The father of missing Glenrothes man Allan Bryant said he was left heartbroken when appeal banners were removed from a flyover.
Allan Bryant Sr, 47, attached banners to an overpass on the A92 between Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes but they were returned to him the next day by police after Fife Council took them down.
“The thing that annoyed me most about it was I’m not a politician running for an election, I’m a person who is looking for his missing son and the banner was no more dangerous than a street sign,” Mr Bryant Sr said.
“I had the banners so secure but the police handed them back to me yesterday.”
There has been no trace of Mr Bryant Jr, 24, since he was last seen on CCTV outside Styx nightclub on Caskieberran Road in the early hours of November 3.
Since then, Mr Bryant has been leading a sustained campaign to find his son. He added posters had been taken down from bus shelters.
“The posters were doing no harm and there was no need for them to be removed,” Mr Bryant Sr said.
He said he feels let down by the council and police, despite a senior police officer describing the search for Mr Bryant Jr as the biggest missing person inquiry he has been involved in during his career.
He criticised police for not bringing in dogs from K9 Search and Recovery Scotland, who he said are willing to assist.
“They can’t get involved without the police,” he said.
“I just think the police are continuing to let us down by not using dogs. Things like this just make me more determined.”
He did acknowledge the fact the council has offered help with the search, including the use of a local hall.
Glenrothes area committee vice-chairman Ian Sloan said: “This is a tragic and very emotional situation and our thoughts are with the family.
“They’ve campaigned tirelessly to find Allan and I can understand their frustrations about the posters being taken down from the bridge across the A92.
“We’ve supported their campaign to find Allan. We gave the family Macedonia TMR (The Meeting Rooms) free of charge from November last year to the start of April to coordinate their campaign.
“We’ve also printed some posters free of charge for them to give out and these are up in many of our offices and public buildings across the area.
“However, fly-posting is illegal and putting posters on a bridge across a busy and fast-moving dual-carriageway is distracting and can cause accidents.
“We need to make sure that drivers stay safe but of course we’re keen to keep working with and supporting the family.”
Fife Area Commander Nicola Shepherd said: “This is one of the largest missing person inquiries ever handled in Fife and a significant amount of police resources have been deployed in various aspects of the investigation.”
Posters have been put up at the Links Market in Kirkcaldy to highlight the search.