The heartbroken family of a grandfather who disappeared five years ago after walking while on holiday in Greece are still desperate for answers. John Tossell disappeared after taking a walk on the island of Zante in 2019.
The then 73-year-old was last seen on CCTV leaving the hotel on June 17, 2019. No evidence of what happened to him has ever emerged, WalesOnline reports.
John’s son Gary Tossell, 40, has described the heartbreaking moment he was forced to leave the island without answers after weeks of searching for his father.
He said: “It was the most heartbreaking thing I think I’ve ever done in my life. When I got on that plane it was horrible, I couldn’t describe the feeling – it was like a pit in my stomach. I just wanted to sprint out of the plane, I just wanted to stay on the island until I found him. It was just the worst thing in the world to come back without him.
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John, from Bridgend, Wales, was on the third day of his holiday with his partner Gill Griffiths in the village of Argassi when he decided to take a walk towards a monastery on Mount Skopos. CCTV footage shows him leaving at around 9.46am, but no trace of him has been found since.
Searches were initially carried out by Greek authorities and later by a team from Western Beacons Mountain Rescue, but John, now said to be 78 years old, was not found. His family has long been critical of the Greek police’s search for the missing man and believes more should have been done to find their father.
They say the official search was called off after five days and the case was closed, despite the family having had no explanation about what happened to the father and grandfather. The case into his disappearance remains open with South Wales Police.
Gary has traveled to the island several times over the past five years to try to find his father, but no clues have ever come to light other than the CCTV footage of him leaving. Gary said the alarm was raised that his father was missing when he did not return from the walk that evening.
He said: “He left at about 9.30am, there is CCTV footage of him walking past the hotel at 9.46am and that is the last confirmed sighting of him. He just disappeared off the face of the earth.”
“He was happy in life, retired, he didn’t want anything, he was healthy, this was completely out of character. Walking to look at things is not [out of character] Don’t get me wrong, but to disappear like this is.”
John is described as “as fit as a flea” and his family said he would walk the dogs for miles and swim three times a week. After hearing the news, Gary traveled to Greece to assist in the search. Even after the initial search, he says he has visited the island several times to continue his own search without the authorities, and he goes through the file monthly to make sure he hasn’t missed any clues about what happened to his father happened.
“We spent the next four weeks searching up the mountain but found nothing,” he said. “It was also difficult for the locals because it was contradictory. One woman said she saw him with a couple at the top of the mountain, but if you ask again, the time has changed or she doesn’t remember. “
“I was walking the exact route he was supposed to be at the same time and it was Greek rush hour. There was so much traffic around, you would have had to be unlucky if no one saw anything.
“You think ‘he’s going to show up in a few days, this can’t be happening’, but as the days go by you think ‘Wait a minute, this is getting serious’. The first few days are then the most critical because the weeks go by over and you realize something has happened.
“We [the family] sit there and talk about it, from the sublime to the ridiculous. Because people can’t just disappear.”
Gary said the “unknown” is the hardest part about not having answers about what happened to his father. He said: “It’s been terrible, no one really knows what’s happening.”
He says over the years the family has gone through all possible scenarios about what happened to John, but the lack of any evidence or clues has made it difficult to find answers.
He said: ‘You have to go through it all, you cannot write off any scenario, you have to overthrow them all. Even his hat has not been found. If he had fallen, that would have been it. one of the first things to come loose. Not a single thing was ever found.” John didn’t take a phone with him on the walk, so the camera footage is the only digital trace of his movements.
In the five years since John’s disappearance, the family has also wondered whether foul play was involved. Discussing the initial search, Gary said: “After five days the police just stopped looking. On the fifth day they said there was nothing more we could do, he must have left the island. But I don’t think so, he’s definitely on the run.” the island.
“It was shockingly bad the way they handled it. Even things like the Chief of Police driving around the island circuit at dusk with his blue lights on while my dad was wearing a blue top. I think the accidents that happen are written off as accidents while there could be something else going on, because it’s all about bringing in tourism.
“It’s been quite tough for the family, I think the hardest part is that we feel like the bare minimum has been done. Sometimes it’s been like pulling teeth. It makes you angry to think that people in those positions are more professional should be.”
Now, on the fifth anniversary of their father’s disappearance, John’s family have launched another appeal for information, asking anyone who was in the village of Argassi on or after June 17, 2019, to view their holiday photos to see if John may be present. background and may provide another clue to the route he took on the day he disappeared.
Gary said: “You have to be realistic, you know it’s not going to be like Eastenders where he just turns up but he’s there alone and I just want to get him home. He’s my father, you just want to bring him home.”
“All it takes is something. It’s like a thread on a sweater, you pull on it and it unravels and that’s what we need to let happen here. It can trigger a memory in someone, or if there is false game, it could stir his conscience. We must now keep pushing until we get a new lead.”
As part of the appeal launched on June 17, 2024, South Wales Police said: “We continue to support the family of John Tossell, who went missing while on holiday on the Greek island of Zakynthos (Zante) five years ago today. John , from Bridgend, was last seen on Monday 17 June 2019.
“The now 78-year-old was on holiday with his partner in the village of Argassi, on the way to a monastery on Mount Skopos. Despite searches by Greek authorities, and later by a team from Western Beacons Mountain Rescue, he did not do so. is found.
“His family have appealed to anyone who may have been in the area to consider whether they saw John, who was wearing a royal blue shirt. They have also asked holidaymakers to search their own photos to check if John is in the background of the shot.”
“The investigation is being led by authorities in Greece, but if you have any information that you think may help, please contact us in one of the following ways, quoting reference 1900243231:”
Information can also be given anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, or their online form at: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymably””