2024-08-05 16:17:40
Twenty-three-year-old Slovak Ján Kurek is a seasoned traveler. He studied in France and China, at the beginning of this summer he went to the Greek city of Ioannina. He worked there as a volunteer at a center for refugees and migrants. But since July 6, the native of Banská Bystrica has not communicated with anyone, his mobile phone is unavailable. The story of a young man is the third part of the Aktuálně.cz series They disappeared without a trace.
The Slovak disappeared during a trip when he went alone with a backpack to Mount Olympus and to the area of rock monasteries in Meteora. Colleagues alerted Kurko’s mother and, on July 16, the Greek police after he did not return and did not respond to text messages.
Police deployed drones and dogs to search, but found no trace of the man. Not even a single witness who saw him anywhere responded to the call. Police in North Macedonia and Albania, two neighboring countries, were also investigating possible information about Kurek. Nothing. They last targeted the mobile in a hard-to-reach area near Mount Mitsikeli, which is the highest peak of Mount Olympus. Local climbers also joined the search.
Kurko’s mother, Jana, told the Slovakian daily Nový Čas that before his disappearance, her son sent her text messages, but with wording and turns of phrase that she was not used to. “On the fifth of July, he wrote me a strange message. About the fact that if the amount of money in his account decreases, then I should not be afraid. I replied that I hope he didn’t bump into anyone. Then he wrote that no, that he just transferred the money to savings account,” she said.
Later, he wrote to his mother that he was in an area where he could send text messages but not make phone calls. And he promised to call her as soon as possible.
It was her last conversation with her son, then he never spoke. The mother criticizes the bank for allegedly not wanting to tell her to which account Kurek transferred the money. In her opinion, it is thousands of euros. She didn’t say which bank it was, but they said they didn’t want to tell her anything about the transaction, because that’s not possible with missing persons. Only for dead or criminally prosecuted.
Photo author: Aktuálně.cz
The series Disappeared without a trace
The Aktuálně.cz series maps the fates of people who got lost and no one could find them. In the coming weeks, the editors will bring texts about, for example, famous politicians or musicians, as well as about unknown victims who became famous precisely because of their mysterious disappearance. And it is not known if and where they live, or how they died.
This year’s tourist season in Greece is extremely tragic in terms of deaths or disappearances of tourists. The country is struggling with water shortages due to the heat and drought, and authorities are warning foreigners that they are putting themselves at risk from the weather if they venture into uninhabited areas. Temperatures have already exceeded forty degrees several times.
In addition to the Slovak, two French women aged 68 and 73 are missing. A 59-year-old American man who went hiking alone in the heat also disappeared. He has been missing since June 11, last seen by witnesses on the small island of Amorgos.
Since the beginning of June, a Dutchman and a Frenchman have died on trips. Police officers in Crete also found a 68-year-old German who had fallen into a ravine. An 80-year-old Belgian was also found dead by rescuers in Crete, he apparently died of dehydration.
The well-known presenter of British BBC television, Michael Mosley, was missing on the island of Symi for four days, the police found his remains with a drone. They believe he got lost on his way to the hotel. However, Kurk’s case is different in that it was a young man.