Detectives investigating murder of 23-year-old man 28 years ago urge writer of anonymous letter sent to police to make contact - after his elderly parents were arrested following cold case review
- Steven Clark, disappeared while on a family walk near Saltburn Pier in Cleveland
- The 23-year-old went to visit the toilet but never returned in December 1992
- His parents Doris and Charles were arrested this week on suspicion of murder
- Police are now asking a person who sent an anonymous letter in 1999 to get in touch again - though they are refusing to reveal content of the letter
Police investigating the suspected murder of a 23-year-old man in 1992 have asked an anonymous letter writer to get in touch again.
Steven Clark went to visit the toilet while on a family walk near Saltburn Pier in Cleveland in December 1992 but was never seen again.
His elderly parents Doris and Charles, who live in Marske-by-the-Sea, Cleveland, this week confirmed they had been arrested on suspicion of his murder, with his mother describing the situation as 'absolutely ludicrous'.
Cleveland Police made the arrests following a cold case review.
Now, police have urged an anonymous letter writer, who contacted police in September 1999, to get in touch again.
Police said their records showed the letter was assessed by officers and the information was recorded.
However, the force is refusing to reveal the content of the letter or why it is now seen as important more than 20 years after it was sent.
Doris and Charles Clark, parents of missing Steven Clark, leaving Kirkleatham Police station in Redcar yesterday afternoon
Steven Clark vanished 28 years ago after he walked into a public toilet near Saltburn Pier and never emerged
Steven left his home in Marske for on a family walk before using the gents' public toilets near the pier on the promenade at Saltburn, Cleveland, while his mother went into the ladies' at the same time. He was never seen again
Detective Chief Inspector Shaun Page asked the letter writer to call Crimestoppers anonymously or the investigation team directly and give them any additional information they may have.
He said: 'For operational reasons I can't divulge the contents or topic of the letter, but it was sent through the post and addressed to the incident room at Guisborough Police Station.
'The person who sent it may know more that could help our inquiry team.
'They obviously felt compelled to write the letter seven years after his disappearance and I would like to hear from them again now.
'It's clear from the response that we have had overall from the public that a lot of people knew Steven from living in Marske.
'I would like to thank the local community for their co-operation in this investigation so far.
'We do still want people to come forward and tell us if they knew Steven or if they have any information that would benefit the inquiry.'
No body has been found but detectives are treating his disappearance as murder. The force said it is conducting searches in the Marske area.
A missing persons report said the family had been on a walk just after Christmas 1992 when Steven Clark used a public toilet near the promenade in Saltburn, while his mother went to the ladies'.
Mr and Mrs Clark were pictured leaving Kirkleatham Police Station in Redcar, Cleveland, after being quizzed for more than six hours
Missing person posters were issued at the time of Mr Clark's disappearance
The report said that when he did not come out his mother assumed he had gone home, but he was never seen again.
Police would not reveal the age or sex of the two arrested people, but on Tuesday Mrs Clark confirmed she and her husband had been arrested, saying: 'It's just absolutely ludicrous. There's nothing more to say, it's surreal.'
Asked if they denied murdering their son, she replied: 'Absolutely, yes.
'It's just too hard to believe really, but we have to believe it and suffer the consequences.'
She said being on bail was 'horrendous', adding: 'There's nothing I can say, except for the shock of being arrested.
'It's difficult isn't it? 'You get so tense and upset, we've just got to get on with it, I'm afraid. There's nothing we can do, just wait and hope we get through it.'
Mr and Mrs Clark were pictured leaving the station in Cleveland six hours after arriving.
Speaking on the doorstep as they arrived home in the evening, Mrs Clark added: 'We've just got back, we've been there all day.'
Doris and Charles Clark, the parents of missing Steven Clark, arriving at Kirkleatham Police station in Redcar yesterday morning
Doris Clark pictured in 1998 outside the toilets on Saltburn beach, the last place her son Steven was seen
She admitted the last few days have been tough following the sudden accusation, but she and Charles maintain they are innocent.
She said: 'After all these years we still wonder what happened to him.
'We didn't kill Steven. That's all I can really add at the moment, we just hope a good outcome comes out of it.'
Asked if she thought publicity about the case could help solve the mystery, she replied: 'It's 28 years ago. How on earth can anyone remember anything on that day? How can they (the police) ask other people, I cannot imagine anybody would remember.
'They (the police) have to do their job and that's it.'
Mrs Clark said her husband was 'all right', adding: 'It's gone on for all these years, it's a nightmare really, nobody seems to understand that.'
The couple, who also have a daughter, have been supported by friends, Mrs Clark said.
Their son walked with a pronounced limp as a result of a childhood road accident which also left him with other disabilities.
At the time he disappeared, he attended the Rathbone Society in Redcar, which worked with people with disabilities to improve their employment skills, and he had won the Apprentice of the Year Award.
Speaking in 1997, Mrs Clark said her son 'vanished in a puff of smoke with no warning or even a word of goodbye'.
She said at the time: 'I started to wonder if someone had frogmarched him away at gunpoint.'
When he failed to come back, the missing persons report stated his mother thought he must have made his way home, but they never saw him again.
No body has ever been found.
Detectives from the Cleveland and North Yorkshire Cold Case Unit reopened the case earlier this year.
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