The tenth anniversary of the disappearance of Glenrothes man Allan Bryant has been marked with a renewed appeal for anyone to come forward with information which could finally end his family’s painful heartache.
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00:00 What is worse is that we do not know what happened to him.
00:03 All we want to know is the truth and get Alan home.
00:07 And I know probably he is laying him to rest.
00:10 If you know anything, please call the police.
00:13 Alan, we miss and love you so much.
00:16 We know that on the night Alan disappeared from Sticks Nightclub on Caskyburn Road
00:22 that it was a fancy dress night.
00:24 And I would say that that did prove a bit problematic for us
00:27 in terms of identifying members of the public that were in the nightclub.
00:30 We have spoken to a large number of people that were there,
00:33 but I think there are probably some that we have not managed to trace
00:36 or have not come forward.
00:37 So we'd appeal to them, please come forward.
00:40 You might not think that you know anything,
00:42 but let us assess that and the judge that.
00:45 [Music]
00:57 Alan Bryant disappeared on a night out 10 years ago.
01:00 To this day, his family have no idea what happened to him.
01:03 Finding the young man from Gwynrthys has become
01:06 the longest running missing person search ever staged in Fife.
01:09 He was just 23 years old when he vanished.
01:12 There was nothing out of the ordinary on the night he disappeared,
01:15 on November 3rd, 2013.
01:17 He went to an engagement party at Lesley Golf Club
01:20 and then on to a local nightclub with friends.
01:22 The last known sighting of him was captured on grainy CCTV footage
01:27 as he left the Sticks Nightclub around 2am.
01:29 His family home was barely one mile away, but he never made it.
01:34 And nothing has been seen or heard of him since,
01:36 despite numerous appeals and an incredible campaign
01:39 by his family and friends to keep his name and picture in the public eye
01:44 in the hope that someone may give them the answers that they want.
01:46 [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
01:51 - Along today to support our appeal.
01:53 I'm Detective Inspector Scott Roxburgh,
01:56 and I'm the Senior Investigating Officer for Operation Toner,
01:59 which is the investigation into the disappearance of Alan Bryant Jr.
02:03 We are pleased that Alan's dad, Alan Sr.,
02:06 mum, Mari, and sister Amy have come along today to support our appeal.
02:11 They would all like to speak.
02:13 Alan?
02:16 [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
02:18 - Ten years ago, my son Alan went missing,
02:24 ten years apart, and I've been not knowing what's happened,
02:27 or where his remains lie.
02:33 My family have been through so much in the last ten years,
02:38 watching the police divers set up spawns,
02:41 there was welling quarries in the woodland,
02:43 and so many other places.
02:45 [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
02:47 - Praying each time they would find Alan,
02:49 the disappointment and the heartache when they'd gone.
02:52 [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
02:55 - We knew on Monday, the 5th of November, 2013,
02:57 that we would need that call to the police.
03:00 Something was very, very, very, very, very wrong.
03:04 [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
03:07 - It was out of character for Alan not to be in touch with us.
03:11 [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
03:13 - Never did we think we would still be searching for our son Alan, ten years on.
03:20 All we need is closure, we need the truth.
03:24 We need Alan back home.
03:26 [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
03:28 - Thanks, Alan.
03:29 [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
03:30 - Barry, would you like to go?
03:31 [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
03:33 - The past ten years have been a living hell.
03:35 We are still trying to find out what happened to our dear son Alan.
03:39 We want to bring him home, but we'll never give up until he's found.
03:43 [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
03:48 - We know in our hearts that Alan is no longer with us,
03:51 and that is so hard to deal with.
03:52 But as worst as that, we do not know what happened to him.
03:56 [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
03:57 - All we want to know is the truth and get Alan home,
04:00 and I know probably, you're laying him to rest.
04:03 [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
04:04 - If you know anything, please call the police.
04:07 [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
04:08 - Alan, we miss and love you so much.
04:10 [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
04:11 - Thanks, Barry.
04:12 [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
04:16 - So it's almost that time of year where we all feel down.
04:19 Christmases and birthdays aren't the same around the house.
04:22 Tell me, when will it get better?
