A heavy police presence remains at the scene this morning close to where police found the remains of a baby thought to belong to aristocrat Constance Marten and her boyfriend Mark Gordon.
A blue forensic tent was in place in Golf Drive, Brighton, which leads to the allotments that were at the centre of the hunt for their baby on Wednesday.
Police later said remains of a baby were found in a wooded area close to where the couple were arrested on Monday, in Stanmer Villas.
Several police vans were stationed along Golf Drive, which comes off Stanmer Villas and has been blocked off to the public by a cordon made up of orange triangular cones.
Allotments that were at the centre of the search for Constance Marten and Mark Gordon’s baby have been cordoned off.
An extensive cordon also covers a woodland area and houses near the allotments.
Hundreds of officers from the Metropolitan Police and Sussex Police, as well as search and rescue volunteers, scoured 90 square miles of land near Brighton over the course of two days in search of the infant.
On Wednesday evening, Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford told reporters a baby’s remains had been found close to where Marten and her partner Mark Gordon were arrested on suspicion of child neglect on Monday.
The pair had been avoiding police for several weeks and were detained by officers on Stanmer Villas in the city, but the child was not with them – sparking a widespread search in the Sussex undergrowth.
Helicopters, sniffer dogs, drones and thermal imaging cameras were all deployed during the two-day operation.
As the investigation continued, police became more concerned the child had come to “serious harm” and the couple were eventually rearrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
Confirming the discovery at Sussex Police headquarters, DS Basford said: “It is my very sad duty to update this afternoon, police officers searching a wooded area close to where Constance and Mark Gordon were arrested, discovered the remains of a baby.
“A crime scene is in place and work at the location is expected to continue for some time.
“This is an outcome that myself and that many officers who have been part of this search had hoped would not happen.
“I recognise the impact this news will have on many people who have been following this story closely and can assure them that we will do everything we possibly can to establish what has happened.”
DS Basford said a post-mortem examination would take place in due course.
Hollingdean – not far from Ditchling Road