The family of missing man Allan Bryant have thanked the hundreds of people who turned out at an awareness event in Glenrothes on Saturday night.
Roads around the town were jammed with vehicles from across Scotland with motoring enthusiasts gathering to highlight the disappearance of the now 25-year-old almost two years ago.
Following a rally at the Saltire Centre retail park early in the evening, a huge convoy took to the local streets, beeping horns and flashing lights in a show of support for the Bryant family in unprecedented scenes.
The event had been thrown into doubt following the discovery of human remains last week. However, after confirmation that the remains belonged to another missing man, Wayne Fleming, the Bryant family decided the event could go ahead as planned.
Given recent events, Allan’s father, also named Allan, said his family are grateful to the hundreds who attended.
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“It gave us all such a huge boost,” he told The Courier, “ particularly after what happened last week.
“It was only organised nine days before that body was discovered but the support from the public was phenomenal and it means so much to the family.
“People came from all over Scotland – Glasgow, Edinburgh, Livingston – and I cannot thank them enough for giving up their Saturday night to show their support for Allan.”
Saturday’s event was organised using the Bryant family’s Facebook page, which has been used to highlight Allan Jnr’s disappearance since he was last seen leaving Styx Nightclub on Caskieberran Road during the early hours of November 3 2013.
With over 32,000 followers from around the world and the success of the past weekend’s rally, Mr Bryant said that he will now look at hosting similar events elsewhere in Scotland to keep his son’s disappearance in the public eye.
“We’ve been talking about doing more, possibly in different towns,” he added. “That’s in the pipeline but at the moment we’re just trying to get over what happened this weekend.
“We really needed that. My daughter was quite worried beforehand that not many people would turn up.”
The remains discovered in Glenrothes’ Riverside Park last week were confirmed at the weekend to be those of missing 39-year-old Mr Fleming, who was last seen in either February or March.
As police continue with inquiries into Mr Fleming’s death, Mr Bryant added: “We’re really sorry for the family of Wayne Fleming – it must be terrible what they are going through.”