Divers look for Michael Mosley as search intensifies on Greek island

Mosley, from Beaconsfield, Bucks, has gone missing after going on a walk on Wednesday, June 5, 2024 — with a massive police search launched.

His wife Clare alerted police after her husband failed to return by 7.30 in the evening.

Clare Bailey worked in Buckinghamshire as GP specialising in the field of nutrition and dietetics — as well as being the wife of TV doctor Michael Mosley

The local police department restarted scouring the island on Friday morning after pausing the search-and-rescue operation for the 67-year-old British national on Thursday night.

Police and firefighters have been using drones to try to locate Mosley, who vanished after setting off on a walk to the centre of the island on Wednesday.

Symi deputy mayor, Ilias Chaskas, confirmed that “divers are looking in the water”, and the local coast guard have joined the rescue efforts.

Symi’s coast guard said: “All our patrol boats are searching … about five and also all the private boats, commercial boats know about the incident and they look for (him) also, in this area, (so this is) the private, the commercial and the patrol (boats looking).”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Maritime Affairs & Insular Policy told PA: “We inform you that the Port Authority of Symi is assisting the investigations of the Hellenic Police, using patrols from the sea and operational vessels patrolling the area.”

A spokesperson for the Greek fire service said: “The search continues today with seven firefighters, one drone checking the wider area, and we (are) co-operating with the Hellenic Police Office.”

The spokesperson also confirmed that Greek police are using sniffer dogs in the search.

People sit on the beach of Agios Nikolaos from where doctor and television presenter Michael Mosley, is believed to have set out (Antonis Mystiloglou/AP)

Local people from Symi, which is part of the Dodecanese island chain and is about 25 miles north of Rhodes, along with police drafted in from outside the island, are searching the Pedi area and surroundings on Friday morning, the mayor’s office said early on Friday.

The area where Mosley went missing is experiencing hot temperatures, forecast to reach highs of 36C on Friday, according to the Hellenic National Meteorological Service.

Greek police said it was informed of the “disappearance of the 67-year-old British national on the island” on Wednesday, according to a statement.

Police then asked for assistance from the Greek fire service, with six firefighters, a vehicle and a drone team arriving from Rhodes at about 2pm (12pm BST) on Thursday.

(PA Graphics)

A woman reported seeing Mosley, known for popularising the 5:2 diet and for his appearances on The One Show and This Morning, in the Pedi area on Wednesday.

A friend of the person Mosley was staying with said she was struggling to understand how anyone could get lost on the part of the island he was believed to be on.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live’s Drive programme, she said: “It’s a road that sort of heads over the mountain side but it’s been recently widened and there is only one route, so it’s not possible to lose your way.

“So it is probably a 20-minute walk down the side of the mountain, but it’s not overly rugged or something that would be seen to be too dangerous, it’s something that tourists do every day in the summer.

“I’m having trouble understanding how you could get lost.”

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who is missing in Greece and are in contact with the local authorities.”

Mosley is known for being a columnist for the Daily Mail and has made a number of films about diet and exercise.

The broadcaster fronted the Channel 4 show Michael Mosley: Who Made Britain Fat? and was part of the BBC series Trust Me, I’m A Doctor.

He also lived with tapeworms in his gut for six weeks for the documentary Infested! Living With Parasites on BBC Four.

Mosley received an Emmy nod for BBC science documentary The Human Face, presented by John Cleese and featuring a raft of famous faces, including Elizabeth Hurley, Pierce Brosnan and Sir David Attenborough.

He also advocated intermittent fasting through the 5:2 diet and The Fast 800 diet.

Mosley has four children with his wife Clare Bailey Mosley, also a doctor, author and health columnist, who wrote the recipe book Fast 800 Easy.

The couple, who have hosted theatre show tours together, recently attended the Hay Festival, where Mosley presented a special edition of his Radio 4 series and podcast Just One Thing.