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

[EyeSpyU]

The industrial estate opposite Tesco in Guiser's picture is being knocked down. A lot of it has gone and its cordoned off. People squat in a coupl of the buildings just past the fire station to the Pells park. There was also a fire on the industrial estate on the 27th December.

The picture showing tesco.. there is a lit footpath that follows the river from the town to the footbridge (that connects to the Pells). Can confirm that this was not under water as i walked through town and along the path at 8.20pm on 20th December.

The path you walked along by the river, although not flooded, is there a barrier to stop people from slipping/tripping & falling into the river?

 

[EyeSpyU]

The industrial estate opposite Tesco in Guiser's picture is being knocked down. A lot of it has gone and its cordoned off. People squat in a coupl of the buildings just past the fire station to the Pells park. There was also a fire on the industrial estate on the 27th December.

The picture showing tesco.. there is a lit footpath that follows the river from the town to the footbridge (that connects to the Pells). Can confirm that this was not under water as i walked through town and along the path at 8.20pm on 20th December.

The path you walked along by the river, although not flooded, is there a barrier to stop people from slipping/tripping & falling into the river?

hmm what’s the chances of going missing on a night out with a group of mates? I’d say almost zero too

<modsnip: argumentive, personalizing>

It happens quite frequently.

Corrie McGeague, for example.

There’s been many other cases where people have vanished when out with their friends.

 

[BodyOfWater]

The industrial estate opposite Tesco in Guiser's picture is being knocked down. A lot of it has gone and its cordoned off. People squat in a coupl of the buildings just past the fire station to the Pells park. There was also a fire on the industrial estate on the 27th December.

The picture showing tesco.. there is a lit footpath that follows the river from the town to the footbridge (that connects to the Pells). Can confirm that this was not under water as i walked through town and along the path at 8.20pm on 20th December.

Well there you go, this discounts & clears up another theory. Thank you.

 

[BodyOfWater]

Pls delete.

 

[EyeSpyU]

If AK was giving directions then you would assume he had some local knowledge or could find his way back.

I read somewhere that AK’s work colleague was nearby and Anthony was telling him exactly where they were - that’s all

From later footage it’s clear he wasn’t familiar with the area, hence why he headed in the opposite direction after leaving The Lamb

 

[EyeSpyU]

Well there you go, this discounts & clears up another theory. Thank you.

I’m not sure what you mean by saying “this clears up another theory “?

As the path wasn’t flooded, that’s all the more possibility AK walked along it...

 

[BodyOfWater]

On the outside of the pub CCTV we see AK take a cigarette out of a packet. I can’t zoom in on the phone but there appears to be only a couple left.

Again I can’t tell on the phone but he appears to light someone’s cigarette prior to that.

If so, perhaps his friends could have lent him enough cigarettes to save him from leaving. As a non-smoker I am unaware of the etiquette but with him being prepared to light other peoples cigarettes, perhaps he was already better prepared & had another pack or emergency tobacco with Rizla’s.

 

[BodyOfWater]

I’m not sure what you mean by saying “this clears up another theory “?

As the path wasn’t flooded, that’s all the more possibility AK walked along it...

Apologies. Finding it difficult to navigate from mobile & responded to the incorrect message.

 

[BodyOfWater]

I read somewhere that AK’s work colleague was nearby and Anthony was telling him exactly where they were - that’s all

From later footage it’s clear he wasn’t familiar with the area, hence why he headed in the opposite direction after leaving The Lamb

I think he left the Lamb at 1916.

The closing time to buy a Euromillions ticket is 1930.

I’ve seen plenty of betting shop customers nip out for a ticket just before close of sales.

I just have a hunch that his departure wasn’t for cigarette reasons.

His phone running out of battery AND running out of cigarettes at the same time would be more mathematically unlikely.

If he was able to switch his phone back on, we are told he never did...therefore the battery must have gone or he wanted it off for reason(s) other than cigarettes. As I’ve said previously, if fully charged prior to leaving for the day, modern iPhone’s should perform all the tasks you need for 18 hours unless streaming video for longer than 180 mins.