04:25 When will the pain go away?
04:27 It's been ten years since you went out with your friends
04:29 and never made it home.
04:30 When will the pain go?
04:32 The house will never be the same.
04:35 We'll miss you so much.
04:36 Not being able to shout your name when dinner's ready at five o'clock.
04:40 We sit around the table.
04:41 There's an empty spot.
04:42 You're not with us in person, but you're with us in our hearts.
04:46 Tell me, when will it get better?
04:49 When will the pain go away?
04:50 It's been ten years since you went out with your friends
04:53 and you never made it home.
04:54 I still can't believe you're gone.
04:56 Now a drive passed from the place that you were last seen.
05:00 How could anybody bring this to our family?
05:02 I miss you so much, Alan, and I just hope we're doing proud every day.
05:06 We'll never give up.
05:07 [END PLAYBACK]
05:08 Thank you.
05:09 [END PLAYBACK]
05:10 For 10 years, the aim has been to find Alan.
05:13 Since he was last seen on Sunday, the 3rd of November, 2013,
05:17 significant inquiries have taken place.
05:19 Information received from the public has covered a wide range of scenarios,
05:23 including that Alan has been harmed in some way.
05:26 All information has been investigated thoroughly,
05:29 recorded, assessed, and acted accordingly.
05:32 Alan's disappearance remains a missing persons inquiry.
05:36 We want to find answers for Alan's family.
05:39 We are determined to do everything that we can to find out what happened to Alan
05:43 after he left Sticks Nightclub in Clacknorth.
05:45 If you were in Sticks that night and have not been spoken to
05:49 by the investigation team previously, please get in touch.
05:52 You may hold vital information that can help us find Alan.
05:55 Alan may have intended to go elsewhere when he left Sticks,
05:59 or there's a chance that Alan began walking home
06:02 and he may have become disorientated.
06:04 If you were in Napier Road or South Park Road area,
06:07 or anywhere else in the local area,
06:09 or an element missing, then please think back and let us know
06:13 if you saw anything that could help trace Alan's movements.
06:15 I urge anyone who's not come forward
06:18 and who may have information that could help with their inquiries to get in touch.
06:22 No matter how small you think that piece of information is,
06:25 please pass it on.
06:27 Thank you.
06:29 The last known sighting of Alan Bryant was here at Sticks Snooker Club,
06:33 behind me in Glynnophos.
06:34 He was caught on CCTV cameras leaving the building about 2am
06:39 after a night out here throwing an engagement party.
06:41 Police say there was a fancy dress party on that night
06:44 which makes a definite sense.
06:45 He was wearing a white shirt and a black jacket.
06:48 He was wearing a black jacket and a black jacket.
06:50 He was wearing a black shirt and a black jacket.
06:52 He was wearing a black shirt and a black jacket.
06:54 He was wearing a black shirt and a black jacket.
06:56 Police say there was a fancy dress party on that night
06:58 which makes identification of some people very difficult.
07:00 And they've renewed their appeal for anyone who was here
07:02 who may have seen him, to get in touch 10 years on
07:06 to finally solve the riddle of what happened to him.
07:08 The Bryant family have endured a decade of torment
07:11 not knowing what has happened to their son.
07:13 They have staged many fundraisers and public awareness campaigns,
07:17 including a peaceful gathering outside police headquarters in Glynnophos
07:20 in a bid to keep his absence in the public eye.
07:22 And every anniversary has been marked with a new appeal
07:25 for anyone to come forward with the information
07:27 that could finally end their heartache.
07:29 The police investigation into Alan's disappearance
07:33 has seen them search local ponds and rivers
07:35 and follow up every single theory
07:37 on what may have happened to Alan
07:39 after he left Sticks Nightclub in 2013.
07:41 They say there remains no evidence of criminality.
07:44 This remains a missing person case.
07:46 And there have been many difficult moments too
07:50 as the family have waited with bated breath
07:52 following the discovery of a body in a local park
07:54 only to discover it wasn't Alan
07:56 and their nightmare continues.
07:58 Their Facebook page dedicated to the search for Alan
08:00 remains active.
08:02 It has over 70,000 members.
