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

[guiser]

Could a drunk person assume the illuminated clock tower might be the train station?

No, it's your bog standard Tesco clock with the word TESCO under it, but if you caught a glimpse of it from an elevated position on the west side you might head straight towards it without even being aware there was a river to be crossed.

 

[Atoz]

No, it's your bog standard Tesco clock with the word TESCO under it, but if you caught a glimpse of it from an elevated position on the west side you might head straight towards it without even being aware there was a river to be crossed.

Thanks for clarifying. It gives a little more weight to the river possibility. And looking at the photo of the grassy banks, it looked perilous.

 

[Browrich]

First time poster here too. Following this very sad and very baffling case. IMO I have been wondering if his disappearance was planned. There are a lot of possible converging pointers; mobile switched off, appeared to be very nervous / agitated outside pub @ 7.21 from CCTV outside pub, lack of sightings after 7.40pm. What about a theory that he left the pub to meet a car (pre-booked) but there was a mix up with the meeting point because he wasn't familiar with Lewes. Car could have been called from Gatwick or another city/town away from Lewes. Because of mixup he decides to go back towards pub to meet car near a location he knows (explaining why he walks back in direction of pub). The car could then easily have taken him to Gatwick (just a 40 min drive away from Lewes) and he is no longer in the country. No one has considered this in any discussions about the case here or elsewhere. It's not inconceivable to think he left to start a new life...

I did read on FB that his fiancée says his passport is at home

 

[Elainera]

First time poster here too. Following this very sad and very baffling case. IMO I have been wondering if his disappearance was planned. There are a lot of possible converging pointers; mobile switched off, appeared to be very nervous / agitated outside pub @ 7.21 from CCTV outside pub, lack of sightings after 7.40pm. What about a theory that he left the pub to meet a car (pre-booked) but there was a mix up with the meeting point because he wasn't familiar with Lewes. Car could have been called from Gatwick or another city/town away from Lewes. Because of mixup he decides to go back towards pub to meet car near a location he knows (explaining why he walks back in direction of pub). The car could then easily have taken him to Gatwick (just a 40 min drive away from Lewes) and he is no longer in the country. No one has considered this in any discussions about the case here or elsewhere. It's not inconceivable to think he left to start a new life...

Welcome Rachel2010! Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Does Gatwick have domestic flights or only international?

 

[Rachel2010]

I did read on FB that his fiancée says his passport is at home

Could have reported his passport as missing and got another one...

 

[Rachel2010]

Welcome Rachel2010! Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Does Gatwick have domestic flights or only international?

Both domestic and International.

 

[Roadrunner64]

Thanks for clarifying. It gives a little more weight to the river possibility. And looking at the photo of the grassy banks, it looked perilous.

I know what you mean. Not sure if I'm allowed to share these photos but they show what the riverbank looked like the following morning, apparently. Imagine that at night it could be easy to think you're on solid ground/grass only to find out you're a lot nearer to the river than you think.

I believe the building/tower in the distance is Tesco?

 

[mattywoo]

Hi, I'm new on here but have been following this story with interest.

Although I don't live in Lewes I know it fairly well. The River Ouse was indeed very swollen and dangerous in the week before Christmas. Having thought through all the various possibilities and reading the report on missing males and water, it certainly seems like the river is the most likely explanation. For the sake of the family I just wish evidence can be found of Anthony's location after the last sighting. I really do agree that walking towards Tesco after 7.41 and therefore the river is what probably happened. But where would somebody have accidental access to the river?

 

[Caroclaud]

I know what you mean. Not sure if I'm allowed to share these photos but they show what the riverbank looked like the following morning, apparently. Imagine that at night it could be easy to think you're on solid ground/grass only to find out you're a lot nearer to the river than you think.

Really interesting perspective that AK could have just totally accidentally wandered into the river, it’s more plausible than I had imagined for him to end up in the water.

 

[Scorpiette]

Probably not related at all, but according to The Argus (sorry, can't work out how to copy link across), a car was found in a quiet country lane in Balcombe, approx 13 miles north of Lewes on New Year's Day.
Completely burnt out and stripped.

 

[mattywoo]

Also, after several pints and wandering around for a good 20 minutes or so, it wouldn't be a surprise if you needed a toilet break.

I think someone mentioned earlier- stopped off to use the loo but no local knowledge and therefore looked for a quiet, secluded spot. Could that have been near the river?

