Poring over handwritten letters and newspaper cuttings Tricia Clive is still desperately trying to solve the mystery of her son's disappearance 20 years on.
Today marks two decades since labourer Scott Clive vanished without a trace after a night out in North Shields in 2002.
A murder investigation was launched, despite the fact no body had been found.
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But the probe was called off five years later, after a new witness came forward saying they had seen someone matching Scott’s description near the banks of the Tyne.
Police told Scott’s loved ones they believed he had fallen into the river.
But with no body and no proof of what had happened to Scott, his family refused to accept his death certificate and have spent the last 20 years desperately waiting for answers.
And today on the anniversary of his disappearance Tricia has shared the last letter Scott sent to her, which show how he was making plans for the future.
The 71-year-old said: "We will never get over this, our family is broken with Scott's loss and the worst thing is we still have no closure.
"When the police and they said they were closing the case we couldn’t believe what we were hearing. To us they had no proper proof or evidence to say that Scott had fallen in the water that night.
"They offered us a death certificate which we refused. After all this time we do believe Scott is dead, but we don’t accept the circumstances that the police stated. Our life has been in limbo for 20 years.
"The last letter I got from Scott was on September 13. He was sounding really cheerful and making plans for the future."
Scott, whose full name was Robert Scott Clive, moved to North Shields from Stranraer, in Scotland, 10 months before he vanished, on October 10 2002.
The labourer was living in a bedsit on Prudhoe Terrace and his mum said he was loving life in the Tyneside town, which was a lot busier than his home town.
In his final letter home, dated September 13, Scott talked about how he was looking forward to going to see Madness in concert in Newcastle at the end of the year.
And he tells his mum how much he likes the new friends he has made.
Scott wrote: "The people that I work with are genuine friends and would do anything to help me out."
Scott would regularly write letters to his family and speak to his mum on the phone, so when no-one heard from him for several days he was reported missing.
At first police treated Scott as a missing person, but several weeks later a murder inquiry was launched.
Detectives made a number of public appeals for information, and released CCTV images of Scott captured hours before he vanished. They said Scott had been drinking in North Shields before going to a party.
The last known sighting of Scott was at when he was in the Customs House, accommodation for single people in Borough Road, North Shields, where he had been with several other people, on the night of October 10.
Seven people were arrested in connection with Scott’s disappearance, but no-one was ever charged.
In 2008 Northumbria Police detectives carried out a major review of the case.
Police divers were sent into the Tyne in April that year after a new witness came forward saying they had seen a man matching Scott’s description by the edge of the river during the early hours of October 11, 2002.
Despite not finding any trace of him in the water, detectives told Tricia they were satisfied Scott had fallen into the river. But Scott's family still do not feel they have any closure and believe someone must know what happened to Scott.
Tricia said: "There was a lot going on that night and a lot of people involved, we’re sure that at least one of them knows what happened. There was a lot of talk going on in North Shields at the time and it still goes on now about what happened that night. 20 years have passed and still no further forward.
"I never imagined this would go on for 20 years. We’re hoping somebody’s conscience will be playing up and let them speak up after all this time."
And in a direct appeal to the people of North Shields she added: "Please help us to find out the truth, we can’t move on until we do."
In 2019 a Northumbria Police spokeswoman told the Chronicle any new information that came in would followed up.
She said: “We appreciate how difficult this has been, and continues to be, for Scott’s family. The disappearance of Scott was subject to a full investigation at the time he first went missing, as well as a full review.
“The investigation was closed following new evidence that came to light in 2008, which indicated that he had fallen into the Tyne in the early hours of Friday, October 11, 2002. However, as with all cases, if any new information comes to light we will of course investigate thoroughly and look to give Scott’s family the closure they deserve.”
Anyone with any information about Scott’s disappearance should call Northumbria Police on 101.
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