The wife of missing TV presenter Michael Mosley said her family will “not lose hope” over the search for the missing presenter on the Greek island of Symi.
Speaking to the media for the first time, Dr Mosley’s wife Clare Bailey Mosley said the three full days since her husband’s disappearance had been “the longest and most unbearable days” for herself and the couple’s four children, who arrived on the Greek island around midday on Friday to help search for their missing father.
Dr Mosley was last seen on CCTV cameras heading towards Symi from the nearby bay of Pedi, where he left his wife on the beach and planned to walk back to the house of friends with whom they were staying, it is believed.
Why the 67-year-old doctor did not take his mobile phone with him and set off around 1.30pm in the worst heat of the day remains a source of confusion for the island. It was 40C on Wednesday when he was last seen and has remained in mid-30C since.
After initial claims from the firefighters responsible for his rescue that it was “impossible” he was still on the island and must have either fallen into the sea or left the island, the search continued in full force on Saturday. The police told The Independent that the investigation was “ongoing”.
Helicopters flew in constant circles above the mountainous region between Symi and Pedi after it was made clear that Mosley most likely set off on a longer trek than originally believed.
He was seen on cafe and restaurant CCTV walking with purpose towards a mountainous path linking Pedi with the port of Symi on the other side of the headland.
It would have added three hours to the 20-minute walk along an old goat path he was first thought to have set out on.
The man in the CCTV seen by The Independent also now carried an umbrella which was not visible on his person in footage at the other side of the bay, sparking one theory that he had begun to feel the heat of the day after setting off and was attempting to shield himself from blistering temperatures.
There were early reports that he told his wife he was feeling unwell when he left her, the reason he was going back to the house alone.
Boats scoured the shoreline of the same area until early evening on Saturday and the caves at Agios Marina, where he was known to have swum, were searched for an hour earlier in the day before the heat became too hot for emergency services to continue inside them.
They then moved to the other side of the headland. Small groups of specialist search teams in helmets and protective clothing could be seen slowly walking the island’s trails. Up until now it has been a popular holiday destination for British tourists interested in hiking.
In the sky above the search parties, red police helicopters whirred but fears over how much they could afford to stay in flight at this time of year due to a lack of oxygen which affects the engines were the cause for further concern. It is the same reason medical evacuation from Everest is impossible.
Despite the search attempts visible on the mountain, the emergency services presence in the marina area of Symi was languid and the officers at the Hellanic police headquarters beneath the clocktower sat around inside, themselves reluctant to experience the heat of the day.
They claimed they couldn’t comment on what was an “ongoing investigation” but said it “wasn’t as simple a search as it looked even though he’s wearing blue because he could have fallen on route”.
“There are lots of places he could have fallen,” said one male police officer who declined to be named.
“We will not stop searching until the embassy in Athens tells us to stop,” he claimed, a dozen police officers sitting around behind him. “When something happens, you will know – it is a small island.”
The end of Clare Bailey Mosley’s statement said: “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.”
