British TV presenter Michael Mosley disappears in Greek island of Symi, massive search underway

A massive search operation is underway for British TV producer and journalist Michael Mosley, who went missing on June 5 on the mountainous Greek island of Symi.

The 67-year-old doctor is known for his appearances on BBC’s The One Show and ITV’s This Morning. He was an advocate of the 5:2 diet plan and endorsed intermittent fasting through his programs.

Mosley disappeared after setting off on a walk along a coastal path between Agios Nikolaos beach and the village of Pedi, according to reports.

He was last captured on CCTV, which showed him walking through Pedi about 30 minutes later, holding an umbrella, indicating that he didn’t have an accident on the coastal path. A police officer who talked to BBC News said that Mosley appears to be in good form and walking steadily in the footage but added that there was no trace of him.

An elaborate search was launched by the police, fire brigade, and coast guard on the small island in the eastern Aegean Sea near Turkey on Thursday after Mosley’s wife reported him missing.

Some local officials earlier feared that Mosley might have fallen into the sea. However, the CCTV footage dismissed this apprehension. Police also explored the possibility that he had spoken to locals during his walk on the coastal path, but they could not find any leads.

Symi Mayor Lefteris Papakalodoukas called the incident “very strange,” saying it was a 10-minute walk from the beach to Pedi and it would take another 40 minutes to reach a main road.

“You can’t disappear, you can’t get lost,” the mayor was quoted by news agency Reuters as saying.

The mayor, who analysed Mosley’s path based on CCTV footage, noted that he might have continued walking even after reaching Pedi into another challenging area around Agia Marina.

“He chose paths which are very difficult to walk in such temperatures and under any circumstances. Cameras show that he did not take the expected way back home,” he said.

The police have even deployed drones and helicopters for the search and they are planning to focus the operation to nearby areas of Pedi as well. Mosley’s family members, including his four children, have also reached the Greek island to help the search team.

Symi is a sparsely populated rocky island about 10 miles long with around 2,500 residents.