 

[SheCarrot]

I've been looking at the satellite street view to see where Anthony might have got to in the 20 mins between passing the Elephant & Castle pub (Anthony was on the other side of the the road on the cctv images) and him returning back the same way . But there's nothing up the way he carried on to , by the looks of it , so those 20 minutes were likely to have been spent just looking for a shop - just not in a useful direction (@guiser will know better that me) .

For anyone who hasn't seen the roads and followed Anthony's route(s) - use the 'Lewes Apple Satellite Street View' tab is the clearest , I think .
Lewes, East Sussex, England - satellite view and street view
The Lamb is in Fisher Street(beer glass tag for pubs) . The Elephant is on White Hill(top of Fisher St , turn left) . You can see the zebra crossing that Anthony passes on the cctv video .
The last sighting was at the barber's shop(little scissors tag) cctv on Market Street .

I wonder whether he simply missed the turning back to the Lamb , accidentally , or carried straight on to go hunting for a shop ? Was the Market St sighting an indicator of him heading home or was he just completely lost ?

 

[Looloo77]

Probably not related at all, but according to The Argus (sorry, can't work out how to copy link across), a car was found in a quiet country lane in Balcombe, approx 13 miles north of Lewes on New Year's Day.
Completely burnt out and stripped.

Police investigate burned out car found on New Year's Day

Is this the link?

 

[RobinCAL]

Also, after several pints and wandering around for a good 20 minutes or so, it wouldn't be a surprise if you needed a toilet break.

I think someone mentioned earlier- stopped off to use the loo but no local knowledge and therefore looked for a quiet, secluded spot. Could that have been near the river?

I think that seems quite possible to be honest. I just still keep thinking how drunk he doesn't look on the CCTV.

 

[mattywoo]

I think that seems quite possible to be honest. I just still keep thinking how drunk he doesn't look on the CCTV.

Most of the other possible explanations just do not seem likely. Lewes is very quiet town. Plus, as the police immediately knew-the main danger that night was the River Ouse. There are lots of quiet places adjacent to it where he might not have known it was directly there, or as others have speculated, it wasn't clear where the border between the solid bank and the flowing river was. In times of flood that river would have been flowing incredibly quickly. You only need for one leg to go in slightly, you're not drunk, but slightly tipsy, you've lost balance and you're in. Don't forget the temperature of the water which would be a massive factor.

 

[SheCarrot]

First time poster here too. Following this very sad and very baffling case. IMO I have been wondering if his disappearance was planned. There are a lot of possible converging pointers; mobile switched off, appeared to be very nervous / agitated outside pub @ 7.21 from CCTV outside pub, lack of sightings after 7.40pm. What about a theory that he left the pub to meet a car (pre-booked) but there was a mix up with the meeting point because he wasn't familiar with Lewes. Car could have been called from Gatwick or another city/town away from Lewes. Because of mixup he decides to go back towards pub to meet car near a location he knows (explaining why he walks back in direction of pub). The car could then easily have taken him to Gatwick (just a 40 min drive away from Lewes) and he is no longer in the country. No one has considered this in any discussions about the case here or elsewhere. It's not inconceivable to think he left to start a new life...

BBM
But what would be the merits ? There's a pay-off to be had by every action and I'm not seeing what his pay-off would be , especially with an action as extreme as that . You're not escaping anything if you're running away with an unholy mess on your conscience .
On a more basic level , it's a way overly-complex scenario for someone who has a pretty straightforward life . Simplest explanation , an' all that , and simpler solutions to problems are the ones that are generally sort .

 

[RobinCAL]

Fiancee of missing firefighter 'broken' as new CCTV shows him outside pub

 

[Tortoise]

No, it's your bog standard Tesco clock with the word TESCO under it, but if you caught a glimpse of it from an elevated position on the west side you might head straight towards it without even being aware there was a river to be crossed.

From my understanding of the map though he'd have passed Waitrose before he got to the river, so there would be no need to continue on to Tesco. Or is there another route to Tesco via the river that you're thinking of?

 

[Scorpiette]

Police investigate burned out car found on New Year's Day

Is this the link?

Ah, yes, that's the one.

 

[mattywoo]

From my understanding of the map though he'd have passed Waitrose before he got to the river, so there would be no need to continue on to Tesco. Or is there another route to Tesco via the river that you're thinking of?

Waitrose is also next to the river, albeit on the west side (the side the pubs he had been drinking in were). To the side of waitrose is a car park which is quiet, but if you look site directly next to the river.