Desperate plea from family of Galashiels man missing in Prague

ITV Border's Clare McNeill spoke to some of Joop's loved ones

The family of a man who went missing in Prague have launched an urgent appeal to help find him.

Joop Sparkes, 29, was on holiday in the Czech capital when he is believed to have gone overboard into the water from a boat in the early hours of Sunday morning.

His family have flown from Galashiels to Prague to help with the search and say they "can’t bear the thought of leaving the country without him".

He hasn’t been seen since around 1am on 28 April.

His girlfriend Charley Maben and sister Jodie Wilson, have flown out to Prague to help search for him.

“We’re determined not to leave Prague without him, whatever that means,” said Jodie.

She added: “We can’t bear the thought of coming home without him - we need to find him."

It’s believed that Joop, who works in construction in the Scottish Borders, was wearing a black t-shirt when he went missing.

His relatives say authorities in Prague have been searching the water for the last three days.

“We’re doing everything we can to find him, we’ve been walking up and down the riverside just looking for any sign of him,” continued Jodie.

“We’ve been out on a boat on the river to try and get an idea of what it’s like.

"We’ve tried to speak to the people who run the boat trip he was on but didn’t get any answers.

"The police are working with us but aren’t giving us much information.”

A GoFundme page, which has so far raised more than £5,000, has been set up to support the family while they search for Joop overseas.

“We’re really, really grateful to people for donating, we haven’t used the money yet, but obviously might need it to help bring Joop home, but hopefully it doesn’t come to that,” said Jodie.The Foreign Office 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”.

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