[ad_1]
The wife of British TV doctor Michael Moseley, who has disappeared on the Greek island of Symisaid her family “will not lose hope” as the search for her husband continues.
Moseley, known for his appearances on The One Show and This Morning, went missing while on a walk in the north-east of the island on Wednesday.
His wife, Dr Claire Bailey, said: ‘It’s been three days since Michael left the beach to go for a walk. The longest and most unbearable days for me and my children. The search continues and our family is so 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.”
Her statement came after new CCTV footage of Moseley was shared. The footage, released by the BBC, appears to show the 67-year-old man walking under an umbrella in the village of Peddie, towards a path that crosses rocky hills.
The video is believed to be one of the last two CCTV sightings before he left Peddy, which he walked to after dropping his wife off at the beach at around 1.30pm local time on Wednesday.
By Saturday, Moseley’s four children had also arrived on the island in hopes of finding their father, a health expert who popularized intermittent fasting and became famous for promoting the 5:2 diet.
Previous search efforts had focused on the rock path Moseley had taken to Pedy from St Nicholas Beach, where he had traveled by boat with his wife and British friends they were staying with on the island.
For reasons that remain unclear, Moseley said he preferred to walk back to the main town of Simi, where the couple have a home and where it was later discovered he had left his cellphone.
A photo of Mosley, taken moments before he hit the trail around 1:30 p.m., shows him wearing a blue hat, sunglasses, T-shirt and shorts.
“Tomorrow the rescuers will turn their attention to the caves in the areas of Playa and Nulia,” said Deputy Mayor Nikitas Grillis.
“But what we read in the foreign press that Simi has a network of caves that are connected like tunnels and fill with sea water is wrong and they are far from where we believe he went. However, they will also be checked.”
Initially, police were working on the assumption that the TV presenter and columnist had disappeared along the mile-long path between the beach and Paddy – perhaps after slipping and falling – while CCTV footage has surfaced. The images, which provided the first concrete evidence that he had reached the village, were taken about 20 minutes after he left St Nicholas Beach.
The search has become one of the largest in the island’s memory. “There are about 100 people looking for him,” said Symi Mayor Eleftherios Papakaloudoukas. “They work in shifts using drones.”
While Bailey searched for her husband in a wooded area above the village of Peddie, search teams now believe Moseley traveled through a much sparser area on the other side of the bay, Papakaloudoukas said.
Firefighters, divers, helicopters and a specially trained search dog are involved in the search operation.
after the promotion of the newsletter
Simi and nearby islands are under a yellow weather warning for high temperatures, and the mayor said the sniffer dog was only able to work for an hour Saturday morning because of the heat.
The mayor said rescuers not only faced the challenge of high temperatures, but also the terrain itself. “In many places it is not only dangerous but also impassable,” he said. “There’s no tree up there, just rocks and rocks.”
Greek police said that with temperatures expected to reach “above 52 degrees”, it was decided to send in additional air support in the form of an emergency helicopter.
A veteran police officer co-ordinating the manhunt said it had “turned into one of the biggest operations organized to hunt down an individual”. “We searched for him by air, land and sea. Criminal investigators have been dispatched, divers have been dispatched, the Coast Guard has been patrolling the coast, private boats and yachts have joined them, helicopters and drones have also been dispatched and still there is nothing, no sign to lead us to it.”
The mayor’s daughter, Mika Papakaloduka, said some of the island’s residents had gone out in search of Moseley. “It’s such a small island to get lost on. It’s so strange to us. Everyone is worried and looking for him.”
Yanis Tsavaris, a local pharmacist, said the island’s residents had been affected by the Briton’s disappearance. “Simi is a small place. There are only a few thousand permanent residents here, and believe me, there isn’t a person among us who hasn’t taken that personally. This story saddened us all. We very much want this man to be found and found alive. Many local volunteers joined the search.
The Guardian was told officers will take witness statements, knock on doors and review “every CCTV camera” on the island.
Greek rescuers have no intention of stopping the search and say it will continue for as long as necessary. The veteran security officer said: “I’ve been involved in police work for over 30 years and, yes, I’m surprised we’re still looking for him, but a man can’t just disappear into thin air.”
[ad_2]
