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

[Funky funky]

I don't think Mrs C could completely invent the walk/toilet visit. She had to have been there, around that time, on that day. She couldn't risk making it all up, otherwise there could have been witnesses who could state she was not there, or even, the toilets might have been closed on that day.

I wasn’t implying she didn’t actually go on the walk, just that Steven may not have been there with her.

 

[Funky funky]

I do not think mum wrote the anonymous letter in 1999 .I think if it were her,she would have spelt his name correctly.

I have wondered if she could have sent something recently.She is getting older and maybe she wants Steven to have a proper funeral before they both die.
She might have wanted to confess but he was not happy for her to do so.

I’ve considered that, but if she wanted to hide her identity, spelling the name wrong would make sense? It’s just a theory.

 

[Funky funky]

I suppose what we would need to establish re: the the walk, is did they go on walks and this route together often?
Also, how independent was he? We have been told he was very sociable but was he able to be unsupervised? Just wondering as I have a neighbour with similar disabilities. His physical disability enables him to go in short walks to the shop nearby alone but his mental impairments prevent him from being unsupervised for long periods.

 

[Skigh]

I’ve considered that, but if she wanted to hide her identity, spelling the name wrong would make sense? It’s just a theory.

All theories are good to discuss.

I do not think much effort was used to disguise the handwriting so I think it was how the writer usually wrote.
Doris would have been involved in her children's education ,particularly Steven's so I do not think she would have used a lower case i.

 

[Alyce]

I wasn’t implying she didn’t actually go on the walk, just that Steven may not have been there with her.

Anything’s possible, but, to me, that’s a very odd story to make up, if Steven was not with her. Why not just say they went for a walk, he said he was going off to meet a pal , she went home and he never came back home.

With one exception, every comment I have read, here and elsewhere, and everyone I have spoken with, all say the same thing.....they find it incomprehensible that a mother would just happily set off back home without making even the most basic check to see if her son was ok and had not had some kind of accident inside the toilet.

my conclusion is that her story is true, up to a point. I just feel that what happened after 3pm is where the mystery lies.

 

[Funky funky]

Anything’s possible, but, to me, that’s a very odd story to make up, if Steven was not with her. Why not just say they went for a walk, he said he was going off to meet a pal , she went home and he never came back home.

With one exception, every comment I have read, here and elsewhere, and everyone I have spoken with, all say the same thing.....they find it incomprehensible that a mother would just happily set off back home without making even the most basic check to see if her son was ok and had not had some kind of accident inside the toilet.

my conclusion is that her story is true, up to a point. I just feel that what happened after 3pm is where the mystery lies.

That why I’d like to know how independent he was. Was he able to just go off and meet a friend? As someone who has known many people with mental and physical disabilities, I find it hard to believe that he was that independent. I know his physical disability didn’t prevent him from being mobile, but it’s very clear to me, particularly in the 21st Birthday photo, that he was also quite mentally impaired. Which makes it even more bizarre that she would just head home after he went missing.

 

[Skigh]

That why I’d like to know how independent he was. Was he able to just go off and meet a friend? As someone who has known many people with mental and physical disabilities, I find it hard to believe that he was that independent. I know his physical disability didn’t prevent him from being mobile, but it’s very clear to me, particularly in the 21st Birthday photo, that he was also quite mentally impaired. Which makes it even more bizarre that she would just head home after he went missing.

I agree with you that he did appear to look as if he did have some form of mental impairment .
I think he would have had limited ability to do some tasks .I do think he would be able to walk home independently otherwise his mother would not give that as part of her story.

 

[DanCJ]

Does anyone else find it telling that instead of tenting off the entire back garden they have chosen to just focus on a specific spot?

What factors that decision? Will they have screened over the ground with a penetrating radar before hand and detected something out of the ordinary?

 

[MrsWatson]

All really good questions. I'm very interested in the level of care he needed.

I'm really struggling with his mum just heading home like that. I just can't picture a scenario that makes sense, doing that. Where did she think he was, when he didn't come out?

 

[DanCJ]

All really good questions. I'm very interested in the level of care he needed.

I'm really struggling with his mum just heading home like that. I just can't picture a scenario that makes sense, doing that. Where did she think he was, when he didn't come out?

I am too, when i first heard it i thought its just not a normal reaction at all.

 

[MrsWatson]

I just can't imagine being out on a walk with anyone, especially such a long walk, and the person disappears into a public bathroom and I'd just wander home. It just makes zero sense. I don't think Steven was ever at the prom that day. I think his mother was, though.

Was there any mention originally of people who saw them both there that day? Going to do a little googling and see if I find anything about that.

 

[Skigh]

I would imagine Doris would be in extreme shock if Steven had been killed and then his body buried.
Perhaps she based her story on a different occasion when they had both been out and visited the loo and she came out and could not find him.In this case she found him not far away.She remembers this and just extends her story of how he could be missing.

 

[MrsWatson]

I've looked for older articles but only found ones already posted. No new nuggets of info.

 

[Funky funky]

I've looked for older articles but only found ones already posted. No new nuggets of info.

Same here! I would’ve thought there would be much more as the parents said they have been searching for him throughout the years. I can’t find any evidence of appeals or even a Crimewatch segment?
Also very odd that the group that was set up to help find him, was restricted to family members.

 

[Morag]

His sister was, I believe, 14 years old when he went missing. She would have been about 20-21 when the anonymous letter was sent to the ‘incident room’.

 

[Skigh]

His sister was, I believe, 14 years old when he went missing. She would have been about 20-21 when the anonymous letter was sent to the ‘incident room’.

His sister was a year younger than him,so 22 when he went missing which means she would be 29 in 1999 when the letter was written.

 

[Spy Versus Spy]

More I think about it, more I conclude...

What was the motive?

Without motive Im leaning towards no parental involvement, despite perceived oddness actions originally.

Im possibly naive.

Why cold case review action though?

 

[Sarahlou]

More I think about it, more I conclude...

What was the motive?

Without motive Im leaning towards no parental involvement, despite perceived oddness actions originally.

Im possibly naive.

Why cold case review action though?

It's not always easy to guess what the motive was, but it doesn't mean there wasn't one.
I believe they had good reason to arrest and question the parents after all this time.

 

[Funky funky]

More I think about it, more I conclude...

What was the motive?

Without motive Im leaning towards no parental involvement, despite perceived oddness actions originally.

Im possibly naive.

Why cold case review action though?

I think an accidental murder. Did I read somewhere that his father was a policeman?
Apparently they have been working on their cold cases, I was chatting to a local in another platform last night, who claims there has been a lot of suspicion throughout the years.
Also, that particular force had a review published last year, which didn’t make them look good at all.

 

[Morag]

His sister was a year younger than him,so 22 when he went missing which means she would be 29 in 1999 when the letter was written.

My bad! I thought that the article was from 2010, which would have made her 14. At any rate, where was she on the Christmas weekend her brother disappeared? Not suggesting she’s involved, of course, but I’d be interested in knowing what she had to say. And who was the anonymous writer, and what did she/he have to say?