The sister of a man who disappeared a decade ago says she still walks the same routes as her brother in the hope of finding answers. Samuel Townsley was 27 when he was last seen in Glasgow city centre on October 19, 2016.
He was spotted on Union Street at 9.30am, but despite numerous unconfirmed sightings investigated by police in the following weeks, he was never found. His family now fears he came to harm.
A decade of unanswered questions
Ann Margaret Allan has spoken out on the tenth anniversary of his disappearance, urging anyone who knows what happened to end her family's torment. She said: "We do all, at this time, believe something happened to him that meant he couldn't come back to us. After so long, the answer seems obvious to us that, whatever happened, he can never come home."
She added: "Every time I'm in Glasgow I think of him or find myself tracing his steps as far as the investigation of his last moments told. To grieve with no answers, to have people say to you 'don't give up' and to give you scenarios, although well meaning, it feels like a slap in the face because when you lose someone like this with no body found and with no answer given you never feel that the world permits you to grieve the same."
No leads despite extensive searches
Samuel, who had no fixed address or mobile phone at the time, was known to travel across the Central Belt. He had previously visited Renfrewshire, Dunbartonshire, Lanarkshire, Glasgow city centre, Grangemouth, and Falkirk, but enquiries in those areas found no leads.
Police noted that while Samuel was not always in regular contact with his family, he always got back in touch, and the length of time without contact was "totally out of character". A fresh appeal was made more than a year after his disappearance, but no information came to light.
Family's enduring hope
At the time of his disappearance, Samuel was described as around 5ft 3in with a stocky build, short brown hair, and scars on his forehead. In 2017, his father shared fears that Samuel had been murdered, but no evidence has since emerged.
Ann Margaret said she is grateful for sporadic updates through a social media page she set up, but nothing has led to a breakthrough. She credited support from families of other missing people for giving her strength to continue. She said: "I really do feel the police did so much in the beginning and the officers involved at day one we're doing a lot of ground work. They interviewed hundreds of people and followed, to my knowledge, every call every time someone contacted me and I passed that on to the police."
Superintendent Jim McMillan said: "The past ten years for Samuel's family and friends have been very difficult, not knowing what has happened to him. My thoughts are with them as another anniversary passes. If you have any information, please contact Police Scotland on 101."
