'Let down by the authorities' says family of missing man in Prague as search enters sixth day

The family of Joop Sparkes, from Galashileds have said they feel 'let down' by local authorities in Prague as the search for the missing man enters its sixth day.

It’s been almost a week since he was last seen in the Czech capital of Prague.

Joop was on a party boat trip with friends on the night of the 27th of April, when it’s believed he jumped overboard into the Vltava River, near the Charles Bridge area of the city, at around 1am on the 28th of April.

His girlfriend Charley Maben and older sister Jodie Wilson are among those who’ve flown out to Prague to search for him.

His family say they've been walking 13 miles a day, scouring the riverbanks and around the marina in the hopes of finding him.

They say they feel let down by the authorities, and that they feel like they’re doing much of the leg work themselves.

His sister Jodie said: “We continue to walk the length of the river bank, checking out buildings, checking out homeless people wrapped in sleeping bags, pulling clothing from the river to check it’s not Joop’s.

“But there doesn’t seem to be a lot of police out and about searching. It doesn’t look like anyone’s actually looking for him.”

"We are all heartbroken," said his girlfriend Charley.

She added: "We still have no more information but we need to keep thinking positive and bring Joop home.

"I need to stay out here until we find Joop."

They’ve also approached the boat operators to try and find answers.

“They just turned us away, they didn’t want to know, they made out as if they couldn’t understand what we were saying” Jodie said.

She added: “But tonight we plan to head down to the party boat to see what the protocol is regarding people on the boat, its route, how fast or slow it travels, where Joop could’ve jumped, and at the end whether people are counted off or not.”

They say they have also asked police whether there are any cameras in the area that could be checked.

Joop’s cousin Derek Wilson said: “We understand the longer this goes on the more the likelihood is the outcome might not be a good one.

"But we’re trying not to think about that, we’re trying to keep up hope - we just want him home.

“But we need more support from the authorities.

“There’s one diver going into the river, and one police boat out on the water, why isn’t there more?

"Why aren’t they doing more?

“We’re getting no daily updates, no information at all on the progress of the search, we feel totally let down by the authorities out there.

"It’s the family doing all of the leg work.”

A Go Fund Me page set up to support the family in Prague whilst they search for Joop has now raised over £10,000.

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