Found Deceased UK - Anthony Knott, 33, last seen at a pub in Lewes, Sussex, 20 Dec 2019 #2

[Ann Blyth]

Latest from The Argus.....

Family fundraiser to support fiancee of missing firefighter and hire private detective

 

[RobinCAL]

Does anyone else think the private detective is a bit of a leap? Isn't that usually for when the investigation has stopped?

I find that a bit odd tbh.

 

[Ann Blyth]

I thought the same, but I think when you are desperate for answers, you will do anything, hence the private investigator.......not sure the police will be too thrilled at what they may see as “interference”.

 

[BodyOfWater]

Latest from The Argus.....

Family fundraiser to support fiancee of missing firefighter and hire private detective

“They relied on his income to support their family. Lucy has a small part-time job which only brings in very little money and of course now her main priority is to find Anthony.”

This is what I was saying, maybe this was a major concern of Anythony and wasn’t enjoying the upsets & responsibilities of what comes of being a firefighter.

“Friend Steve Shepherd said Anthony had told his fiancee he would be home by 2am and they had made plans to meet on Saturday.”

What about his 4 children wanting to speak to their dad during the afternoon or evening? Is it normal to let dads have the day off and focus on purely drinking with mates?

Nothing wrong with having a day off. Only mentioning the above because if there had been phone conversations his state of mind would hold valuable clues.

And why would they need to meet if he was looking after their children & lived there.

 

[BodyOfWater]

Does anyone else think the private detective is a bit of a leap? Isn't that usually for when the investigation has stopped?

I find that a bit odd tbh.

I think his family are being realistic.

LE haven’t really helped keep the investigation in the public’s minds. TBH they have said next to nothing in previous days. No appeals, nothing. I don’t blame the family. And there’s no harm in trying.

In plenty of other cases we have seen families turn to PI when they are not satisfied with the LE investigation or believe it to be slow or not interviewing potential witnesses (workers at shops, etc).

My own personal opinion is LE are doing minimal investigation, especially after it stopped being carried as a national story.

 

[BodyOfWater]

I thought the same, but I think when you are desperate for answers, you will do anything, hence the private investigator.......not sure the police will be too thrilled at what they may see as “interference”.

PI are able to freely go about their business and share any findings with LE. Doesn’t matter what LE think at the end of the day.

It shouldn’t be about what they think or any critical opinions people may hold, but finding a missing person who has a big family worried to death about him.

 

[Ann Blyth]

Absolutely agree, should be all about the missing person and their loved ones, and it does not appear that much is happening with the police in relation to this matter, appears to be going a bit cold now, hope the PI will be worth the money and give the family some much needed answers.

 

[EyeSpyU]

I remember reading on another case here at WS that the service provider can tell whether a phone was switched off deliberately or died because of low charge. Sorry I can't remember where I read it nor do I have a link. If true LE and family likely know the circumstances around the phone. Given that searches have stopped my assumption is that AK switched it off himself and LE assumes he doesn't want to be found. Moo. Speculation.

No, service providers can’t tell if a phone’s battery has died or whether it’s been switched off.

AK’s fiancé had that confirmed by Apple: she’s put it on her Facebook

 

[EyeSpyU]

Have I picked this up correctly? The phone is switched off around 7pm (battery doesn’t die) and then again around 1am?

if that’s the case, it sounds like he has had an argument with someone and doesn’t want them contacting him. Maybe Anthony had no notion of making his way back home after that phone call? If that’s the case, could he have headed in a completely different direction at the end of the night?

Fiancee of missing firefighter begs him to come home as she recalls final words

The reason it was published that his phone went off at 1am is that his fiancé wrote that in one of her initial posts in the beginning.

However, it’s been proven by police and AK’s mobile server that the last activity was at 19:41

I suspect that due to the panic and stress his fiancé was (still is) under, she either made a mistake/typo or possibly rang his number herself at 1am when he hadn’t arrived home, and it went to voicemail so she got confused when she first said it had gone off at 1am

 

[motherofdaughters]

What would be very telling (& we’re unlikely to find out unless his fiancée shares it) is surely he would have phoned most of his 4 children at some point whilst he was away for the day. I’m unsure if he rang his fiancée but can understand someone not needing to if he was out on a drinking spree with the lads but I would have thought his children (5 days before Xmas) & home from school would have spoken or wanted to speak to their dad.

If so, then I’m sure he would be telling them he was looking forward to getting home & seeing them & vice-versa.

Was any conversations normal, did he sound stressed or worried?

What does his partner mean when she said “the situation [he] left in”?

That wording was either specific, coded or just in regard to the situation of him going missing. But I feel there is something not being revealed. LE are too tight lipped, even more so than what you’d expect.

