Constance Marten arrest: Remains of baby found after massive search

The remains of a babe person been recovered by constabulary aft a immense hunt for the two-month-old kid of arrested mates Constance Marten and Mark Gordon.

The mates are being held successful custody connected suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.

Police person been granted an other 36 hours to question them.

The find of the remains successful an country of woodland came aft hundreds of officers scoured a 90-square-mile country adjacent Brighton.

Det Supt Lewis Basford from the Metropolitan Police, the unit which is starring the investigation, said the assemblage had been discovered adjacent to wherever the mates were arrested connected Monday.

"This is an result that myself and that galore officers who person been portion of this hunt had hoped would not happen," helium said.

"I recognise the interaction this quality volition person connected galore radical who person been pursuing this communicative intimately and tin guarantee them that we volition bash everything we perchance tin to found what has happened."

He said a post-mortem introspection volition present beryllium held to assistance detectives arsenic they question to found what happened.

The mates were reported missing erstwhile their car was recovered alight adjacent Bolton connected 5 January.

That triggered a nationalist hunt and determination were sightings arsenic acold afield arsenic Liverpool, Essex, London and East Sussex.

The mates were captured connected CCTV astatine galore locations and constabulary judge they were sleeping outdoors successful a structure and surviving disconnected grid.

The past confirmed sighting of Ms Marten and Gordon - a convicted rapist and registered enactment offender - anterior to their apprehension was successful Newhaven connected 8 January. They had their babe with them astatine that time, constabulary said previously.

They were detained connected Monday evening astatine a Brighton convenience store aft being recognised by a subordinate of the public.

Their apprehension - and further apprehension for gross negligence manslaughter connected Tuesday - triggered a monolithic hunt cognition for the babe crossed a 90-square-mile tract successful East Sussex.

Hundreds of officers and rescue volunteers were drafted successful to comb the immense country for signs of beingness oregon clues astir the baby's whereabouts.

It continued done the nighttime and into Wednesday, with sniffer dogs, helicopters, drones and thermal cameras each successful use.

Witnesses told the BBC they had seen teams searching done heavy bramble, allotments and bins, portion radical surviving successful the country were told to look retired for thing unusual.