Allan "Cookie" COOK

Police have CCTV vision of Mr Cook walking along a jetty, falling off the end and being washed away by the current in a very high tide.

Police yesterday said the search for Mr Cook would continue but they held grave fears for him.

His best mate of over 20 years and fellow boatie Garry D. White saw the footage and identified Cookie himself.

“It’s just so sad,” he said.

“He was adamant he wanted to live on his boat but his health was going downhill.”

Mr Cook suffered from epilepsy brought on by a car accident in his 20s.

Mr White said Cookie had already been pulled out of the water three times because of his health.

“But because of the virus, no one was around to help him this time,” Mr White said.

Cookie had a passion for boating, punting and was a massive Collingwood supporter.

“He was pretty tight lipped about tips and that sort of thing,” Mr White said.

“One time we were on the boat coming into Cooktown on Melbourne Cup Day. I barely had the anchor ready and Cookie pretty much jumped off the boat, ran up the jetty straight to the TAB.

“A little bit later he came running out with a paper in his hand screaming ‘I knew it’. He had won $1000 on a horse and he offered to shout me dinner.”

Cookie was kind hearted, faithful to his mates and he always put his hand up to help someone out.

“He’s an unforgettable character,” Mr White said.

“If he could give something, he’d give it.

“Everyone around here looked out for him and understood his circumstances. He was always sitting up at his table with a big grin on his face.”

Mr White said Cookie loved his son who lived in Western Australia and always spoke highly of him.

Mr White thought Mr Cook was on a planned trip out of town but a newspaper found in his shopping bag helped police pinpoint a date of when he was last seen.

“He bought the (Port Douglas and Mossman) Gazette every Thursday. There’d be no reason for him to have it three weeks later,” Mr White said.

The search for Mr Cook will continue on Friday.

Croc attack suspected in disappearance of Anthony Vanharen as search for Allan Cook is called off

It’s believed Mr Cook, who had a form epilepsy, fell into the water after suffering an episode and was last seen on Thursday, April 9.

Specialised divers from Brisbane combed through an area underneath the Port Douglas Yacht Club pontoon in an effort to locate the body of Mr Cook yesterday afternoon.

SERT and rangers from the Department of Environment and Science armed with rifles were on croc watch as divers scoured the water at low tide in a barrier net.

Port Douglas police officer-in-charge Sergeant Damian Meadows said search efforts had been challenging due to environmental factors like tidal flow and the time frame of when Mr Cook was last seen.

“There’s a high probability that if the missing person had drowned and passed away, he has most likely been swept out to sea,” Sgt Meadows said.

“We’ll continue to look at different avenues and we’ll be heavily reliant on public information to bring anything to light.

“The object is to give the family some closure, we owe it to them to do as much as we possibly can.”

Sgt Meadows said the tragic circumstances have motivated local boaties to create their own ‘Care Army’.

“They’re making contact with one another on a more regular basis, they’ll yell out to one another as they’re driving past and have a group text,” he said.

Sgt Meadows said the coronavirus helped create a ‘perfect storm’ of events that led to Mr Cook’s death.

“The Yacht Club is normally open for business when he disappeared and there was a lack of vessel traffic and witnesses because of COVID-19.”

Mr Cook, better known as Cookie among locals, was described by mates as an unforgettable character, kind-hearted and a mad punter.

The family said Cookie always wanted to be buried at sea. A report will be prepared for the coroner.