Police searching for missing firefighter Anthony Knott, 33, have ‘no indication’ where he went after he was last seen when he left a pub before Christmas, detective reveals
- Anthony Knott, 33, disappeared from Lewes, East Sussex on Friday December 20
- He left The Lamb public house at 7.16pm and was seen on CCTV nearby at 7.41pm
- Mr Knott’s mobile phone or bank cards have not been used since he vanished
Police searching for a firefighter who disappeared in the run-up to Christmas have no indication as to where he went after he was last seen.
Anthony Knott, 33, from Orpington, Kent, vanished on December 20 after going to the pub in Lewes, East Sussex, with friends.
He left The Lamb in Fisher Street at around 7.16pm and was captured on CCTV approximately half an hour later walking nearby.
Detectives looking for the 33-year-old father-of-four have also had to face heavy flooding in the area as divers comb the River Ouse for clues.
Sussex Police divers are pictured today combing the River Ouse in the hunt for missing firefighter Anthony Knott who disappeared from a pub in Lewes on December 20
Divers are pictured
Police are pictured near the River Ouse in Sussex searching for Mr Knott, 33
Firefighter Anthony Knott, 33, went missing last Friday after a night out with colleagues
Mr Knott was seen walking along Market Street towards The Lamb at 7.41pm on December 20
Detective Inspector Jon Gillings told BBC Breakfast that ‘at present’ police have no indication where he went on the night he went missing.
He added: ‘We are focusing our search in the vicinity of the Pells, which is the direction he was last seen walking when he left the pub, but obviously there is now some additional CCTV which shows him heading in a different direction slightly later on at 7.40pm so we are also focusing a number of inquiries around that.’
When asked whether there is ‘any indication at all of where he went’, Detective Inspector Gillings said there was not.
Floodwaters in the area have made the search ‘challenging’, he said, adding that boats, dogs, drones and helicopters have all been used to assist with the ongoing search.
Mr Knott’s fiancee Lucy Otto, pictured left with the missing firefighter, has urged anyone with information to come forward and talk to police
It must be a ‘horrendous’ experience for the family and specialist police officers are providing them with support, Detective Inspective Gillings said.
Mr Knott, who works for the London Fire Brigade, is described as white, approximately 6ft and of medium build, with medium-brown short gelled hair.
He was last seen wearing a black long-sleeved top, a dark denim suit-style jacket, dark denim jeans and black shoes. He is also said to have a distinctive gait, with a slight bounce.
CCTV footage previously released by Sussex Police shows Mr Knott walking through Lewes shortly after detectives say his phone had been switched off.
The London Fire Brigade and Coastguard search teams search a river in an effort to find the missing firefighter