Jay Slater: Family must "stick together and ignore rumours" says man whose brother disappeared in Crete
Steven Cook from Cheshire vanished in similar circumstances back in 2005
Last updated 4th Jul 2024
The brother of a man who vanished in Crete back in 2005 is urging the family of missing Lancashire teenager Jay Slater to stick together and ignore online speculation.
"You will have low days, low moments, when you're just paralyzed by the situation" said Chris Cook, brother of Steven Cook, from Cheshire, who went missing on the Greek Island nineteen years ago.
"That's when you need somebody who's a bit more restful, to pick you up and support you so you've got the energy the next day to wake up and crack on."
20-year-old tourist Steven Cook from Sandbach was last seen asking for directions outside a pub in Malia on the first night of his holiday.
In similar circumstances to 19-year-old Jay Slater, he was also on his first trip away without parents and his disappearance gained national attention.
Though, despite extensive searches in Crete back in 2005, twelve years passed before his body was eventually found in a well and brought home to be laid to rest.
"The biggest challenge is that over time the rumour mills go into overdrive. The rumours take legs and it's easy for people to give up." said Chris.
"You lose momentum when people think the case is solved or they lose compassion for it because you can get compassion fatigue as well."
Jay Slater's mum Debbie has confirmed that some of the donations secured from a GoFundMe cause will go towards accommodation and equipment for volunteers who are helping out in the search for her son in Tenerife.
As of 4th July 2024 the fund has raised nearly £50,000.
Chris continued: "Cut out the rumours. Separate it - there will be somebody in your friends group, your associates or family who can do that, who can act as a conduit for filtering out that information so that you only get the stuff that's important.
"You've just got to be there with each other, cut out the noise, don't try to fight every single rumour. It's impossible."