Naheed Khan

Naheed Khan went missing in the beginning of May 2018.

Her bank account was not touched since 6 May 2018 when she took cash out of a cash machine outside Adils Pizzeria, part of the Whitfield Buildings, in Marton Road at the junction with Southfield Road in Middlesbrough at 5.04pm. The police later carried out a deeper forensic examination of the area around the cash-point, including a business unit there, on 10 March 2020.

Her mobile phone was also not used after 6 May 2018.

Her last known movements were said to have been around the central Middlesbrough area, around the university, Linthorpe Road and Newport.

She was thought to have gone missing around the 5 to 7 May 2018.

She was reported missing on 12 June 2018.

On 28 January 2019 the police said that they were treating the case as one of suspected murder.

A man was arrested in February 2019 and later rearrested on 9 March 2020 on suspicion of murder.

Two other people were arrested on 9 March 2020, one on suspicion of murder and the other on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.

All three of them were also questioned on suspicion of conspiring to prevent a lawful and decent burial.

Another man was arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice on 10 March 2020.

A fifth man was arrested on 19 March 2020 on suspicion of murder and for conspiring to prevent a lawful and decent burial.

It was reported in June 2020 that five people had been arrested so far in the investigation but that they had all been released without charge.

However, it was reported on 26 June 2020 that the investigation into her disappearance was being scaled back. The police said that the investigation was 'extremely complex' and that it was a difficult decision to make. The police said, 'We have done everything we can at this stage, but there are people out there who are not being honest and know what has happened to Naheed'.

The police carried out extensive searches for her, including at her home and at a disused car park but her body has not been found.

The disused underground car park, which was on Marton Road in Middlesbrough, was search on 15 March 2019.

One location searched by the police in 2019 was a piece of wasteland behind the shops at the corner of Park Vale Road and Southfield Road, near the Marton Road junction.

The police said that in November 2019 a person came forward with crucial information in a tip-off and the following month they appealed for the person to contact them again.

In January 2020 the police carried out searches in Briar Road, Thornaby. They were seen using ground-penetrating radar in the back garden. Neighbours said that the house was a rented property and that an elderly woman had been living there at the time.

On 10 March 2020 the police searched the area around the cashpoint in Marton Road, along with a business unit there and around the same time they searched a large house on the corner of Marton Road and Longlands Road, near the mini-roundabout which led to the old Clairville site where police were seen searching a large garden and driveway.

The police additionally carried out searches in Angle Street in Longlands, Middlesbrough after which the fourth man was arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and the first man that was arrested in 2019 was re-arrested.

On 4 November 2019 the police released a picture of a light blue Ford Focus that they wanted to find more information about, stating that they believed that Naheed Khan might have travelled in it around the end of April 2018 and the beginning of May 2018.

The car was described as distinctive and had the number plate MX02 CVU and was found by the police in Middlesbrough in January 2019. It was noted for having a distinctive white sticker of a vehicle on the rear boot panel that said 'Paul Walker one last ride'.

The police said that they thought that the car might have been put up for sale at the junction of Sedgemoor Road and Holmefields Road in Middlesbrough in June 2018 and that it might have possibly been sold to someone in Falmouth Street, Middlesbrough. The police said, 'We have carried out extensive enquiries since we recovered the vehicle and there a still a few gaps we need answers to regarding the vehicles movements between May 2018 and January 2019' and appealed for anyone that knew anything about it to come forward, including anyone that might have seen Naheed Khan in it. The police added that they thought that it might have been being offered for sale between May 2018 to January 2019.

The police added, 'Prior to the vehicle being recovered it is believed it had spotlights and further stickers on the front of it. We have also received information to suggest the car was up for sale in the Grove Hill area'.

Naheed Khan was said to have had links with Stockton, Middlesbrough and Thornaby.

She was described as:

• Asian.
• Slim build.
• Around 5ft 6in tall.
• Long dark hair.

The police said that they had followed thousands of lines of enquiry and spoken to more than 2,500 people as well as seizing and reviewing over 1,500 exhibits, generating more than 8,300 statements, reports and documents and carrying out over 5,500 investigative actions.

Naheed Khan was said to have gone missing shortly before the birth of her first grandchild.