The dad of missing Glenrothes man Allan Bryant claims police have taken revenge for criticism of their inquiry by withdrawing the family liaison officer.
Allan Bryant Jnr disappeared almost three years ago on a night out and not a trace of him has ever been found.
His dad, also Allan, has heavily condemned Police Scotland for failing to keep him informed and recently made a formal complaint.
The 50-year-old says he was told on Thursday that the force was removing Sgt Kirk Donnelly, their liaison officer for the past three years, from the case and that he was not being replaced.
Allan, who is married to Marie, 46, says the decision is “adding more pain” to his family.
Posting on the Find Allan Bryant Facebook page, he wrote: “Myself and Marie had a brief meeting today with our family liaison officer Sergeant Kirk Donnelly and the head of the major investigation team, Stuart Wilson.
“The powers at be at Police Scotland have decided to take our family liaison officer away from my family for some unknown reason.
“At this moment my family are in shock as Kirk was our main contact to pass information onto the major investigation team.”
He continued: “He has been totally professional and has supported our family for three years.
“We do not know if this is because we have a complaint in against the police professional standards department about the way they handled Allan’s disappearance.
“We are devastated with the news. This could not have happened at a worse time as it will be three years in November since we last saw Allan leaving our house in such a happy mood.
“My family will fight this ruthless and hurtful decision all the way and do everything in our power to get our Liaison officer reinstated.
“This is more than a let-down for my family. It is a kick in the teeth from Fife police and Police Scotland. Thank you so much for adding more pain for our family Fife police.”
Allan Senior’s brother, David, was equally disgusted by the decision to remove the family liaison officer.
He said: “My brother’s post regarding the family liaison officer being taken away really has both left me shocked and so very angry.
“I cannot get my head around just how insensitive and cruel this is. Let’s just say I’m disgusted all round.”
Detective Inspector Stuart Wilson, from the major investigation team, said: “The Allan Bryant missing person inquiry remains a live investigation and any new information received will be assessed, evaluated and actioned appropriately by both the major investigation team and local officers within Glenrothes.
“For almost three years Allan’s family have been provided with weekly factual updates on the course of the investigation. The decision has now been taken to withdraw the family liaison officer role that was installed as part of this inquiry.
“However, the major investigation team will continue to contact the family to provide updates whenever there are any significant developments in the future, in line with the Police Scotland policy in relation to major investigations.
“The Bryant family have also been provided with a dedicated email address so they can get in touch to discuss any issues they may have or provide additional information relevant to the investigation.”
Members of the public with any information relating to the case can email OperationToner@scotland.pnn.police.uk or call 101.
