Michael Mosley, a much-loved TV doctor, was confirmed to have been found on the Greek island of Symi after he was reported missing four days prior.
Mr Mosley, 67, was last seen leaving Saint Nikolas beach at around 1.30pm on Wednesday, June 5, afternoon carrying a black umbrella. It is believed that he was heading off on the coastal path towards the Greek town of Pedi.
The alarm was first raised about Mr Mosley’s disappearance by his wife Dr Clare Bailey Mosley 7.30pm that evening with authorities soon beginning the process of retracing his steps over the preceding few hours.
After several days of extensive searching by authorities using a helicopter, divers, firefighters, and a drone team, a body was spotted by a fence just metres away from the beach resort of Agia Marina on Sunday afternoon.
Soon after, it was confirmed that this was the body of Mr Mosley.
Following confirmation of Mr Mosley’s death, it has been revealed that CCTV footage shows a figure reportedly believed to be the TV doctor trying to navigate a precarious rocky slope on Wednesday afternoon.
In a statement following confirmation of his death, Mr Mosley’s wife, Dr Clare Bailey Mosley said: “I don’t know quite where to begin with this. It’s devastating to have lost Michael, my wonderful, funny, kind and brilliant husband. We had an incredibly lucky life together.
“I am incredibly proud of our children, their resilience and support over the past days. My family and I have been hugely comforted by the outpouring of love from people from around the world. It’s clear that Michael meant a huge amount to so many of you.”
Dr Bailey Mosley added: “We’re taking comfort in the fact that he so very nearly made it. He did an incredible climb, took the wrong route and collapsed where he couldn’t be easily seen by the extensive search team. Michael was an adventurous man, it’s part of what made him so special.”
Subsequent CCTV footage has been handed into the police, whilst Mr Mosley’s body has been transported to Rhodes for an autopsy to establish his cause of death. Furthermore, it has been revealed that the bag Mr Mosley had with him was found 20 feet away from his body when it was found. Pictures from the location where Mr Mosley’s body was found show investigators handling the rucksack and his umbrella.
What was believed to be Mr Mosley’s body was initially spotted from a boat from which the local mayor and a cameraman were operating. Noticing something on the beach, they asked the nearby bar manager Illias Tsavaris to check out what they had seen.
The Mirror reported that Mr Tsaravaris said: “They saw it with the boat. The mayor came and saw something so that is when they called me and said ‘Hey they saw something go and check there’.
“They called me, they said ‘You know what we saw something from far away, can you go and check’ so I went there So when I walked up I saw something like a body to make sure. You don’t see a dead body every day, it is not a warzone, it’s summer you are supposed to have fun and swimming.”