Dr Mosley was last seen on Wednesday headed towards a mountainous path
POLICE believe the body found on the rocky coast of the Greek island of Symi is missing TV doctor Michael Mosley.
A spokesperson told The Sun they had identified his body using his watch and clothes close to a dangerous cave complex known to locals as “The Abyss”.
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The remains still await formal identification.
However, a police spokesperson told The Sun today “there was no question” the man was Dr Michael Mosley.
“We have been able to identify him from his watch and clothes,” said police spokesperson Konstantina Dimoglou.
“He was found close to a cave. How long he had survived there is hard to tell but he had walked a very long way. He was close to where he wanted to get to.”
The body – found a 30 minute walk from where Dr Mosley, 67, was last seen – was first first discovered by a barman.
The Brit presenter, known for his appearances on The One Show and This Morning, had been last seen in CCTV footage at 2pm on Wednesday leaving the village of Pedi and headed towards a rocky path.
For five days, the health expert seemingly disappeared without a trace, prompting a major search operation involving helicopters, divers, dogs, and drones.
Another anonymous police spokesperson confirmed they believe the body is Dr Mosley.
Symi’s deputy mayor Nikitas Grillis also stated: “It’s definitely him.”
The mayor of Symi, Eleftherios Papakalodouk added: “We analysed the recorded evidence and it was obvious that it was, unfortunately, Mosley.”
The mayor said he was on a boat when he spotted a body lying 20m above the Agia Marina beach and called a nearby bar to have a look.
“We zoomed with the cameras and saw it was him,” he said.
Ilias Tsavaris, 38, the bar manager, who first saw the body, told The Sun: “I walked up 30 metres and I saw an image of a person, I said is that…I went closer and closer.
“I called the owners, him and the other guy, and they called the police.”
Fears grow for Michael Mosley as mayor warns ‘no one can survive the heat’ & BBC star’s children join desperate search
He continued: “He came from Pedi okay, and he didn’t come to the restaurant, if he had walked through there [the bar] we would have checked the cameras.”
Ilias added: “Rescuers had searched that area everyday with helicopters.”
Locals at the chaotic scene told The Sun it is “shocking” news amid the major search operation that has gripped the small island.
Speaking about the discovery, mayor Papakalodouk said: “The body was found on land 10m from the beach, next to a plot fence, which is why it had not been found for so many days”.
He told Greek outlet SKAI: “I don’t know what to say… 200 people are on this beach every day and many boats come and go every day.”
“It is unclear if he had an accident or if he felt unwell,” Papakalodoukas added.
The coast guard and fire fighters have been deployed to the scene.
A coroner was on his way to Symi in a coast guard vessel, said a police official, adding that the body would be transferred to the neighbouring island of Rhodes.
Dr Mosley’s distressed wife Clare Bailey, 62, was called in to give more details to rescuers last night.
Sources told The Mail on Sunday that she revealed he had a “khaki backpack and had his wallet, a bottle of water and a watch”.
Dr Mosley is believed to have left Saint Nikolas beach on Wednesday, where he had been with his wife Clare and two friends, before walking alone along a coastal path without his mobile phone to Pedi.
He was caught on CCTV in the fishing village at 1.52pm close to a cafe in Pedi shielding himself underneath an umbrella.
Further CCTV, released to the public on Saturday, showed him leaving Pedi and heading towards a rocky path in blazing temperatures of up to 37C.
Rescuers feared he may have taken a wrong turn while trying to get back to his accommodation in the town of Symi.
He was initially feared by cops to have “fallen from a height” as he walked a rocky path leading from the beach to Pedi.
The longest and most unbearable days for myself and my children
Clare Bailey
Dr Mosley’s wife
However, the footage made clear he made it to the village safely and was potentially attempting a much longer route home than previously thought.
Police on Friday night then shifted their search away from the water and into the mountains where they worked around-the-clock to comb through the barren land.
A rescue worker said Dr Mosley’s apparent decision to walk up into the mountains in the heat was “inexplicable”.