As I said on a previous thread Anthony had undertaken a multitude of jobs & maybe firefighting was not a job he could mentally cope with & there were major financial concerns as both seemed the need to work (firefighters do get paid reasonably well).

But even that doesn’t make sense as he would be leaving further problems.

As a firefigheter he would be surely insured on the job but off the job even if he was that could take years to be declared dead.

It sadly really is looking to be suicide by drowning or accidental drowning.

Reading between the lines I do feel he was depressed. LE said he is high risk.

I’m not so sure about contacting your children on a day/night out.
On the few occasions I’ve been out all day/evening and my children been at home rather than school or clubs, I might ring or they might ring to say goodnight. It wouldn’t be a given though.

Did all the children live with him and his fiancé? I don’t want to get into a debate about fatherhood/biology but I mean are they all ‘his’ or do they stay elsewhere too. I hope I know what I mean
If they didn’t then, IMO, he’s less likely to contact them daily as standard.

 

[EyeSpyU]

That phone call was made/taken when he was at The Lansdown.
If the person he was talking with was arriving ( or had arrived ) by train - quite likely as they were all planning on drinking - then AK would not have needed any local knowledge of Lewes to be able to give directions. From the station, it's just turn right and walk up to the next junction.

If however the person was driving or being dropped off by a friend, then I agree, some local knowledge would be useful.

AK’s fiancé has said on Facebook that this was the very first time he’d ever been to Lewes.

 

[EyeSpyU]

I think the only thing we can be sure of is there’s a lot of unreleased info.
They’ve called off the search and it’s gone quiet.
What ever that means, I think there’s intel and FAR more is known than we’ll, rightly, be privy to.

also be interested to know if the timings have been checked and calibrated on all the CCTV we’ve been shown.

According to AK’s SIL on Facebook she said Sussex Police are TERRIBLE!

And if they’re like my local police, who are also dreadfully inept, I’m not surprised Sussex Police are leaving much of the appeals to his poor partner...

The Sussex Crimewatch page on Facebook are appealing for witnesses to stolen bicycles etc, but the only mention of AK is when someone from Facebook puts a post up about Anthony Knott.

 

[BodyOfWater]

AK’s fiancé has said on Facebook that this was the very first time he’d ever been to Lewes.

If we find out happened it could be all very simple.

 

[BodyOfWater]

According to AK’s SIL on Facebook she said Sussex Police are TERRIBLE!

And if they’re like my local police, who are also dreadfully inept, I’m not surprised Sussex Police are leaving much of the appeals to his poor partner...

The Sussex Crimewatch page on Facebook are appealing for witnesses to stolen bicycles etc, but the only mention of AK is when someone from Facebook puts a post up about Anthony Knott.

It’s sad we know, but sometimes LE only put on a show when it’s about portraying themselves in the light most people expect of them. I noticed that when the initial media interest died down so did the search.

Remember many missing person reports are never properly entertained.

If LE were to just reveal a few more clues (if they know of any) people could work with that & make their own enquiries.

 

[EyeSpyU]

Please Note This A Personal Opinion Only and purley an alternative thought.

I was unsure if I should post or not. I agree 100% @motherofdaughters post above. I have quietly followed this case.

In most cases where police have located a missing adult who does not want to return home or have their families informed of their whereabouts, the police will record the missing persons wishes and then inform the family that the person has been spoken. Generally, they will not disclose the location and circumstances of the contact with the family, respecting the missing persons wishes. This can be hugely frustrating for relatives and friends of the missing person.

Souce Missing Adults – the law | Safeguarding Hub

We the general public do not know Why Police called off the search they obviously know something we don't. It may just be AK left of his own accord for reasons only known to him and, does not currently want to be found and does not or can't face his Family/Children/Fiance/Friends.

My hope is he will be found alive and well and that his nearest and dearest will have some sort of answer.

This is purely an alternative thought nothing more

As Always
MingyMoo

The police haven’t stopped their enquiries; he’s still listed as Missing.

So they haven’t made contact with him.

The police have done searches with helicopters, drones, dogs etc, including the SARS in the river. They came up with nothing, so can’t search the same areas again.

Having said that, their lack of public appeals is appalling, especially as they themselves said they feared he may have come to harm.

I think they’re just useless.

Had this been a woman gone missing they’d have been informing the press and TV with daily updates, but they seem to be disinterested IMO

I realise the police have a lack of resources, but it’s strikingly obvious to anyone that AK doesn’t seem the type of man who would leave his family - and just days before Christmas too

 

[Bampot]

How feasible is it to do an extensive search of the water? My brain thinks search there and either find him or we can rule this out. I don't understand why they are not searching here but maybe they are and we ve just not heard about it.

