The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Family’s hopes dashed as river search fruitless
Police continue looking for Fife man five years after disappearance
An underwater search for missing Fife man Allan Bryant ultimately proved fruitless yesterday as the probe into his disappearance continues.
Acting on information received from the public, police divers scoured an area of water in Glenrothes as part of the painstaking search for Allan, who has been missing for almost five years.
Allan was just 23 when he vanished on November 3 2013 and, despite an extensive air, ground and water search, no trace of him has ever been found.
However, the investigation remains active and specialist officers from Police Scotland’s Marine Unit focused their attention on the River Leven yesterday morning following a tip-off.
Divers conducted a thorough search of the body of water to the west of the former Tullis Russell paper mill throughout the morning, where the river flows through the town’s Riverside Park.
Police confirmed that “nothing of note” to the investigation was found, and Allan’s family was kept fully informed of developments.
Allan’s father, also called Allan, was told by detectives from the Major Investigation Team in a phone call yesterday morning that the search was being conducted and remains hopeful his son will one day be found.
He said: “I didn’t know what to expect to be honest.
“The police have said they searched it before but I don’t know if it was too deep or too dangerous, but they’ve gone back to it for some reason.
“We’ve been here so many times before but the fact that they are searching is a good thing.”
Allan was last spotted on CCTV cameras outside Styx nightclub in Glenrothes and a number of searches similar to yesterday’s operation have taken place over the years.
“Living life like this without our son Allan just gets harder as each day passes,” Mr Bryant added.
“My family can’t turn the clock back to try and stop Allan going out that night, my family can’t move forward without knowing what has happened to our Allan.
“Someone knows what has happened yet they will not come forward with information.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson confirmed that the search took place yesterday morning as part of the ongoing investigation, adding: “Anyone with information about Allan’s whereabouts, or his movements after leaving Styx nightclub in the early hours of November 3 2013, is urged to contact Police Scotland on 101 quoting Operation Toner.”