Could it have been said to deliberately provoke a reaction? It seems there is no love lost between the two and tempers seem to have been flaring in SFR. Either way it is a despicable thing to have said about a missing little boy.
IMO Cook in his position would be looking at the numbers. He would have, in a sense, a quota to solve cases, much of his budgeted resources were being spent on Williams case and his numbers were down.
When they get to those positions it's all about the numbers and public interest. IMO