Dr Michael Mosley, TV doctor and star of This Morning, was last seen on the island of Symi in Greece on Wednesday, sparking a huge search and rescue operation that has continued into Sunday
Video Loading
Video Unavailable
Click to playTap to play
The video will auto-play soon8Cancel
Play now
CCTV appears to show Michael Mosley walking towards rocky hills
Michael Mosley search teams using a sniffer dog have reportedly quit the scene and returned to Athens – potentially over concerns for the dog's health.
The TV doctor was spotted walking through the town of Pedi on the Aegean island of Symi on Wednesday at 1.52pm, around 20 minutes after setting off from St Nickolas beach on a hiking trail. Many believed that he may have run into trouble during that hike, but searchers on Saturday night turned their focus to a cave system known as The Abyss that they believe he could have entered.
BBC Correspondent Joe Inwood, speaking live from Symi on BBC Breakfast on Sunday morning, said: “The authorities have said that they will continue the search, they will continue to look for Michael Mosley until he is found, but the longer it goes on the more that hope will dwindle I’m sorry to say.
“Another thing we’ve learned this morning is that the search and rescue dog who had been on the hillside is being sent back to Athens. Now that could be a.sign that they are winding down, but it’s also being reported that it’s so hot here that the dog has been burning its paws on the hillside and so can’t work because of the heat. Now we don’t know which of those it is but that is a development we’ve had in the last hour or so.”
Helicopters, drones, dogs and a number of emergency responders continue to scour the Dodecanese Island. Local police were informed about the disappearance of the 67-year-old British national on the island on Wednesday.
A search is being carried out by the Fire Brigade with the assistance of forces of the Hellenic Police, Civil Protection (a local and regional coordination agency), volunteers and a police dog, with drones also being used to find Dr Mosley.
It is understood Mosley was last seen by CCTV at a grey-stoned house beside a harbour on the island. He may have walked along a steep uphill concrete road. At the end of the street, a small path leads into the rocky landscape which has little vegetation beyond thistles and dry grass
.
Eleftherios Papakaloudoukas, the mayor of Symi, has said he will continue the extensive search operation which has involved police, firefighters with drones, and divers. Speaking through a translator, the mayor of 22 years questioned how anyone could survive in the heat that topped 40C on the day the 'Trust Me, I'm A Doctor' presenter vanished.
On Saturday, Michael's family spoke out for the first time through his wife. In a moving statement, the first released publicly since her husband went missing, Dr Bailey Mosley said: "It has been three days since Michael left the beach to go for a walk. The longest and most unbearable days for myself and my children.
"The search is ongoing and our family are so incredibly grateful to the people of Symi, the Greek authorities and the British Consulate who are working tirelessly to help find Michael. We will not lose hope."
Michael Mosley disappearance timeline
Wednesday, June 4: Police alerted to missing doc six hours after he left
Dr Mosley left his wife, Dr Clare Bailey, on St Nikolas beach at around 1.30pm on Wednesday. He is believed to have set off on a popular coasting walking route towards the small village of Pedi. The stroll is estimated to take around 15 minutes, with the route previously being described as a "clear path".
The TV doctor had not returned to the accommodation where he was staying with his wife by 3pm. When she arrived back to the property, she found his phone in the same position he had left it in before he headed out. Dr Bailey alerted the police that he was missing at around 7.30pm and the rescue operation was subsequently launched.
During that day, Dr Mosley was captured on CCTV at the St Nikolas beach restaurant. Grini Kaurmadia, whose family own the establishment, said Dr Mosley used the bathroom at around 1pm on Wednesday. She said: "We can see him go into the bathroom and then leave, we don’t know where he went next. We don’t know how he got here, some people catch the water taxi from Symi. They didn’t eat here so we don’t know how long they were at the beach. We did not speak with him."
Thursday, June 6: Locals spread the word over missing doc as mayor shares doubts that Michael is still in the area
Symi Facebook groups began receiving posts asking for local members to keep an eye out for Dr Mosley. The group "Friends of Symi" appealed for witnesses and described the health expert as a "familiar face for many British people".
By the afternoon, firefighters and the coastguard joined forces with the police leading the search operation. The task force also employed a team of dogs, helicopters, and a thermal imaging drone to scour the area around Pedi. In the evening, the Mayor of Symi said it was "impossible" that Dr Mosley is still in the area. He said: "It is a very small, controlled area, full of people. So, if something happened to him there, we would have found him by now."
Friday, June 7: Extreme weather warnings as divers and patrol boats join in search
On Friday, more weather warning were issued as forecasters stressed that temperatures could reach up to 48C. The search on Friday commenced at 9am, with divers later searching the waters from the afternoon.
Symi’s coast guard said: “All our patrol boats are searching … about five and also all the private boats, commercial boats know about the incident and they look for (him) also, in this area, (so this is) the private, the commercial and the patrol (boats looking).”
A spokesperson for the Greek fire service confirmed that Greek police are using sniffer dogs in the search. Later that day, the first set of CCTV images were released of the doctor walking in Pedi under an umbrella near Blue Corner cafe.
Saturday, June 8: Search resumes with firefighters forced to split up and snake warning issued
6am: This morning, a search co-ordinator confirmed that the search had resumed at around 6am. Firefighters began to examine a 6.5k radius over a mountainous area that is surrounded by sea.
Manolis Tsimpoukas, who arranges searches for missing people on the Dodecanese Islands, said there had been no sign of Dr Mosley. He described the area as "very dangerous" and said if anything was discovered then they would locate the doctor within an hour.
Shortly before 8am: Symi’s mayor Eleftherios Papakaloudoukas said there is "no chance" the search will be called off until he is found. The long-standing mayor described the area where Dr Mosley is believed to have travelled through is “difficult to pass” and is “only rocks”. He sparked further concerns when he said the area is populated by "loads" of snakes.
10.34am: Firefighters released a drone as they hiked up a mountainous area. There is no path or shade near the top of the hill that sits between Pedi bay and Agia Marina, where they suspect he may have walked. It comes after an extreme heat warning was launched in the area.
Shortly before 11am: Individual firefighters were forced to split up as they covered vast expanses of steep rocky terrain on their own. One uniformed worker said there were 10 of them searching multiple summits because it was too dangerous for large crews to work during the summer months. Firefighter Stergos Giakoumakis said: “Because it’s not so easy to bring here 100 people, especially this period, because it’s the most dangerous period. Everything is dry and it is too dangerous for firemen to search.”
On Friday, the mayor’s daughter Mika Papakalodouka told the PA news agency that “a lot of” island residents had joined the search using their own boats to find the British national.
“It is a small island, people talk. We’re good people actually here. Everybody is looking for him,” the 20-year-old told PA. "It’s such a small island to get lost on. It’s so weird for us. Everybody is worried and looking for him.”
