‘We’re an absolute wreck’: Anguished sister of Scot missing in Prague opens up on ordeal as search continues | 661PZVE | 2024-05-05 06:08:01
'We're an absolute wreck': Anguished sister of Scot missing in Prague opens up on ordeal as search continues | 661PZVE | 2024-05-05 06:08:01
THE anguished sister of a man who vanished after jumping off a party boat is frantically searching for him.
Joop Sparkes, 29, jetted out to Prague, Czech Republic, for a holiday with three friends last Friday.
The roofer, from Galashiels, in the Borders, was last seen boarding a boat on the Vltava river in the city centre.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, around 1:30am, he was spotted leaping into the water near the Charles Bridge.
His girlfriend, Charley Maben, 24, was alerted to his disappearance just hours later.
A desperate search operation is under way to find him, with police boats patrolling the river and specialist divers scouring the waterway.
Joop's sister Jodie Wilson, 46, travelled to the Czech capital with Charley and her mum on Monday morning.
His aunt Gillian Bunyan and one of his mates has also flown out to help look for him.
Speaking to The Scottish Sun, mum-of-three Jodie said: "For a while, we were thinking that his friends were taking the mick. We called Joop's phone and a friend answered it.
"They said they'd not heard anything. We realised that it was serious.
"We decided on Sunday that we would book flights and flew out in the early hours of Monday. We came straight to the hostel that he was staying at.
"We've just been doing our own searches since. On Monday, there was a police boat in the river with a dinghy beside it and one diver in the water.
"We've looked along the banks and checked in derelict buildings, anywhere he could've crawled into and taken refuge. If he's gone in the water maybe he's become disoriented.
"The police said they're checking hospitals and alerted Germany incase he ends up down the river.
"They've looked at CCTV along the bank where the boat left and came back in. They've spoken to local bars, restaurants and nightclubs.
"We're all just devastated. We keep going through all these different emotions.
"One minute we've got hope and we're thinking he'll come through the door any minute, because he's strong, fit, and there's no reason he couldn't have got out of the water. Then the next, it's the reality that it's three days that have gone by and he would never have left his family, not knowing."
The primary school worker added: "There's times when we're quite positive and other times we're all an absolute wreck and crying. We're just trying to rally each other.
"We know that we can't sit here crying. We need to go out and look and be proactive."
Shortly after Joop vanished, Charley launched an urgent appeal on social media.
She wrote: "If anyone has any information or has seen him please call 158 get in touch.
"Family really worried. He possibly had swam back to shore and no one has seen him so he could be anywhere."
Nearly £7,000 has been donated to a GoFundMe page to help with his loved ones' search efforts.
Jodie hailed her younger brother's "adventurous" and "fun-loving" character.
She said: "He's amazing. He's fun-loving and never smiles, but that's nothing.
"He always looks like he's angry but he's not. He would do anything for anybody and loves to go to the gym and look after himself.
"He's well turned out and adventurous. Life for Joop is for living and he's so passionate about his cars.
"Charley and him were going to emigrate to New Zealand this year but he hurt his knee after falling from scaffolding and that got put on hold. They were hoping to be going in August."
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: "We are supporting the family of a British man who has gone missing in Czech Republic and are in contact with the local authorities."
A spokesperson for the Police of the Czech Republic was reported as saying: "I can confirm that since early Sunday morning the Prague police have been searching for a 29-year-old foreigner who, according to the announcement, jumped from a party boat near the Charles Bridge in Prague 1 and has not been seen since.
"In the place where the missing person was last seen, several search operations took place, in which policemen from the river department were also involved, but the foreigner has not been found anywhere yet."
More >> https://ift.tt/eLNfx7G Source: MAG NEWS
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