Greek police draft in coastguard and drones in hunt for Michael Mosley as mayor tells LBC 'he may have fallen off cliff'
7 June 2024, 06:34 | Updated: 7 June 2024, 07:21
Police have drafted in the coastguard and drones in an ongoing hunt for Michael Mosley amid concerns he may have fainted and fallen off a cliff while hiking on the Greek island of Symi.
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Dr Mosley went missing while hiking from St Nicholas Beach, his last known location, to Pedi, another beach.
The 67-year-old set off at about 1.30pm on Wednesday, and his wife Dr Clare Bailey, 62, raised the alarm after he failed to return back to their accommodation hours later at 7.30pm.
Police fear that he may have "slipped, tripped or fallen" during his hike, with them set to begin a "much deeper probe" on Friday.
By midday on Thursday, each of the emergency services had been seconded by local authorities, with the coastguard searching the sea, the fire brigade searching the forests and drones also being flown overhead.
Thermal image cameras were brought in overnight to scan the hills overlooking Pedi.
"Any and every attempt to track him down has not produced any result," police spokesman Constantina Dimoglidou told the Mail.
"He may have slipped, tripped, fallen, even been bitten by a snake, remaining injured somewhere.
"There is just no trace of him. None whatsoever. And that means that for us at least, every potential scenario is open and being investigated."
Hopes were briefly raised when nearby CCTV showed a man matching Dr Mosley's description.
The man was see walking along the waterside with a woman at around 4.30pm on Wednesday.
Police and Dr Mosley's wife reviewed the footage but it was ruled out as Dr Bailey said it was not her husband.
It comes after Eleftherios Papakalodoukas, the mayor of Symi, told LBC that Dr Mosley may have fainted and fallen off a cliff due to high temperatures.
Mr Papakalodoukas said the hike would have been dangerous, as temperatures reached 35C on Wednesday.
The risk would have been heightened if he did not have any water with him, and he may have suffered dehydration.
He said there were “very high cliffs” and rocky terrain on the route from St Nicholas Beach to Pedi.
"We have looked everywhere but we can’t find him," he said.
He added that the search and rescue operation would continue for five days, after which they will have to give up on efforts to find Dr Mosley unless they receive more support from the Greek or British authorities.
Mr Papakalodoukas also said that it would be "impossible" for Dr Mosley to still be in the same area of Symi.
"It is a very small, controlled area, full of people. So if something happened to him there, we would have found him by now," he said.
An FCDO spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who is missing in Greece and are in contact with the local authorities.”