 

[Rosegold68]

The path you walked along by the river, although not flooded, is there a barrier to stop people from slipping/tripping &
It happens quite frequently.

Corrie McGeague, for example.

There’s been many other cases where people have vanished when out with their friends.

yes,and many where people meet up with strangers and meet their deaths, despite their starting point.....as I said, all opinions are valid and none can be ruled out in this case

 

[BodyOfWater]

A more darker theory could be that Anthony was depressed about aspects of his new job as a London firefighter (he had been through a spectrum of jobs, none like this).

I’m sure they’ll have been times when Anthony & his colleagues have been unable to save people & came across shocking scenes whether in buildings or on the road.

His colleagues might know if the job was getting him down & perhaps Anthony was worried that if he left the job there wouldn’t be enough money coming in for his family & the high costs of living in London (his fiancé works too).

All speculation of course but if there was a job to get you down I think working for the fire brigade would be top of the list. However they do a superb skilled job and get my respect.

 

[EyeSpyU]

I read a post on Facebook from a pub landlord in Lewes who said visitors were often asking him where they could buy cigarettes, and when he gave them directions he’d watch and they nearly always went the wrong way.

I think he also said that Lewes was easy to get lost in, but I’ll need to find the post...it was some time back.

People, myself included, are assuming AK went to buy cigarettes, but being a smoker I’d have thought he’d have brought enough with him for his night out. Or simply stopped en route between pubs earlier in the day & bought a packet from a shop. Smokers always know when they’re running low, so that’s the first thing they’d do.

Thinking it through, and seeing how AK seemed gregarious, outgoing & chatty, if he wanted to buy cigarettes why didn’t he ask the Lamb’s bar staff where he could buy some? Or ask one of his colleagues (some who lived in or near Lewes?) It doesn’t add up that he’d scroll through his phone looking for supermarkets/garages...

In the footage of him walking behind the man & woman carrying what looked to be take-away food; why didn’t he ask them the nearest place to buy cigarettes?

I know some people think he was sober, but he does stumble momentarily as he’s walking behind the couple, and as he hadn’t had a drink in the Lamb, my guess is he felt he’d had enough. After all, he was on a pub crawl, so he had been drinking from around midday-ish. He clearly wasn’t paralytic, but he must have been over the DD limit, which means his reactions were compromised, so if he did mistakenly end up by the river - despite his training as a firefighter - his senses wouldn’t have been as astute as normal. Besides that, accidents can happen to anyone, whoever they are. People can slip/stumble, especially if they’re tipsy/tired...

Back to him checking his data, my guess is he wasn’t looking for directions to a supermarket. And everyone is assuming his battery died, but no-one really knows if he turned his phone off. And if he did switch it off: why?

I also wonder why his workmates haven’t given more details: they’ve been strangely quiet. I wonder if there was a small fallout when AK didn’t want a drink in the Lamb, and as they’d all been drinking one of them said something untoward to AK which upset him and he decided to walk off?

If he did simply go looking for cigarettes why didn’t he tell one of the group?

I believe it is possible he stumbled upon the river without barely noticing it in the dark. If it was almost impossible for him to have fallen in the river the Surrey & Sussex Rescue Team wouldn’t have sent divers down to search it...

The river was running at a dangerously fast current that night - so if he did, tragically, fall in he must have been swept along...maybe that’s why the police & search teams have stopped their searching & are just waiting until he’s found? It’s awful to say, and it’s heartbreaking, but where else could he be?

The only other possibility is it’s connected in some way to him appearing anxious (according to his best friend who saw footage that hasn’t been made public), and he searching through his phone for something before it dying/being switched off. Maybe he did think “I’m going home now - I’ve had enough” if there’d been a few cross words in the Lamb...but that seems quite extreme, so it’s unlikely.

