The father of missing Fife man Allan Bryant has reacted with horror at police insistence there is no evidence of criminality.
Allan Bryant Snr believes the investigation into the disappearance of his son four years ago should be a murder inquiry.
He said that Police Scotland had sunk to a “new low” with a statement made by the detective leading the case as the fourth anniversary approached.
Issuing an appeal to the public for information, Detective Inspector Stuart Wilson, of Police Scotland’s major investigation team, told a local newspaper: “There remains no evidence of criminality and there is no evidence that Allan is no longer alive.”
Posting on the Facebook page set up to keep Allan Jnr in the public eye, Allan Snr said he was “still trying to come to terms with what I have just read” and told Fife police they had “destroyed any faith” the family had left in them and should “hang your heads in shame”.
He said he read the appeal issued by the major investigation team in “horror”.
Allan Jnr was 23 when he went missing on November 3, 2013, after a night out in his home town of Glenrothes.
He was last seen on CCTV outside the Styx nightclub in the early hours of the morning.
The hunt for him has been one of the most extensive missing person searches ever undertaken in Scotland.
It emerged last week that 31 new sites, mostly wells and other waterways, had been searched by police divers, but to no avail.
Mr Wilson said his team had followed up a number of new pieces of information over the past year but said: “These unfortunately have not provided the answers we are seeking for his family and friends, and so I’m disappointed that we still have no answers on the fourth anniversary of his disappearance.”
Allan Jnr’s heartbroken family have waged a high profile campaign to keep him in the public eye.
His father, mother Marie and sisters Amy and Sophie led a sponsored walk up Falkland Hill on Sunday to mark the anniversary.
Money raised will go towards a reward and the continuing efforts to trace him.
Anyone with information about Allan’s disappearance was urged to contact police by dialling 101 and quoting Operation Toner, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
Information can also be passed on by emailing OperationToner@scotland.pnn.police.uk.
