Dr. Michael Mosley speaks at the ICC Sydney in Sydney, Australia on September 16, 2019. Photo credit: Brook Mitchell—Getty Images
MMichael Mosley, a British TV doctor, disappeared on Wednesday while on holiday on the Greek island of Symi. Mosley is known for his appearances on British shows such as This Morning and The One Show. The 67-year-old is a regular columnist for the Daily Mail and has presented several shows on diet and exercise, including the documentary Michael Mosley: Who Made Britain Fat?. He was also part of the BBC series Trust Me, I'm A Doctor.
Mosley was last seen at around 1.30pm local time on Wednesday walking along the beach at St Nikolas on the island. At 3pm, his wife Clare Bailey Mosley noticed he still had not returned to her location, according to Sky News. At 7.30pm, she raised the matter with police and Greek authorities began searching for him. Mosley does not have his mobile phone with him as it was found at his hotel, a police spokesman was quoted as saying by the BBC.
Video footage from a local restaurant's surveillance camera shows Mosley walking through Pedi village at around 1:52 p.m. He was carrying an umbrella, apparently to protect himself from the sun.
When Mosley left, the weather was very hot, with the National Observatory of Athens reporting temperatures of over 38°C on Wednesday.
A British Foreign Office spokesman confirmed that the British government was in contact with Greek authorities. “We are supporting the family of a British man missing in Greece and are in contact with local authorities,” the Foreign Office said in a statement emailed to TIME.
Greek police told TIME in an email statement – written in Greek and translated into English using Google Translate – that the investigation is underway. “The investigation is being carried out by the fire brigade with the support of the Greek police, civil protection, volunteers and a police dog, while also using technical means such as drones to find the missing person,” it said.
Search operations have increased in scale over the past two days, with 25 volunteers, police and firefighters working to find Mosley since Friday morning. Divers, drones and sniffer dogs have also been recruited to help search on and above the island and in surrounding waters.
Eleftherios Papakalodoukas, the mayor of Symi, said the most likely explanation was that Mosley had strayed or gotten lost in the sea. “It's a very small, controlled area full of people. If something had happened to him there, we would have found him by now,” he was quoted as saying by the BBC.
On Thursday night, presenter Alex Jones, who hosts BBC's The One Show, opened the show by expressing her concern for Mosley. “Our thoughts are with his wife Clare and the rest of his family at this distressing time. We hope for more positive news,” she said.
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