A DISTRAUGHT father has revealed that police respond to repeated appeals for information about his missing son by text message.
Allan Bryant has not been seen since he left the Styx nightclub in Glenrothes, Fife on Sunday November 3, 2013.
His father, also Allan, claims Police Scotland have been “unprofessional” and “insulting” by insisting on occasional text updates on the case.
He claims that he has tried on several occasions to speak to an officer on the phone to find out if there are any updates regarding the case, but is always told that they are “busy” or “on holiday”.
Allan, from Glenrothes, is so fed up with the lack of progress by police, he has even resorted to interviewing potential witnesses in his own home.
Despite repeated searches, no trace has ever been found of the 23-year-old and his family fear he was murdered.
He even says that they send him text messages saying they will call him – and then fail to do so.
“We have had no support from the police,” he said. “They won’t give us updates.
“They have been sending text messages since day one – we’ve hardly had any visits from officers.
“They have my phone and mobile number. It’s unprofessional and insulting to my son and our family.
“Half the police stations in Fife don’t even have his poster up – they are not helping and they are doing nothing to keep Allan in the public eye.
“It’s not acceptable, it’s a farce. They just tell us that enquiries are ongoing.
“I’ll get a text message saying they will call me that night. I’ll wait up late and the phone won’t ring – it’s unbelievable.
“The police force is a complete joke. We are sitting here as a family, knowing the worst has happened to Allan, and all they can do is text us.
“You text friends and family, you do not text people who are in our situation.
“They have let my family down since day one and they keep letting my family down.”
He has also slammed Police Scotland’s handling of recent events, when an unidentified body was found in Riverside Park near where his son went missing.
The skeletal remains turned out to be another missing man, 39-year-old Wayne Fleming, who went missing in March earlier this year.
But Allan says the police told him the “devastating news” by way of a phone call.
“It was agony waiting for the identity to be confirmed,” he said. “I was sick to the pit of my stomach.
“They told us about the human remains and the identity over the phone, we had no visits at all.”
Allan was so concerned that the police were not doing enough for his son that he sent up a “Find Allan Bryant” Facebook page shortly after his son’s disappearance, and it now has over 35,000 followers.
He also paid for a private helicopter and professional photographer to fly over the area that Allan went missing, as he claims the police helicopter “could not cover enough ground”.
Support
Despite his anguish, Allan has thanked the public for their support.
“We will never give up our efforts to bring Allan home,” he said. “The public have been amazing and it’s been a massive help.”
Local Area Commander Stevie Hamilton said: “Our efforts to trace Allan have been part of a significant and ongoing investigation and I would continue to ask anyone with information that can help us find him to contact police immediately.
“A dedicated Family Liaison Officer has been engaging with the Bryant family for over two years. This officer has built a relationship with them and is available to them by telephone 24/7.
“Mr Bryant agreed his preferred method of communication at an early stage and this included a weekly telephone call to update him and regular texts to keep in touch.
“In July, the Senior Investigating Officer from the Major Investigation Team met with Mr and Mrs Bryant for three hours and provided an in depth presentation with regard to the investigation of every line of enquiry pursued and of the considerable search activity which has been undertaken.
“At that time it was established that their preferred method of contact remained telephone communication.”
