A body has been discovered on the Greek island of Symi during the search for missing TV and radio presenter Dr. Michael Mosley. The 67-year-old disappeared on Wednesday after setting off on a walk from Agios Nikolaos beach.
The body, yet to be formally identified, was found early Sunday on a hillside near Agia Marina beach bar. Symi’s mayor, Eleftherios Papakalodoukas, confirmed that search teams using cameras discovered the body. A police source informed BBC News that the deceased had been dead “for a number of days.”
The body was located next to a fence, with an umbrella found nearby, approximately a 30-minute walk from Pedi village where Dr. Mosley was last seen. It was found a few meters away from where children were playing at Agia Marina beach. A bar manager discovered the body after the island’s mayor noticed something by the fence and alerted staff.
“They called me, they said, ‘You know what, we saw something from far away, can you go and check,'” said Agia Marina bar manager Ilias Tsavaris. “So when I walked up I saw something like a body.”
A coroner is being sent to Symi to examine the body. Police spokeswoman Konstantia Dimoglidou stated that authorities need to rule out any possibility of a criminal act. “We need to get a first insight into the causes of death and whether [it] preceded the person’s fall to the ground,” Ms. Dimoglidou said.
Greek authorities had been conducting an extensive search for Dr. Mosley for five days amid high temperatures. The search involved firefighters, dogs, helicopters, drones, local people, and officers from Symi and beyond.
On Saturday, BBC News obtained CCTV footage showing one of the last-known sightings of a man believed to be Dr. Mosley walking with an umbrella near the marina in Pedi village on Wednesday.
Dr. Mosley’s family, including his wife Clare and their four children, joined the search on the island. Dr. Mosley, a qualified doctor, had been working as a presenter, documentary maker, journalist, and author for the past two decades. He is known for his TV programs including “Trust Me, I’m a Doctor,” and the BBC Radio 4 podcast “Just One Thing.”
He popularized the 5:2 and Fast 800 diets, advocating for intermittent fasting and low-carbohydrate meals. Dr. Mosley had regularly appeared on BBC One’s “The One Show” and ITV’s “This Morning,” and was a columnist for the Daily Mail.
The discovery of the body marks a somber turn in the search, with authorities and family members awaiting formal identification and further investigation into the cause of death.