I definitely don’t think he was looking for a hook-up, otherwise he’d have kept his phone on until he’d met up with them - especially as he appeared to be lost by going in the wrong direction.

Sadly, I can only think he got lost and slipped into the river. It must be torturous for his family, but they need to find him - whatever has happened. Not knowing where he is must be unimaginably unbearable.

 

[EyeSpyU]

yes,and many where people meet up with strangers and meet their deaths, despite their starting point.....as I said, all opinions are valid and none can be ruled out in this case

Yes, that can happen - and several men in Canal Street, Manchester have been found drowned - but that’s a gay area and AK wasn’t gay; neither is there anything to suggest he was bi. And even if he was, would he leave all his mates on a Christmas work do to hook up with a total stranger on a cold, wet night on a river path? There’s been no other strange incidences of men being found drowned in Lewes; there isn’t a serial killer on the loose...

 

[BodyOfWater]

yes,and many where people meet up with strangers and meet their deaths, despite their starting point.....as I said, all opinions are valid and none can be ruled out in this case

True. The sad fact is that I think the only way Anthony could still be alive is if someone is intending on providing permanent accomdation & will provide for Anthony for the rest of his life. Who could theoretically, logistically & financially do that & why?

Anthony would have to pretty much stay indoors forever incase recognised, wouldn’t be able to legally work again, use a bank, legally drive, get prescriptions, etc. And of course never see his children, fiancée, relatives or friends again.

Could this mystery helper be so great to give up more or less all his life?

He could however be hotelling it & waiting for this to blow over. Let’s hope so.

Otherwise it’s drowning, other accident, suicide or foul play.

 

[EyeSpyU]

On the outside of the pub CCTV we see AK take a cigarette out of a packet. I can’t zoom in on the phone but there appears to be only a couple left.

Again I can’t tell on the phone but he appears to light someone’s cigarette prior to that.

If so, perhaps his friends could have lent him enough cigarettes to save him from leaving. As a non-smoker I am unaware of the etiquette but with him being prepared to light other peoples cigarettes, perhaps he was already better prepared & had another pack or emergency tobacco with Rizla’s.

Yes, it looked like his packet was half empty, for sure. But he may have had another packet in his pocket, and if he didn’t he’d have definitely bought some soon after they left the Lansdowne.

 

[Rosegold68]

Still intrigued to find out about the message in the bottle scenario

2 big dramatic events in small town Lewes in a 2 week period.... must be a connection,surely!?

 

[EyeSpyU]

I think he left the Lamb at 1916.

The closing time to buy a Euromillions ticket is 1930.

I’ve seen plenty of betting shop customers nip out for a ticket just before close of sales.

I just have a hunch that his departure wasn’t for cigarette reasons.

His phone running out of battery AND running out of cigarettes at the same time would be more mathematically unlikely.

If he was able to switch his phone back on, we are told he never did...therefore the battery must have gone or he wanted it off for reason(s) other than cigarettes. As I’ve said previously, if fully charged prior to leaving for the day, modern iPhone’s should perform all the tasks you need for 18 hours unless streaming video for longer than 180 mins.

I doubt he rushed out to quickly buy a lottery ticket; besides, he was seen at 17:41 still walking to somewhere - after the lottery deadline. Besides, most people now do the lottery online, and chances are he did too.

I agree with you: the chances of his battery dying at the same time as running out of cigarettes is too coincidental.

I’d be surprised he ran out of cigarettes, anyway. Heavy smokers like the security of knowing they have enough on them for the whole day/night.

Likewise his phone battery. As you rightly say, iPhones can last for a couple of days depending on usage, and I can’t see him leaving home with a low battery. He barely used his phone that day - his fiancé said he only texted her once - and except for the short call he took from his friend outside the Lansdowne, and the few minutes scrolling he did on media - he barely used his phone that day.

It sounds more like he turned it off...

 

[EyeSpyU]

A more darker theory could be that Anthony was depressed about aspects of his new job as a London firefighter (he had been through a spectrum of jobs, none like this).