 

[LewesLady]

What's with the slagging off of the Police?? We have NO idea what they are doing behind the scenes. Public appeals can only do so much. They may have info suggesting further public appeals are pointless.

 

[EyeSpyU]

First time poster; I've read all of your comments and thoughts with interest so felt like chipping in on a couple of things I feel differently about:

Smokes - as an ex-smoker I never pre-bought an evenings supply (doesnt mean AK would be the same). As long as I had enough to get me through the majority of the eve, that was enough. Would go out and buy more if needed . Bear in mind this was an all day thing, from my view highly unlikely he would have made sure he had enough to last the whole day.

Hook-up - seen some comments that it is unlikely he would be meeting someone in a place he doesn't know. To me I think it's exactly the place and time for a chance rendezvous via an app, nobody to recognise you, no worries about anybody knowing. This goes for comments about nothing to suggest he is Gay/Bi, sure, but men tend to think differently after a few drinks down them and it might be something that clearly his fiance knows nothing about, regardless of the gender of the other person .

Anxious/serious look - I feel like a lot of emphasis is being put on a few stills and CCTV captures about his state of mind. It's easy to fit these around what theories we already had. It would be interesting for you to be filmed in the same way and read what strangers read into your mannerisms.


That wasn't meant to chastise any comments, just my views. I don't really know what to think, but my feelings point to a redevouz off the beaten track which ended badly . Not necessarily sinister, but poss into water.

I tend not to agree regarding the cigarettes. As a smoker, and all the smokers I know, if you’re going to, say, a party/club you will always take enough cigarettes for the evening. You don’t want to have to leave somewhere to buy cigarettes...

And as smoking is banned in pubs now (so he’d know he wouldn’t be able to buy any there), he, as a smoker, would have surely bought an extra packet earlier in the day as they walked from pub to pub.

It can’t be ruled out he left to buy cigarettes, but I somehow doubt it now...

Your point about hook-ups, I can’t see him doing that on a Christmas do. I saw a post somewhere with someone implying that as Lewes is near Brighton and has a large gay community, he may have gone there...but he hasn’t been spotted ANYWHERE on CCTV, so that’s just someone being presumptuous. AK wasn’t gay, and there’s no suggestion he was bi. Nor did he seem the flirtatious type - he didn’t appear to flirt with the woman stood outside the pub - and I think he was a typically happy fiancée and father with a loving family & home-life.

His fiancé knows he didn’t use his UBER app in Lewes, so you can almost guarantee she had access to his phone when he was at home. Do you seriously think he’d have had a hook-up app on there? Grindr/Tinder?

It’s also implausible to imagine he’d download a hook-up app in the pub while with his friends. Think of the time it would take to register with an app, download photos, write a bio...that can be ruled out, for certain.

As for AK looking anxious, that came from his best friend who watched the CCTV of the group inside the Lamb. He said that AK seemed his perfectly normal self; that they’d made arrangements to meet on the Saturday; but that he thought Anthony looked a bit anxious inside the Lamb. But we can all look anxious for a million different reasons...

Of course, it’s all speculation what’s happened to him, but what is known is that there was no reason for him to walk away from his life, and he seemed far too happy a person to even think of such a thing. The photo of him and his friends in the car on the way to Lewes shows a perfectly normal, fun-loving, happy man.

 

[EyeSpyU]

BBM- please do not take this as victim bashing, it is not at all meant in that way-
But thinking of missing people where I live and we have a lot, often found in the water, and some like Claudia who are still missing. There doesn’t seem the same desperate search that other families undertake. In fact since the searches stopped the only thing we have actively seen is a release of more photos some photoshopped to add more facial hair and a just giving page to hire a private detective. No push to keep it in the papers, no public appeals for witnesses or more information if you were in the area. To me it seems incredibly quiet. Fingers crossed there is a glimmer of hope he has just taken some time out and the quietness isn’t because they feel there is nothing more they can do.

Maybe his fiancé is too drained to keep pushing. She has four young children, don’t forget...so she must be all over the place inside her head.

She must be exhausted, and I guess there’s only so many Facebook appeals you can put up when they’re all the same, and there’s no updates.

I was surprised, though, when about a week ago a journalist from the BBC posted asking if she’d like to be interviewed. This was obviously after her Sky appeal. Her sister-in-law replied and said she didn’t want to. Now, that could be that she was feeling shattered at that moment, but it was an opportunity to get huge coverage...

 

[SOMETHINGWILLDO]

Yikes. I see what you mean about the comments about the justgiving page - people are not happy about it. I hope for the families sake that they are very clear about what has been spent and where with every penny given or this is going to turn into a troll fest, feels oh so familiar.