NORTHWICH man Chris Cook has welcomed a review of the case linked to the disappearance of his brother.

Steven Cook went missing in the coastal resort of Malia on the island of Crete on the night of August 31, 2005, and nothing has been heard or seen of him since despite numerous possible sightings.

Cheshire Police is reviewing the case as a result of a new detective inspector, who was involved in the original search for Steven, being put in charge of the investigation, and Steven’s details have been added to the Interpol missing person’s list.

The original lead investigation officer in the case is due to retire, and the case has been passed to a new lead investigation officer, Detective Inspector Gary McIntyre of the Major Investigation Team.

Members of Steven’s family have had a meeting with DI McIntyre to discuss how they can work together to give fresh impetus to the search to find Steven.

“The whole family met the investigation team a few weeks ago, and we wanted to make sure they had all the information we had,” said Steven’s brother Chris, from Northwich, digital media manager for Newsquest Northwest.

“We talked about working together on ideas like distributing beer mats in bars in and around Crete, with appeal details on the back, and spoke about TV appeals, as there is a show in Crewe dedicated to missing persons.

“The police are going to review the case, which means it will be looked at with a fresh pair of eyes, and we will pass any leads or sightings over to them.

“It is comforting to have someone to go to with all this stuff. Anything we do now will be in conjunction with the police and with their support from an investigative point of view.”

A Cheshire Police spokesman said it maintained a file on the disappearance of Steven, which would not be closed until information was received confirming what had happened to him.

“While DI McIntyre was involved in the initial investigations into Steven’s disappearance and travelled to Crete at the time to help progress them, it is normal practice for a new investigative lead to undertake a full review of the case to ensure he is fully sighted on all aspects of this,” he said.

“DI McIntyre is in the process of doing this, and has also visited Steven’s family to meet with them and re-introduce himself.”

The website www.findstevencook.co.uk is dedicated to telling people about the search for Steven. People can also visit twitter.com/FindSteveCook and facebook.com/groups/findstevencook. There is a 7,000 Euros reward for information leading to Steven’s recovery.