Deceased/Not Found UK - Steven Clark, 23, disabled, Saltburn, Dec 1992

[Legally Bland]

Land searches...Does that mean they will be digging up a garden. Wonder if the Clarks had an allotment.

Looking at google maps of the search area, it does look a bit like allotments on the side of the woods to me.



خرائط ‪Google‬‏‏

 

[MrsWatson]

Doesn't Steven have a sister? Have we heard anything from her, because I don't recall anything.

 

[MrsWatson]

Looks like allotments to me, as well.

 

[MrsWatson]

The whole "waiting 72 hours" thing, that's crap, he was disabled. No matter how high functioning he was, his age, whatever, he was disabled, wouldn't that put out all kinds of red flags when he vanished from a loo, and high alert for LE to get the word out he was missing?

The article ZaZara linked about how bad that department was and how shoddy their investigations were just has me side-eyeing this whole thing all over the place, along with the parents going to the football and just coming home and putting on the kettle.

 

[Skigh]

There are 2 allotment sites ,one is inMarske

Looks like allotments to me, as well.

There is a thriving allotment association in Saltash with several allotment sites; one being in Marske.
So it is possible they owned one.

 

[Skigh]

The whole "waiting 72 hours" thing, that's crap, he was disabled. No matter how high functioning he was, his age, whatever, he was disabled, wouldn't that put out all kinds of red flags when he vanished from a loo, and high alert for LE to get the word out he was missing?

The article ZaZara linked about how bad that department was and how shoddy their investigations were just has me side-eyeing this whole thing all over the place, along with the parents going to the football and just coming home and putting on the kettle.

How did the original investigating officers not question the parent's story and arrange a full search of their property.

A cold, dark December evening,their son is missing and she makes a hot drink and he goes off to football!

 

[astheworldfallsdown]

Is it known how soon the toilets were searched? Did the parents go there that evening to look for him, maybe the toilets were locked at night?

 

[Skigh]

Is it known how soon the toilets were searched? Did the parents go there that evening to look for him, maybe the toilets were locked at night?

You would have thought she would have asked her husband to drive there and check.
Or even make that part of their story.
It is all very odd!

 

[astheworldfallsdown]

For parents who obviously looked after him very well all his life, their lack of concern after he supposedly did not come out of a public toilet is surprising JMO

 

[MrsWatson]

For parents who obviously looked after him very well all his life, their lack of concern after he supposedly did not come out of a public toilet is surprising JMO

The snapshots in the articles show him to be well groomed, obviously cared for, so that makes it all the stranger.

Where is the sister in all this? Could she be the reason behind the renewed police interest and arrests? Or the letter?

 

[Skigh]

For parents who obviously looked after him very well all his life, their lack of concern after he supposedly did not come out of a public toilet is surprising JMO

It is unbelievable that she would not have entered the loos or searched for a passing man to go in and check. The most likely scenario would have been him having a medical emergency or other problem which prevented him from leaving.
It would be a normal thing to approach any person around and ask whether they had seen him.
That would mean witnesses should have been available to back up her story.

 

[Kitkat28]

Is it known how soon the toilets were searched? Did the parents go there that evening to look for him, maybe the toilets were locked at night?

That would mean witnesses should have been available to back up her story.

This makes me wonder whether they even went back to the police after the 72 hours were up. Were the police ever even looking for Steven?

 

[ZaZara]

Another tidbit about Cleveland Police, from 2019 and aptly called


The scandals that continue to haunt Cleveland Police


Racism and discrimination
Former traffic officer, Sultan Alam, right, fought a 17-year battle for justice after he was wrongfully sacked by the force and jailed for a crime he didn’t commit.
Mr Alam was awarded £841,428 at Leeds County Court in April 2012.
(...)
In November 2016, the force was ordered to pay more than £457,000 to Nadeem Saddique, a firearms officer who was the subject of racist abuse by a colleague.

In January 2017, Cleveland Police agreed a payout worth more than £185,000 to four officers over claims of racial discrimination and victimisation of whistle-blowers.

It also agreed to pay Mark Dias £500,000 after the ex-acting inspector “endured negative responses” for challenging “institutional racism and wrongdoing” at the force.

The resignation of Mike Veale
The appointment of Mike Veale as chief constable in 2018 was supposed to usher in a new era for Cleveland Police and he pledged not to "brush things under the carpet" when asked about an era of scandal at the force.

(...)

Mr Veale resigned in January 2019 after it was revealed he was facing an investigation into alleged serious misconduct.

The IOPC is now conducting a further investigation into allegations Mr Veale behaved inappropriately and acted in a discriminatory manner.

Unlawful spying on journalists
Cleveland Police also admitted to unlawfully accessing the private phone records of two journalists at a tribunal in December 2016.

The force illegally used anti-terrorism powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) to spy on journalists who had been in contact with whistle blowers who were lifting the lid on racism within the force.

The case featured on national television and in newspapers across the world and made the pages of the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Following the scandal, the then Stockton South Tory MP, James Wharton, said Cleveland Police should be abolished unless “serious problems” were tackled.

Simon Nickless, former Cleveland Police assistant chief constable, was one of two more officers being investigated by the IOPC for their role in the scandal.

That brings the total to nine, following the troubled force's use of anti-terror laws to spy on journalists and ex-officers.

