The family of a Lockport man missing since Jan. 26 is offering a $1,000 reward for his whereabouts.
Bryon Brinley, 44, has been missing since around 4:45 p.m. Jan. 26 when video footage shows him at the Rite Aid location on the corner of High and South Transit streets in the city.
Jenny Lawrence, a long-time friend of the family, has been scouring Facebook to find any information for the man she describes as her, “cousin, just not by blood.”
Lawrence said Brinley was dropped off at his home in the city by his mother and had plans to walk to the store and get cigarettes, and pop, then get picked up by his girlfriend around 6:15 p.m. Rite Aid was not in his plans.
Lawrence also said that Brinley’s father, who he recently got back in contact with, was in the hospital with a stage 4 cancer diagnosis and Brinley was supposed to pick up his father’s dog after 6 p.m. Lawrence said Brinley was upset over his father’s condition.
While Brinley has a history of substance abuse, Lawrence said that he was open about his problems and he had a home he shared with his girlfriend of 24 years.
“Nothing was hidden. He had a place to go,” she said.
Lawrence said she fears the worst.
Brinley’s phone was found at that same Rite Aid that the video footage recorded him at and Lawrence said she doesn’t understand how he could’ve survived without it or just $20 for cigarettes in his pocket for three weeks. She said that a friend with a drone camera has offered to look around the canal and the railroad tracks for evidence of Brinley.
“At this point, I don’t care how he got there, I just want to know where he is,” she said.
Currently, the recovered phone is being hacked into by law enforcement to find out who he had been talking with recently.
At 4:47 p.m. Jan. 26, Lawrence said Brinley talked to his girlfriend for the last time, solidifying plans for the dog. The last thing he said was, “I love you.”
Lockport police are looking for Brinley and anyone with information can call Detective Lieutenant Tarnowski at 716-439-6718 or the confidential tip line at 716-439-6707.
The family prefers tips to come through the police.