Police close fresh investigation into man missing in North Shields in 2002
New information was handed to Nothumbria Police in 2024
Northumbria Police say it has drawn its latest investigation into the disappearance of a man from North Tyneside in 2002 to a close.
The force reopened its inquiry into the last time Robert Scott Clive was seen after further information was shared about the evening he vanished.
Known as ‘Scott’, the then 30-year-old was last seen shortly after 11pm on October 10, 2002, in the Coronation Street area of North Shields.
Scott, originally from Stranraer, was reported missing by concerned family members, and following initial enquiries, a murder investigation was launched.
Since he went missing, officers reviewed hundreds of hours of CCTV footage and spoke to various witnesses as they tried to piece together Scott’s movements.
Unconfirmed sightings in the early hours of the following day placed a man matching his description near the banks of the River Tyne, although a body was never found.
In 2025, police searches were carried out at an address in the Coronation Street area of North Shields – a location Scott is known to have visited on the evening he went missing. These took place with the support of the current occupant who moved in after 2002.
As a result of new information which came forward, there was evidence to suggest Scott was assaulted on the night he went missing.
Three people – two men aged in their 40s and 50s and one woman aged in her 40s – were subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder.
They were released on bail and have since been told they will face no further action.