I’m sure they’ll have been times when Anthony & his colleagues have been unable to save people & came across shocking scenes whether in buildings or on the road.

His colleagues might know if the job was getting him down & perhaps Anthony was worried that if he left the job there wouldn’t be enough money coming in for his family & the high costs of living in London (his fiancé works too).

All speculation of course but if there was a job to get you down I think working for the fire brigade would be top of the list. However they do a superb skilled job and get my respect.

I must admit, I did think he looked “on edge” outside the Lansdowne. He kept pacing up and down. It’s also strange why the police officer pointed out that he was seen rubbing his hands together inside the Lamb. Why would the police officer mention that?

He also rubbed his hands together in the first footage of him walking: that’s often a sign of anxiety, though some people do it when excited - but not so much that they do it enough for it to be noted, as the police noted it.

I read that he loved his job, so I don’t think he had worries there. He’d only been a firefighter for a year and no-one’s said if he ever had to deal with dead bodies/fires/accidents, and the brigade put recruits through stringent tests to make sure they’re physically and mentally capable of dealing with trauma. I know some emergency service officers can get PTSD, but that tends to be after a fairly long service - unless AK was more sensitive than anyone realised and it hadn’t been picked up.

 

[SheCarrot]

Hi Elainera, thanks for the welcome!

I cannot rule out entirely that at some point later in the evening AK ended up at that spot but I find it very unlikely that he would have any need to have gone in that direction. The last evidence we have of his movements is the cctv of him walking south down Market Street at 19.41. This is in the opposite direction of North Street and the other locations of the photos guiser posted. Instead, it is likely he would have ended up at the war memorial on the High Street (I'll expand on why I think this likely later) and then, alas, we don't know where he went.

If he had turned right into the High Street and carried on walking, he would be back in familiar territory and likely recognise the junction with Station Street (where he'd been in The Lansdown Arms and the Royal Oak) and Fisher Street (The Lamb). If he'd carried on past this junction, his search for cigarettes would have been fruitless as, to my knowledge, there would have been no shop that sells them still open on that stretch (the only newsagent shuts at 6.30).

If he had turned left, downhill towards the main shopping area of Cliffe High Street, it is almost certain he would have found Waitrose and got his cigarettes, enabling him to then retrace his steps back to the Lamb or Elly to rejoin the group. There would be no reason for him to go beyond Waitrose to the river. Obviously this is entirely based on the 'looking for cigarettes' scenario.

Coming back to the Market Street cctv. I believe that he would have ended up at the war memorial because, from the cctv, it seems he has no intention of crossing the road to turn up Market Lane back to the Lamb. (Just a reminder: the Police post of this footage said he was heading back in the direction of The Lamb, which I thought was misleading). The cctv camera on the barber shop is almost directly opposite the entrance of Market Lane, yet in the footage AK is walking straight forward, no turn of the head to look over the road. So unless he made a (rather unnatural) 90 degree right turn straight after the camera, it is unlikely he went this way and would have instead ended up the war memorial. This is understandable as being unfamiliar with the town, it is unlikely he would have realised Market Lane took him back up the corner of The Lamb. You can check this out on Street View to see what I mean. Also, I seem to recall reading that there was cctv that had been checked on some scaffolding in Market Lane which contained no sight of AK, but can't be sure where I read this.

My general impression, from the evidence is that there is no reason for AK to have gone anywhere near the river but equally the fact that he has not been found on dry land in thorough searches of the town means we cannot rule it out.

I had also read exactly that(family friend on Lewis P site) . Per CCTV , between the hours of 19.00(20/12) and 01.00(21/12) there was no sighting of Anthony on Market Lane , hence it was ruled out that he cut back up there .

 

[EyeSpyU]

Still intrigued to find out about the message in the bottle scenario

2 big dramatic events in small town Lewes in a 2 week period.... must be a connection,surely!?

The police said there’s no connection at all