CCTV images have been released that appear to show missing TV doctor Michael Mosley less than half an hour after he left his wife at a beach on a Greek holiday island.
Police feared he may have “fallen from a height” while walking along a rocky path that would have taken him from St Nicholas beach back to the village of Pedi.
But CCTV has emerged that is said to show the doctor strolling down a street in the village, shielded from the sun by an umbrella, indicating he crossed the dangerous path from the beach and made it back to the village.
A police issued CCTV image of missing TV doctor Michael Mosley
Mega
The CCTV images were captured by a restaurant and time stamped at 1.52pm around 20 minutes after he was said to have left his wife Claire and a couple they were holidaying with on the island.
He was said to be heading back to the town where they were staying, with Pedi around a quarter of the way through the journey.
Officials are now said to have excluded the possibility Mr Mosley came to harm while walking between the beach and Pedi.
The search and rescue operation had previously been focused on the rocky coastal path to the village.
A police officer told the Sun: “We know now that he crossed the path, that he made it to the other side and got to Pedi.
“Now we have to look at all the possible paths he could have taken from there.”
Mr Mosley was reportedly using an umbrella to shield himself from the sun
Divers and police dogs joined the search for the missing TV doctor on Friday. He had been missing for more than 48 hours by Friday afternoon.
Ilias Chaskas, deputy mayor of Symi, confirmed on Friday that “divers are looking in the water”, and the local coastguard has joined the search efforts.
Symi’s coastguard 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]”.
Search teams have also been using drones and a helicopter to try and locate Mosley. The search operation was paused on Thursday night before resuming on Friday, when more police officers were set to join.
Local news outlet Ta Nea reported Mosley does not have his mobile phone with him.
It is a very small, controlled area, full of people. So, if something happened to him there, we would have found him by now
Eleftherios Papakalodoukas, mayor of Symi
The area where he went missing is experiencing extremely hot temperatures, forecast to reach highs of 36C on Friday, according to the Hellenic National Meteorological Service.
A yellow warning for high temperatures is in place in Rhodes and surrounding islands including Symi.
A spokesperson for the Greek fire service said on Friday: “The search continues today with seven firefighters, one drone checking the wider area, and we [are] co-operating with the Hellenic Police Office.”
A helicopter taking part in the search operations on Thursday
via REUTERS
The spokesperson also confirmed Greek police are using sniffer dogs in the search.
Mayor of Symi Eleftherios Papakalodoukas said firefighters had told him they believed it was “impossible” he was still in Pedi.
He told the BBC: “It is a very small, controlled area, full of people. So, if something happened to him there, we would have found him by now.”
A senior security official involved in the search operation told the Guardian: “It’s crazy, it makes no sense. How can somebody just disappear in broad daylight, in the middle of the day?
“If something had happened to him we would have found him on, or near, the path he was walking along on his way back to the port where he was staying with friends. And, yet, all these hours later there’s nothing.”
A woman who gave her name only as Irini, and who works at Kamares coffee shop on Pedi Beach, told the PA news agency on Thursday: “They came, the police, with the coast police and firemen, and the rescue team, to carry out the investigation, but I don’t think that anything has been found yet.”
Firefighters are taking part in the search operation
via REUTERS
Another woman in the area said Mosley’s disappearance was “strange” as the path he was thought to be on is “clear”.
She said: “It’s a quiet place … if you see the map of the area it’s a clear path, it’s nothing dangerous, many people go every day, every few minutes, that’s the reason it’s very strange because it’s a clear path.”
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 statement from local police, which has been translated, said officers were informed about the “disappearance of the 67-year-old British national on the island” on Wednesday.
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.
A local Facebook group said Mosley went for a walk from Saint Nikolas Beach at about 1.30pm Greek time on Wednesday.
I’m praying this lovely man is found and thinking of Claire and the whole Mosley family
Jeremy Vine on social media
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.
Michael Mosley is married to Clare Bailey Mosley, who is also a doctor
Instagram / @drclarebailey
He also advocated intermittent fasting through the 5:2 diet and The Fast 800 diet.
Trust Me I’m A Doctor star Saleyha Ahsan wrote on social media that the news was “shocking” and that she was hoping Mosley would be “found safe”.
“I literally feel sick with worry,” Ahsan added. “Don’t even know what to say.”
Radio 2 presenter and Channel 5 talk show host Jeremy Vine wrote in a social media post: “I’m praying this lovely man is found and thinking of Claire and the whole Mosley family.”
MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis wrote on X: “Feeling disturbed about the news about Dr Michael Mosley. I hope he’s ok.”
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.
