What Happened to Steven Clark?

 Missing For Almost 30 Years

23-year-old Steven left home for a walk in 1992, he never returned

Steven popped into the public toilets on the promenade in Saltburn, North Yorkshire at approximately 3 pm on December 28th 1992, whilst out on a walk with his mother, he was never seen again. His mother had also gone into the ladies' toilets and having then waited a while outside she assumed her son had left. She had headed home, expecting to find her son there waiting, but he never arrived.

Having reached home and found her son to be missing and knowing that he was vulnerable with learning difficulties, the alarm was raised and the police called. Unfortunately, the police considered Steven to be an adult and therefore advised Mr and Mrs Clark to wait for seventy-two hours to see if their son came home of his own accord.

Steven Clark and his parents lived in the town of Marske-by-the-sea, near Redcar, North Yorkshire, England and on December 28th 1992 he had been to the Rathbone Society in Redcar where he worked. 

Quite an interesting point observation here is that after his disappearance some personal belongings that you might rather expect to be with him were actually found in his home, they included, glasses, watch and wallet, Bearing in mind that he had been out walking with his mother would it not be fair to expect Steven to have taken his wallet with him, in case he wanted to buy anything or indeed felt he needed a taxi or bus ride.

Steven had a very obvious, pronounced limp when he walked caused by him having been hit by a truck when he was a child. He had lived in South Africa for the first twenty years of his life and had been left with a damaged arm and leg despite treatment after the road accident.

Cleveland police say that Steven probably found some unusual changes that he had to adapt to after living with a lot more restriction and control in South Africa compared to the freedom of the seaside town of Marske. 

After a renewed appeal for information about Steven Clark a lady witness came forward to say that she had seen Steven walking along Saltburn High Street in the direction of Marske Square and the Ship Inn at about 3.45 pm, the lady recalled it specifically as it was before it got dark.

In 1999 the police received a letter, which had been sent to Guisborough Police Station but they did not release it into the public domain until 2020. The letter indicated that Steven was dead and claimed to give the name of his killer. 

Strangely the police held onto the letter for some 21 years before making it public knowledge and therefore the author could well have passed away. I am quite surprised that such a key piece of evidence was not published much sooner and an appeal to find the author made. 

However, in early December 2020, the author of the letter is said to have come forward and as a result, on December 28th 2020 police re-released several pictures and video clips from the Rathbone Society disability charity training event that Steven had been a member of. The video had originally been released into the public domain about a year after Steven went missing but police decided to put it out again to help demonstrate Steven's unusual walk, in the hope that it may help to jog someone's memory.

In September 2020 Doris Clark 81 and Charles Clark 78 were arrested on suspicion of their 23-year-old son Steven's murder

The elderly couple's home and garden were searched by Cleveland police, but they were not publicly identified as suspects. Charles and Doris were interviewed by police and released on bail, they were eventually told that there was to be no further action against them in February 2021. 

Doris Clark said that it was "wonderful news to learn that my husband and I are no longer under suspicion, it was never going to any other way really". The couple said that the five months being on bail had been "mental torture", Charles added "We received a call a few days ago to say that the police were coming to see us but we had no idea what for - it was like mental torture-they left us in limbo again. When they finally told us we were no longer under investigation we were elated - it was such a relief really".

Detective Chief Inspector Shaun Page said, "Officers have followed a significant number of lines of enquiry, since re-opening the case in 2020. We are continuing to investigate Steven's disappearance and people can contact us with information".

Cleveland police say that there is no proof of life in regard to Steven and that they believe he has come to serious harm, the case is classified as a suspected murder.

At the present time that is all the information that I have for you on this strange case. but I do believe that there may be a connection to other cases but this cannot be discussed at this time. I will of course update you if and when we have more on this enquiry,. I do believe that there will be a development in due course, I will leave it there until then.

If you do have any information in regard to the disappearance of Steven Clark who would now be 42-years-old then do please contact Cleveland police on: 

01642-301681 or via 101. You can also contact Crimestoppers on 0800-555-111.

As always, if you would like to discuss this or any true crime case with me then I am always happy to hear from you.

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lolly.adams@lollytruecrimeworld.co.uk 

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