out of her acting school, possibly went dark on Facebook and stopped answering friends if you read through the above stories. They were aware she met a guy around that time and papers say she moved in with Gordon that year as well.

Might be his doing, though from the way she abruptly quit acting school after a row with a teacher, it might also have been a unstable period of her life in any case.

If we can guess from the Facebook photos in 2020, assuming they were recent I'd guess she started to have kids with him around maybe 2018? Now he is a registered SO, and so will be managed via MAPPA, I would say without other offending at level 1, but let's say he's level 2 but has no offences against kids. Doesn't mean an automatic protection order, however say SS did decide he couldn't be around a baby of theirs (or not unsupervised etc) due history/ more present concerns.

However, unless she has significant issues of her own, usually she would be allowed to keep them, living apart (which she has plenty of money/support to do comfortably) AND if SS is convinced she would actually safeguard her kids effectively. She has the resources to fight SS, far beyond most mothers in her position. The fact she can afford the best lawyers and make any accomodation SS could ask for - yet still (it appears) doesn't have her other kids and is running with this one... Well it's concerning to say the least.

I mean it's definitely something I'm mindful about...we don't know the circumstances or story behind his conviction or even if it plays a part in the reason they are missing or avoiding the authorities. But either way it doesn't look good and it is very concerning regarding Constance and the baby

Yes, I'm not suggesting it may not have been an unsafe or unfair conviction but we can't say either way, so with the information we know being that a mother and baby are missing with a convicted sex offender, I find it concerning. I hope that makes sense.

 

[Amaz0nia]

I agree that a 14 year old boy doing unspeakable things has plenty of scope for personal development and improvement. I doubt he saw much support and guidance (apart from "spiritual"?) within the Florida prison system as a young black man, though. I can imagine it is easy to feel empathy with someone who has essentially lost their entire life to something they did as a kid. (No matter how vile). You have to hope that this alone isn't why potentially other babies were removed (pure speculation), as otherwise I can see why they are acting as they are. And also that the estrangement from family wasn't purely over this, otherwise the announcements in press might well escalate the feeling of victimisation.

Totally agree, i imagine they are both completly co dependant on each other..not a healthy way to be though

 

[FruitTingles]

Not defending anyone but we have to remember that MG has served his time for the US offences. Unless he has committed more over here since then, then he is a free man, although with that type of conviction i imagine its a lifetime rock around his neck with regards to stigma/employment/travel/general acceptance. Whether his character has changed or not is a different matter... Was he completely mentally isolated after 20yrs in jail as a juvenile? did the experience stunt him emotionally during the important adolescent years?-i should think so. So maybe he struggles with mental health as well..im just being objective ! However tgat all aside, the main thing is that the mother & baby are well & cared for

I am sure the victim in that case absolutely disagrees and IMO I think it’s utterly disrespectful to her to even consider otherwise. JMO. I am not at all comfortable with the possible attempt at downplaying his past convictions, in fact I feel sick at even the thought of it. Maybe he’s mentally messed up? Imagine how she is feeling.

On the other hand, I am thinking of CM & baby as I go to sleep tonight. I hope they are safe and healthy.

 

[Telltale]

i honestly dont understand the relevance of who her father played with as a child, who her grandmother is, or who her brother married or the value of their private property. I wish the media would just shut up about it as its not helping at all in the way this story is being portrayed. The most important thing is the welfare of the baby and the mother. All this additional sensationalist waffle in the press makes for negative reading for the general public which the police are appealing for help from, not to mention the stereotypical undertones towards MG - whatever he may or may not have done, he did the crime and served the time and as far as anyone knows has nothing else on him at the moment. They <modsnip - not victim friendly> really need some sort of help and intervention to get their lives back on track to some degree or another.

For the first bit, the contrast interests people. She's has not got the sort of background that usually ends up on the run <modsnip - no link> or <modsnip - not victim friendly> with a convicted SO 13 years older than her.

My thoughts on the Florida Justice System and it's treatment of juveniles aside. I don't think you can call it stereotyping when he factually is a convicted rapist, kidnapper and burglar who spent 20 years in jail and is on the register. They aren't assuming he's a dangerous sexual criminal because he's a black man from a lower social class. He is one - that's why he's on the SOR.

Hopefully he's changed, grown etc, but zilch has been dug up post 2010 ish except him meeting her. At which point she promptly drops off the maps and looses all ties to her support network. It's not exactly a stretch.

 

[Amaz0nia]

I am sure the victim in that case absolutely disagrees and IMO I think it’s utterly disrespectful to her to even consider otherwise. JMO. I am not at all comfortable at all with the downplaying his past convictions, in fact I feel sick at even the thought of it.

Im not downplaying any of his past actions at all, any crimes like this make me feel utterly sick. Im just trying to see it from all angles really…& the balance of press reporting is off, im sure there will be more revelations the longer it goes on, as in older conversations on here about coercive control etc etc..i like you am very sure that this is a very unhealthy relationship just by reading between the lines of which i cant comment here. Ive followed this story as it almost mirrors the same storylines as my sisters life but without the aristocratic link..

 

[JumpingFrog]

I am sure the victim in that case absolutely disagrees and IMO I think it’s utterly disrespectful to her to even consider otherwise. JMO. I am not at all comfortable with the possible attempt at downplaying his past convictions, in fact I feel sick at even the thought of it. Maybe he’s mentally messed up? Imagine how she is feeling.

