Bryant family protest at police handling of case

Meanwhile, the uncle of Allan Bryant, 23 years old at the time of his disappearance, has reiterated the family’s belief that Allan was murdered and has called on those investigating the case to treat it as a murder investigation.

In the week that has seen the family struggle to come to terms with the third anniversary since their loved one was last seen, Allan Bryant Snr fought to keep a control of his emotions as he addressed those who were attending what the family called a peaceful demonstration outside the town’s Detroit Road police station.

Mr Bryant, flanked by his daughter Amy and brother David Bryant, accused some members of the senior investigating team of corruption and incompetence in the early handling of inquiry into his son’s disappearance.

“Why did it take seven months to release that CCTV showing Allan leaving the nightclub?”, he asked.

“Repeatedly the investigating officers have only reacted when the family have pressure them, the search for my son has been a joke.

“They have treated my son’s disappearance like nothing more that that of a lost dog.”

In what was obviously an emotional and very distressing appearance in front of around 40-50 supporters who had gathered at the former Fife Police HQ building, Mr Bryant struggled at times to keep a control of his anger at the way, he claimed, the police had mishandled the case.

Admitting that he had been drinking the night before, he apologised for some of the language used but remained defiant that he and his family would not give up on the search for his son.

Holding up a photograph of Allan he said: “This is my boy, I will never give up on him until my last breath, I want my son back.

David Bryant, Mr Bryant Snr’s brother thanked those who had made the effort to turn up yesterday (Sunday) despite the bitterly cold wind and also criticised the police’s handling of the case.

“This is tearing the family apart, it’s appalling the way Allan’s investigation has been handled,” he said afterwards.

“As far as we are concerned this is a murder case not a missing persons case but the police won’t listen.”

Despite constant media attention and Police Scotland having conducted the largest missing person’s enquiry ever undertaken in Fife, Allan’s whereabouts, since he was last seen leaving Styx nightclub in the early hours of Sunday, November 3, remains a mystery.

Officers at the station kept a low profile and no one from Police Scotland was on hand to speak to those who had gathered to show their support for the family.

However commenting earlier in the week, detective inspector Stuart Wilson said he remained committed to doing all he could to finding the missing Glenrothes man.

But he added that police Scotland considered there to be no evidence of criminality in relation to Allan’s disappearance.