NAPIER Marten is the aristocrat father of Constance Marten.
Prior to his daughter's discovery, Marten issued a desperate plea in a bid to encourage Constance and her baby to find safety.
Who is Napier Marten?
Napier Marten, a film and music producer, is the son of Mary Anna Marten – whose godmother was the late Queen Mother.
Marten – who was a page to Queen Elizabeth – owned the Crichel estate in Dorset before he gave up his fortune for a life in Australia.
He married Virginie de Selliers in 1986 and the couple had four children together, of which Constance is the oldest.
Maximilian was born in 1988, Tobias in 1991, and Frédéric (year unknown).
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He left his family when Constance was just nine.
Napier and Virginie are now divorced
Who is Constance Marten?
Constance was born in 1987 as the eldest child of Virginie and Napier.
Constance was deemed an "it girl" when she appeared on upmarket mag Tatler's babe of the month page while she was a student in 2008.
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It is believed that she paid for her time at drama school via a multi-million pound trust fund stored at C. Hoare & Co, the UK's oldest private bank.
However, she has reportedly led an isolated life since moving in with her partner Gordon in 2016.
On January 5, 2023, Constance and Gordon vanished along with their new born baby after their vehicle broke down near junction four of the M61, near Bolton.
The pair disappeared from the M61 motorway after the vehicle caught fire.
A nationwide search then began to locate the family -who were believed to have withdrawn large amounts of cash and purchased burner phones with multiple SIM cards prior to their disappearance.
After 54 days on the run, the couple were caught by police on February 27, 2023, after a member of the public spotted the pair in Brighton and dialled 999.
Upon attending the scene cops located Marten and Gordon but not their child.
An urgent search is now underway to locate the missing baby.
The parents have so far refused to tell police the sex of their baby and have been arrested on suspicion of child neglect.
DSI Lewis Basford from the Met police said: “We can’t say at this time if it’s a boy or a girl and we are still awaiting test results from the placenta found in their car on the M61.
“At the moment, we are still in the position where they have been arrested on suspicion of child neglect and there is a search for the baby.
“We are looking at open land, outbuildings where they may have placed the baby while they were in the local area before we arrested them.
“There’s nothing to say they were in the caravan, we still think they were living in the outdoor environment and that is leading us, and the arrest location, to the outdoor search.
“I think, we’ve got to keep the hope that maybe they have allowed somebody else to care for the baby who thinks they are doing some good on behalf of the couple but as we know, as the temperature drops and the longer the baby goes without parents the risks are high.”
Police are now appealing to locals to check their own properties.
DSI Bashford continued: “We are asking the public to remain vigilant in the local areas as they go about their business but also to look at the premises that they own – any outbuildings and their own property.
“Please take five minutes to take a look at those and assist us in the search for the baby.”
What has Napier Marten said?
Two weeks after his daughter vanished, Napier Marten became the first relative to speak out and issue an emotional appeal.
The film producer 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.
“I beseech you to find a way to turn yourself and your wee one in to the police as soon as possible, so you and he or she can be protected. Only then can a process of healing and recovery begin, however long it may take, however difficult it may be.
“I would like you to understand that the family will do all that is needed for your wellbeing.
"And I also wish you to understand you are much much loved whatever the circumstances.
“We are deeply concerned for your and your baby’s welfare.”
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After his daughter was found on February 27, 2022, Napier told The Independent: “It is an immense relief to know my beloved daughter Constance has been found, tempered by the very alarming news her baby has yet to be found.
“For whatever reasons she and her partner went on the run, the consequences of their actions have increased many fold. It would have been far better if they had handed themselves in earlier.”
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