An inquest heard how dad Ben Crook, 32, was reported missing after he jetted off to Antalya with his partner Jess Jenkins and their two children on September 23
The partner of a “kind and caring” dad who was escorted off a flight to Turkey for being drunk has been left “traumatised” by his death. Ben Crook, 32, was reported missing after he jetted off to Antalya with his partner Jess Jenkins and their two children on September 23.
An inquest at Gwent Coroner’s Court on Tuesday heard that Ben had been escorted off the plane by Turkish police upon landing. After consuming alcohol and cocaine, he exhibited erratic behaviour on the flight, shouting at an air steward and smashing both his and Ms Jenkins’ mobiles.
Jess and her two youngest children spent days at police stations and searching the streets of Antalya to find him. However, heartbreaking news emerged that Ben had died after falling from a height, which led to him suffering a fractured skull and multiple other injuries.
Heartbroken Jess has described Ben’s death as “traumatic” after she spent days searching for him, telling Wales Online: “I spent every day at police stations and walking around Antalya trying to find him.
“I am certain the police knew he was dead but didn’t tell me. I didn’t even know he had been taken to hospital, and still don’t believe he had, as I haven’t received a hospital bill and I still haven’t been given any of his belongings.
“After being escorted off the flight he was taken into a room and I was told to go through customs, carry on to the hotel and they would sort his arrival there. I told the customs officers where we were staying.
“We arrived at 4am and by 7am I had called home to tell my family what had happened. By about 10am, when he hadn’t arrived, I went looking for him.
“I went to police stations every single day. The first day they had told me he been taken to Seven Seas Hotel and said they would bring me to him. I had our two children with me at the time and one of their friends, so three kids in total.
“I went to this hotel and he was not there, he had never been taken there, but they continued giving me false hope he was alright. They knew he was dead by this point,” she claimed. “He was found 40 minutes away from the hotel we were staying at and I do not believe it was an accident, he was petrified of dying.
“I can’t describe the feeling of when I found out he had passed away without crying. He was such a loving, caring, and kind person who would do anything for me and the kids. I am traumatised and I don’t think I will ever be able to go on holiday ever again.
“He was looking for me in his last moments. He sent messages to me and his dad from a Turkish man’s phone, but we didn’t see the messages until we had got home.
“Me and Ben had been together for nine years and he raised my other two children, Ella, who is 17 now, and Harley, who is 16, as his own, before we had our own.
“Ben was told by doctors he wouldn’t be able to have kids but we conceived twice within the space of a year – our daughter Harper, is six years old now and our son Jax is five.”
In Ben’s memory, nine of his family and friends are walking from “Sneg to Snowdon”, which is 150 miles in five days, in the hope of raising £5,000 for Ben and Jess’s children. They have set up a GoFundMe to try and reach the goal.
On Monday, they walked from Senghenydd to Brecon, on Tuesday from Brecon to Rhayader, Wednesday from Rhayader to Machynlleth, Thursday from Machynlleth to Blaenau Ffestiniog and on the Friday they were due to reach the Snowdon Summit.
