An aristocrat’s daughter missing with her rapist boyfriend and their newborn baby are feared to be sleeping in a tent bought from Argos in sub-zero temperatures to try and evade the authorities.
Constance Marten, 35, and Mark Gordon, 48, have been at the centre of a nationwide police hunt for three weeks.
Ms Marten is the daughter of former Queen’s page Napier Marten, who has made an urgent appeal for her to turn herself in.
Birmingham-born Gordon was deported from the US in 2014 after apparently serving 24 years in jail there for kidnap and sexual battery.
New CCTV of the couple show them after buying camping gear from a London Argos
Mark Gordon, 48, and Constance Marten, 35, have been at the centre of a nationwide police hunt for three weeks
Detectives say they have now established they went into Argos on Whitechapel Road in London at 6.19pm on January 7 to buy camping gear.
Gordon went in alone and bought two big bags full of items, paying in cash, including a blue two-man tent, two sleeping bags and two pillows.
Police say he left at 6.40pm before both of them then spent over three hours walking around the Whitechapel Road area.
The new images of the pair come as the hunt for them enters the third week running missing
Mark Gordon can be seen in the footage carrying Argos shopping bags after picking up a tent
Officers fear that the pair are sleeping rough in sub zero conditions in a tent with their baby
They tried to flag down three black cabs, but were refused.
The missing pair then left the area on foot and were last seen walking along Brick Lane, towards Bethnal Green Road, at 10pm.
Police say Gordon is often seen walking alone ahead of Constance and the baby and this CCTV is the last official sighting of the family.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford, who is leading the investigation, said: ‘We are extremely concerned that a newborn baby – less than a week old at the time on 7 January – has been exposed to sub-freezing cold temperatures if Mark and Constance have been camping out somewhere as our evidence suggests.
The images from the Metropolitan Police give an impression of how the pair currently appear
Gordon is wearing facemask and his hood up to try and make it difficult to be tracked on CCTV
Police say Gordon is often seen striding ahead while Constance is walking behind him
‘No child, especially a tiny, newborn baby, should be forced to endure such dangerous, potentially life-threatening, conditions.
‘This is why it is absolutely vital that anyone with information about their whereabouts contacts us as a matter of urgency – whether it is with a recent or older sighting. Every piece of information is crucial to enabling us to find the baby and ensure it is okay.
‘My officers will continue working tirelessly behind the scenes to piece together the family’s movements and current whereabouts. It could be that they are trying to blend in with homeless communities, either here in London or further afield, or they could be camping in more rural or wooded areas.
Constance Marten is missing with her rapist boyfriend and their newborn baby in the UK
‘They could be absolutely anywhere in the country. Please keep your eyes peeled, especially while you are out and about in waste ground or beauty spots, or while you’re walking the dog, and report any information, no matter how insignificant you think it is, to us.’
Gordon’s mother claimed her son is a ‘good boy’ and that he has secretly married the British aristocrat, saying she ‘does not know what all this is about’.
He was born in Birmingham, West Midlands, but he, his mother and his half-siblings moved to the US when he was still a child in 1989.
In April of that year, aged just 14, Gordon armed himself with garden shears and a kitchen knife, then attacked his neighbour in a four-and-a-half-hour ordeal which saw him take her hostage and sexually assault her.
Two young children were sleeping in the room next door at the time of the attack, documents show.
US court records describe how Gordon is said to have broken in through the woman’s bathroom window, before finding a pair of her stockings which he used as a makeshift mask to cover his face.
Once he had encountered his victim, the documents state: ‘The suspect ordered the victim back into the bedroom and while still armed, demanded that the victim undress.’
He then sexually assaulted and raped the victim.
There were a total of six charges against Gordon relating to the April 29 attack: one count of armed kidnapping, four separate counts of armed sexual battery and one count of burglary with a deadly weapon. He was convicted on all charges.
The file described Gordon’s actions once he had entered the house: ‘The suspect placed a nylon stocking over his face to conceal his identity since he lived next door and was known by her.
‘The suspect was armed with a kitchen knife as well as a pair of hedge clippers and after the victim came out of her bedroom to investigate the dogs barking, came across the suspect lurking just outside her bedroom door.
‘The victim was held for a period of approximately four-and-a-half hours against her will by the armed intruder.
‘After miranda [being given the right to remain silent], the suspect admitted to the crime and gave a sworn, taped statement outlining the sequence of events as they occurred.
‘It should be noted that during the commission of the crime, the victim’s two small children were sleeping in their bedroom.’
Gordon was tried as an adult and sentenced to 20 years in jail after finally being arrested following six weeks spent on the run.
While a fugitive from the first attack, Gordon committed another violent armed raid just weeks later.
On May 21, he broke into a man’s house while he was sleeping, grabbed a kitchen knife and then battered the householder around the head with a heavy shovel when he awoke.
Court documents state that Gordon encountered the man, one of multiple occupants of the house, lying in bed when he suddenly awakened, ‘at which time the defendant beat the victim about his head and body’ with the shovel.
He then fled empty-handed leaving the victim seriously injured.
Police finally caught up with Gordon a month later on June 13 when he confessed to both raids.
It comes after film producer Napier Marten issued a plea to his estranged daughter Constance to get herself and the child to safety.
Mr Marten, son of Mary Anna Marten, whose godmother was the late Queen mother, told the Independent: ‘Darling Constance, even though we remain estranged at the moment, I stand by, as I have always done and as the family has always done, to do whatever is necessary for your safe return to us.
Anyone who has information on the family’s whereabouts should call the incident room on 020 7175 0785.
Alternatively, information can be reported 100 per cent anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. They never ask for personal details and they do not trace your device.