Top officer suspended
Assistant chief constable Adrian Roberts was arrested on suspicion of gross misconduct in April.
(...)
The National Crime Agency (NCA) took over the investigation but has not revealed any further details.

‘Sleazy detective’ probe
Detective Inspector Simon Hurwood used his position as a senior officer in the Cleveland Police to take advantage of women between 2004 and 2018, coercing them into sex and persuading them to send him explicit photos and videos of themselves.
(...)
A senior officer was suspended for allegedly failing to take appropriate measures against Hurwood once his inappropriate sexual behaviour was brought to light.

Operation Sacristy
Operation Sacristy, the long-running investigation into alleged corruption at Cleveland Police Authority, was launched in 2010.
Comprised of both criminal and misconduct investigations, it has led to the arrest of several high-profile figures with connections to the authority.

In October 2012, Sean Price became the first chief constable to be sacked in 35 years after he was found guilty of gross misconduct after he lied about his role in recruited the daughter of the authority’s then chairman, Dave McLuckie.

In March 2013, deputy chief constable, Derek Bonnard, was also sacked for gross misconduct after six counts were found against him including misusing public funds, deliberately obstructing the investigation into him and accepting inappropriate hospitality.

And former authority chairman, Dave McLuckie, was jailed for eight months in July 2013 for perverting the course of justice.

Operation Lancet
The £5m Operation Lancet inquiry was set up amid allegations of corruption within Middlesbrough CID.

In December 1997, 61 officers were investigated following accusations of misconduct.

Among the claims were that detectives had exchanged drugs for confessions.


BBM


Senior Cleveland Police officer arrested and suspended

 

[MrsWatson]

Wow, that's some terrible, shady stuff going on.

How many investigations and convictions have been affected by this?

 

[RobinCAL]

Police search woodland and fields in Steven Clark murder investigation

 

[astheworldfallsdown]

Police search woodland and fields in Steven Clark murder investigation

The writing on the envelope might be recognised, the lower case i in the middle of the capitals and that K are very distinctive.

Hopefully whoever wrote the letter is still alive, still in the country and will come forward.

 

[Mimi in London]

The writing on the envelope might be recognised, the lower case i in the middle of the capitals and that K are very distinctive.

Hopefully whoever wrote the letter is still alive, still in the country and will come forward.

Whoever wrote the letter is now well and truly forced to come forward. The handwriting, as you say, is quite distinctive.

I hope if it’s someone well-known to the perp/s, the person who wrote it will get some form of protection.

 

[ZaZara]

https://i2-prod.gazettelive.co.uk/i...ERNATES/s615b/0_envelope-anonymous-letter.jpg

My first impression while looking over this envelope was that the writer might be left-handed and writing with the left hand. Then you stare too long and doubts emerge.

The use of the dot after incident room and the comma behind Guisborough are uncommon if I am not mistaken.

So Steven is called Stephen here. Wikipedia calls "Steven" the common variant of Stephen, without mentioning what Stephen would be.

Makes me wonder if there was a lot of coverage about the disappearance at the time. I tried some archives but I wasn't lucky.

 

[Skigh]

https://i2-prod.gazettelive.co.uk/i...ERNATES/s615b/0_envelope-anonymous-letter.jpg

My first impression while looking over this envelope was that the writer might be left-handed and writing with the left hand. Then you stare too long and doubts emerge.

The use of the dot after incident room and the comma behind Guisborough are uncommon if I am not mistaken.

So Steven is called Stephen here. Wikipedia calls "Steven" the common variant of Stephen, without mentioning what Stephen would be.

Makes me wonder if there was a lot of coverage about the disappearance at the time. I tried some archives but I wasn't lucky.

I cannot make my mind up whether right or left handed.
There has not been any real effort made to disguise the handwriting.
I think if the writer has written Stephen rather than the spelling of Steven,which the family used,the writer did not have a close relationship with the family.
I think using punctuation when hand writing an address was the norm pre computer age.
Actually I still use commas when handwriting addresses.

My guess is the writer was over 50.Did not go to university/further education. I am not sure about male or female,I keep changing my mind.
If pushed I would say female.

A professional handwriting expert has probably been able to give the police a pretty good profile


.

 

[Spy Versus Spy]

I cannot make my mind up whether right or left handed.
There has not been any real effort made to disguise the handwriting.
I think if the writer has written Stephen rather than the spelling of Steven,which the family used,the writer did not have a close relationship with the family.
I think using punctuation when hand writing an address was the norm pre computer age.
Actually I still use commas when handwriting addresses.

My guess is the writer was over 50.Did not go to university/further education. I am not sure about male or female,I keep changing my mind.
If pushed I would say female.

A professional handwriting expert has probably been able to give the police a pretty good profile


.

The Postmark seems to say 'Teeside' so was definitely posted locally.

The misspelling of 'Steven' seems to indicate a lack of familial or really close knowledge of him , as Skigh says, but also imo rules out anyone who had been following the news in the press, as they would be conditioned to know him as 'Steven' as reported.
( Unless it was a deliberate misspelling which I doubt?)

Its very neatly posted, the stamp is straight and correctly placed for example, the handwriting, although individualised sylistically, is neat, straight, precise. Although more common then than now to handwrite, even so, I think this person writes a lot, either in a work role or a personal role

I think its someone quite formal and correct, but young, maybe Steven's age, trying to do the right thing. To me its a female hand but I have no expertise at all so all just Moo.