Man arrested in connection with 22-year-old Tyneside murder mystery

Police have arrested a man as part of an investigation into a 22-year-old murder mystery and appealed for people to come forward with information.

Scott Clive was 30 when he was last seen shortly after 11pm in the Borough Road area of North Shields, North Tyneside, on 10 October 2002.

A murder investigation was launched but his body has never been found. One theory has been that he may have fallen in to the River Tyne.

On Thursday, Northumbria police said that after receiving new information the force’s major investigation unit had arrested a 49-year-old man in connection with Clive’s disappearance.

Officers said the key to the investigation “could still be out there within the local community”.

Clive, a labourer, had moved to North Shields from Stranraer in Scotland 10 months before he vanished.

His mother, Patricia Clive, has never stopped battling for answers since her son disappeared. “I have four grandsons and the eldest has just turned 30, the age Scott was when he went missing,” she said.

“We can’t help but make comparisons. He is living his life to the full and has everything we wished for Scott.

“We can’t bear this torment any longer. Almost 22 years of us missing him and not knowing what happened, we need to lay it and Scott to rest.”

DI Mark Atherton, who is leading on the case, has made a new appeal for anybody with information about Clive’s disappearance to come forward.

“We have always kept an open mind as to the exact circumstances surrounding Scott’s disappearance and that remains the case,” Atherton said.

“However, upon receiving new information in recent weeks, we took the decision to arrest a man and he was interviewed in police custody in relation to Scott’s disappearance.

“The key to this investigation could still be out there within the local community – and I am today urging anybody who has information about Scott’s movements that night to come forward.

“Scott’s family have had to live for the last 22 years not knowing what happened to him – and we hope to give them the closure they deserve, by finding out what exactly happened that night.

“Please, if you know anything, think of them and pass on any relevant information to us.”

Clive’s full name was Robert Scott Clive. Two years ago, on the anniversary of his disappearance, his mother shared his last letter with the Chronicle in which he sounded cheerful and talked of his plans for the future. He wrote that he was looking forward to going to see Madness in concert in Newcastle.

Since Clive’s disappearance, police say they have reviewed hundreds of hours of CCTV footage and spoken to various witnesses trying to piece together his last movements.

Unconfirmed sightings have placed a man appearing to match his description near the banks of the River Tyne.

The arrested man has been released on police bail with inquiries continuing, the force said.