Police launch desperate hunt for missing family with newborn after car fire on M61
Concern mounts for Constance, Mark and their baby
Police are frantic to find Constance Marten, 35, her partner Mark Gordon, 48, and their newborn child. Officers fear for their safety after nearly two weeks on the run with a baby who has reportedly never seen a doctor.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford, leading the investigation, said: “Mark and Constance’s car broke down on the M61 near Bolton, and since then they’ve been constantly moving with a newborn.” He stressed: “Our top priority is their safety and wellbeing, especially the baby who may need urgent medical care.”
Mysterious car fire and vanished family
On January 5, emergency crews were called to a car ablaze on the M61’s hard shoulder near junction four (Farnworth, Bolton). When they arrived, the vehicle was empty — and the fire wiped out most of the family’s belongings.
Authorities later confirmed the car belonged to Constance and Mark, and that Constance had just given birth, possibly 1 or 2 days before the fire. Worryingly, neither she nor the baby had been medically checked.
Trail leads from Bolton to East Ham – and then vanishes
- After escaping the car and the motorway, the family walked to Anchor Lane bridge, connecting Highfield and Little Hulton
- Police believe they took a taxi to Liverpool, then onto Harwich in the early hours of January 6
- They were spotted by the public in Harwich and Colchester on January 7
- 123 anonymously on 0800 555 111. They do not trace your calls or ask for personal details.
