POLICE believe a man who disappeared after a family walk nearly 30 years ago was on his way home before he was murdered.

Steven Clark, who was born in Colchester, has not been seen since 1992.

His elderly parents Doris and Charles have been arrested and questioned about his death and their neat semi in Marske-by-the-Sea, Cleveland, has been searched.

Police treated his mysterious disappearance as murder following a recent cold case review, although his body has not been found.

The missing person’s report at the time stated the son was on a family walk on December 28 1992 when he used a public toilet in Saltburn at around 3pm.

His mother used the ladies, waited for him to come out, then assumed he had gone home so waited for him there.

A witness has come forward since the recent police appeals to say she believed she saw Steven Clark, who walked with a pronounced limp, in Marske that afternoon.

Det Chief Insp Shaun Page believed he was on his way to his home address when he was seen, and that he was alive between 3pm and 4pm and in Marske.

Mr Page said: “I’m pleased with the information that we have so far, as we’re building up a picture of what Steven was like and the relationships that he had with those around him.

“The public is key to this case, and by ensuring people living and working in Marske see our appeal through the digivan (digital display van), we will raise awareness across the whole community.

“The potential sighting of Steven is absolutely key for the investigation and forms the basis of our appeal on the ground.”

Cleveland Police have released more details about Steven Clark - including that he was born in Colchester in 1969..

He was seriously injured when he was hit by a lorry in Kirkliston.

He spent some time at a school in Kimbolten, Cambridgeshire and emigrated to South Africa in the early 1980s, where he went to the Muriel Brand School near Johannesburg.

He came back from South Africa after 10 years and lived in Guildford in Surrey before moving to Marske in the summer of 1991.

He had worked for the Leonard Cheshire Home, which is also known as Marske Hall.

Mrs Clark last week denied the couple murdered their son, saying the situation was “absolutely ludicrous”.