“The path is not easy to follow. If he took a wrong turn, he would be lost.
“He could be anywhere. It is a race against time.”
Firefighters were seen searching the maze of tunnels on Saturday afternoon dubbed “The Abyss” over fears he may have got lost and fallen within the caverns.
But the search inside the caverns failed to turn up any evidence.
Timeline of Dr Mosley’s disappearance
WEDNESDAY JUNE 5
- 1.30pm: Dr Mosley decides to walk home alone to his holiday home in the town of Symi after going for a swim at a beach
- 1.50pm: The walk home is said to take around 20 minutes from Saint Nikolaos beach despite the doctor never making it back
- 1.52pm: CCTV catches Dr Mosley walking past a shop in Pedi
- Approx 2.20pm: Witnesses claim to have seen Dr Mosley talking to an elderly man in the town with one other person present
- 2.30pm-5pm: Doc was last seen on a house camera on a treacherous path heading towards the Agia Marina
- 7.30pm: Dr Mosley’s wife, Dr Clare Bailey, raises the alarm and calls cops
THURSDAY JUNE 6
- 10.30am: Police file missing person report and the search gets underway
- 11am: Police appeal for any information
- 2pm: Six firefighters, a vehicle and a drone team were all seen arriving in Symi from Rhodes
- 7pm: Helicopters deployed over the island
- 8pm: First day of the search called off for the night
FRIDAY JUNE 7
- 7am Extra police squadrons, coast guard officials, specially-trained sniffer dogs and military helicopters helped in the search
- 5pm The first CCTV images are released of Dr Mosley with his umbrella near the Blue Corner bar
SATURDAY JUNE 8
- 7am Police launch a search of a new area of around 7km as they step up the hunt
- 10.50am: New CCTV is released showing Mosley leaving Pedi and heading towards mountainous path
- 11am Symi’s mayor says ‘no chance’ search will be called off until he is found
- 12pm Mosley’s wife Clare says the family will ‘not lose hope’ but confesses the last few days have been ‘unbearable’
- 3pm A helicopter joins the search effort in the mountains
SUNDAY JUNE 9
- 10.50am Body found in the search close to caves known as ‘The Abyss’
- 11am Police say they believe the body to be that of Dr Mosley
In her first powerful statement since her husband’s disappearance, Clare said on Saturday that her family would “not lose hope”.
“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.”
The couple’s four children – Alexander, Jack, Daniel and Katherine – arrived on the island on Friday to join the search efforts and retrace their father’s last steps.
The longstanding mayor of Symi Eleftherios Papakalodouka had said that “troubling questions” remain about Mosley’s movements on Wednesday.
“Why did he leave the beach and his wife and friends?” he asked, adding: “Why did he not take his telephone?
“He seemed to be walking very determinedly, surely it would have been better to stop and have a coffee or some water but no he decided to carry on.”
Search teams and the mayor both told The Sun the walking route can be incredibly “dangerous” and “treacherous” with no shade.
Mayor Papakalodouka added that Mosley had no water, stating: “You can’t survive in this weather.”
Describing the mountainous route, he said: “The area is so difficult to walk. It’s so rocky.
“He wouldn’t have known where he was going. He could have got lost.”
Who is Dr Michael Mosley?
BY Henry Holloway, Deputy Foreign Editor
DR MICHAEL Mosley is a TV presenter and health expert known for his work with the BBC – with regular appearances on The One Show.
He is a diet expert who advocated for intermittent fasting, low-carb diets and has written books promoting keto.
Born in India, he studied philosophy, politics and economics and worked as a banker before graduating from medical school.
He joined the BBC in 1985 as an assistant producer, and quickly rose through the ranks – becoming a popular presenter.
Dr Michael worked on programmes such The Human Face with Professor Robert Winston – and Inventions that Changed The World with Jeremy Clarkson.
Eventually fronting his own shows and regularly appearing on breakfast television, he gained a reputation as a diet guru.
He also hosted the BBC podcast Just One Thing.
The TV star is married to Clare Bailey, a GP, and they have four children.