08:04 So we are investigating all lines of inquiry
08:06 that come into us
08:08 and that involves a vast amount of scenarios
08:10 and criminality is one of those.
08:12 We have done that throughout the last 10 years.
08:14 We've investigated allegations
08:16 or suspicions that Alan may have been the victim of a crime
08:18 and to date we have not
08:20 uncovered any evidence to substantiate these claims.
08:22 Any evidence
08:24 or any information that comes into us
08:26 we will investigate thoroughly
08:28 and we will record that
08:30 and assess it.
08:32 Everything that comes into the inquiry room
08:34 is fully investigated.
08:36 So yeah, there are a number of scenarios
08:38 or hypotheses
08:40 that may have happened
08:42 and all of those are still on the table today
08:44 as they were 10 years ago.
08:46 The purpose of today really is to appeal
08:48 to the members of the public
08:50 if you have any information whatsoever
08:52 please get in touch with us and pass it on.
08:54 We want to provide Alan's family
08:56 with the answers that they rightly deserve.
08:58 Is that why you believe that the answers lie
09:00 within the local community?
09:02 Yes, I think they do.
09:04 Glenrothes is quite a tight knit community.
09:06 There are various
09:08 housing schemes and estates
09:10 within Glenrothes and I think that the answer
09:12 does lie within the community and that's why
09:14 we are appealing to the local community
09:16 to think back 10 years.
09:18 It's a long time. Alan's parents
09:20 have been through a lot in the last 10 years
09:22 but they need to think back. Is there anything at all
09:24 anything they thought, maybe I should phone the police about that
09:26 and they've maybe just not done so.
09:28 I'm now appealing to those people.
09:30 Come forward, let us, you know,
09:32 provide us that information and let us
09:34 assess that and make, you know,
09:36 see if that is going to take this inquiry forward.
09:38 And lastly for me,
09:40 is there anything significant that's come to you recently?
09:42 I know you might
09:44 have garbled some of the
09:46 finer points of it. Is there anything that's going
09:48 through to you that's taken this
09:50 forward? No, at the moment
09:52 there is nothing that's taken this inquiry
09:54 forward recently.
09:56 We often receive information
09:58 about various sightings of Alan
10:00 whether that be elsewhere in
10:02 Scotland or the UK and indeed
10:04 wider and those inquiries
10:06 are also fully investigated and
10:08 unfortunately to date none of those
10:10 investigations have allowed us to
10:12 find Alan.
10:14 You mentioned today obviously
10:16 people who have not come forward yet. Are there still people
10:18 out there who just haven't picked up the phone possibly?
10:20 Yeah, that is a possibility.
10:22 We know that on the night Alan
10:24 disappeared from Sticks Nightclub on Cascaverne
10:26 Road that it was a fancy dress night
10:28 and I would say that that
10:30 proved a bit problematic for us in terms of identifying
10:32 members of the public that were in the
10:34 nightclub. We have spoken to
10:36 a large number of people that were there but I think
10:38 there are probably some that
10:40 we have not managed to trace or have not come forward
10:42 so we appeal to them, please come forward
10:44 you might not think that you know anything
10:46 but let us assess
10:48 that and be the judge of that.
10:50 That would be appreciated.
10:52 It's impossible to quantify
10:56 the toll Alan's appearance has taken
10:58 on his immediate family.
11:00 They have spoken of their living hell many
11:02 times over the past decade and they
11:04 lived the ordeal throughout the media
11:06 on many occasions.
11:08 They know in their heart that Alan is no longer with
11:10 them and that is so hard to deal with
11:12 but what is worse is they don't know
11:14 what happened to him and in their own words
11:16 all they want is the truth.
11:18 Police remain committed to following up
11:20 every piece of information provided in a bid
11:22 to give the family some closure.
11:24 Their appeal on the 10th anniversary of
11:26 Alan's disappearance was aimed at anyone who may
11:28 not yet have come forward and anyone
11:30 with information however small
11:32 which may be the final piece in the jigsaw
11:34 which brings an end to the biggest missing
11:36 person in the investigation
11:38 of a stage in Fife.
11:40 [Music]