On the other hand, I am thinking of CM & baby as I go to sleep tonight. I hope they are safe and healthy.

Absolutely one million percent. But actually what he did to the woman in question is kind of important really, regarding understanding his character now or over the last few years, and baring in mind a 14 year old did that. Yes of course, absolutely, 14 year olds do do revolting things.

I've posted before but it's just rhetorical I guess. But is MG on the SO register in the UK or not?

 

[JumpingFrog]

Not defending anyone but we have to remember that MG has served his time for the US offences. Unless he has committed more over here since then, then he is a free man, although with that type of conviction i imagine its a lifetime rock around his neck with regards to stigma/employment/travel/general acceptance. Whether his character has changed or not is a different matter... Was he completely mentally isolated after 20yrs in jail as a juvenile? did the experience stunt him emotionally during the important adolescent years?-i should think so. So maybe he struggles with mental health as well..im just being objective ! However tgat all aside, the main thing is that the mother & baby are well & cared for

I didn't misconstrue this. We have to remember that 8 years ago CM decided that what MG told her happened/his version is ultimately what she believes. I've googled for definitions and in the US rape covers many acts of sexual violence. We simply do not know what happened other than he was 14, and it was 33 years ago and no one is actually stating whether he's on the register here in his birth country, or for what purposes.

 

[Legally Bland]

I didn't misconstrue this. We have to remember that 8 years ago CM decided that what MG told her happened/his version is ultimately what she believes. I've googled for definitions and in the US rape covers many acts of sexual violence. We simply do not know what happened other than he was 14, and it was 33 years ago and no one is actually stating whether he's on the register here in his birth country, or for what purposes.

I'd be really surprised if he wasn't issued with a notification order.

https://www.prisonersabroad.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=7fbb9c83-9126-48c1-99bd-12f2e14e9b88

He's also technically still on probation until 2030, which could be a consideration.

Supervised Population Information Detail

Search interface for Florida Department of Corrections inmate and supervised offender records.

www.dc.state.fl.us

 

[little_mi]

Looks like her family starts speaking up
Father issues plea for mum missing with newborn

The article also mentions her family is aware of MG past.

And that MG is on UK's SO register

 

[Snookysnooky]

Been following this since the beginning and lurking.
Have just seen my local constabulary is now sharing the appeal. It's on their official Facebook page.i am around 170 miles from London, so it seems to be far reaching now.

Another indication that there is alot more to this than is being shared?

 

[Earthwindfire]

Been following this since the beginning and lurking.
Have just seen my local constabulary is now sharing the appeal. It's on their official Facebook page.i am around 170 miles from London, so it seems to be far reaching now.

Another indication that there is alot more to this than is being shared?

Where are you based if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Mersault]

Seems so, by all accounts it was around 2015/2016. 2016 is when she dropped out of her acting school, possibly went dark on Facebook and stopped answering friends if you read through the above stories. They were aware she met a guy around that time and papers say she moved in with Gordon that year as well.

Might be his doing, though from the way she abruptly quit acting school after a row with a teacher, it might also have been a unstable period of her life in any case.

If we can guess from the Facebook photos in 2020, assuming they were recent I'd guess she started to have kids with him around maybe 2018? Now he is a registered SO, and so will be managed via MAPPA, I would say without other offending at level 1, but let's say he's level 2 but has no offences against kids. Doesn't mean an automatic protection order, however say SS did decide he couldn't be around a baby of theirs (or not unsupervised etc) due history/ more present concerns.

However, unless she has significant issues of her own, usually she would be allowed to keep them, living apart (which she has plenty of money/support to do comfortably) AND if SS is convinced she would actually safeguard her kids effectively. She has the resources to fight SS, far beyond most mothers in her position. The fact she can afford the best lawyers and make any accomodation SS could ask for - yet still (it appears) doesn't have her other kids and is running with this one... Well it's concerning to say the least.

Given that she had at least two children aged at least nine months by February 2020, I expect she had the first much earlier, maybe early 2017.

<modsnip - no link> I expect the plan was always to get out of the country just before the baby was born but the birth was premature. There wouldn’t be so many police working on it if there wasn’t significant risk of harm to the baby and/or one or more of the adults.

 

[swedepete]

I'm glad about this. I'm worried that if they are feeling hunted into a corner, and feel completely isolated (especially CM, who at one time appears to have been loved and sociable <modsnip>) the outcome could get very messy. Hopefully the rest of the family will reach out in appeal so she remembers that there is support and love if she needs it.

But also think this much be the only missing person's appeal containing the word "beseech" for a few centuries! Not wishing to make light of it, but it gives us a sense of who and what the family are, once again, more even than the photos of the ancestral home.

That is a word I would be using, too, if I were CM's father in this context!
But then he and I are of almost the same age...
I'm so glad for CM's sake that Mr Marten is finally making this heartfelt appeal to his daughter.
For this extremely private family to do so has no doubt been very hard for them, since they haven't really been featured much in the media since the sudden, partly drug-related death of CM's great-grandfather's "wild" sister (the actress Lois Sturt) at 37 in Budapest in 1937.

 

[Snookysnooky]

Where are you based if you don't mind me asking?

Derbyshire