Circus wife in disappearing act

Mrs Martinez took a taxi from the Big Top

The wife of a professional clown, who did a disappearing act from a travelling circus, has been urged to contact police.

Officers have appealed to Martho Martinez, 26, to contact them following her disappearance from Uncle Sam's Travelling Circus on 17 September.

The Colombian wife and assistant of circus clown Ramon took a taxi from the circus with the couple's four-year-old son and has not been seen since.

The travelling circus was based in the County Durham areas of Stanley and Chester-le-Street when Mrs Martinez vanished.

Taxi drivers

Durham Police said they had received one telephone call from a woman claiming to be her but who ignored their requests to go to the nearest police station.

They are appealing for local taxi drivers to help them try to track her down.

A force spokesman said: "Her role was to assist her husband during his act.

"If there are any taxi drivers that remember going to the circus to collect a fare on that day we would ask them to contact us.

"Our inquiries have failed to shed any light on where she may be."

Mrs Martinez is described as 5ft tall, with shoulder length hair and a dark complexion but it is not known what she was wearing when she disappeared.

The spokesman added: "While we have no reason to believe she or her son may have come to any harm we do need to speak to her to check if she is safe and well.

"We would ask her, wherever she is at the moment, to go to her nearest police station."