Three people have been arrested in connection with the disappearance of a man who went missing more than 20 years ago.
Robert Scott Clive, known as Scott, was last seen on 10 October 2002 following a night out in North Shields, North Tyneside, where he had moved to from Stranraer in Scotland a few months earlier.
A murder investigation was launched despite no body being found.
Northumbria Police said it had now arrested two men, in their 40s and 50s, as well as a woman in her 40s on suspicion of murder.
Mr Clive, who lived in Prudhoe Terrace and worked as a labourer, was 30 at the time of his disappearance.
Officers say they have reviewed hundreds of hours of CCTV footage and spoken to several people in their efforts to piece together his movements.
Police are still searching an address in the Coronation Street area which is a location Mr Clive is known to have visited on the evening he went missing.
Family ‘in limbo’
Last June, a 49-year-old man was arrested in connection with the investigation. He has since been released on bail pending further inquiries.
Unconfirmed sightings in the early hours of 11 October 2002 placed a man matching Mr Clive’s description near the banks of the River Tyne.
His mother, Tricia Clive, speaking last year, said the family were “still in limbo” as they did not believe he fell into the river.
Det Insp Mark Atherton, who is leading the case, said: “We are doing everything we can to provide Scott’s family with the answers they deserve.
“We still believe there could be key information that people know in the local community.”
He said: “I am again urging anybody who lived on Coronation Street at the time of his disappearance, or has information about Scott’s movements that night, to come forward.
“The information you have could prove key in our investigations.”
