Michael Mosley’s body finally spotted from boat thanks to ‘glint from watch’ after laying for 5 days 90 secs from safety

DR Michael Mosley’s body was finally spotted five days after he disappeared because of a glint from his watch, a witness claims.

The health guru, 67, was tragically just a 90-second walk from the safety of a beach resort bar on the Greek island of Symi when he collapsed.

Michael Mosley is pictured for the last time on the beach before heading off with a watch on his wristCredit: Facebook

Police at the scene in Agia Marina after a body was discoveredCredit: Simon Jones

Spot where the body was found is circled just a short distance from bar

Dr Mosley’s wife Clare Bailey raised the alarm on Wednesday evening after her husband failed to return back to their holiday home.

Described as “adventurous” by his partner, Dr Mosley has decided to walk back to their accommodation after visiting St Nikolas beach with two friends.

But what should have been a 20-minute walk turned into a tragedy as Dr Mosley’s body was eventually found more than two miles from his intended destination.

According to a witness, Dr Mosley was found on Sunday morning after someone noticed a shine from his watch.

Mayor Eleftherios Papakaloudoukas was accompanying a TV crew on a boat when they spotted “something black” near a fence at Agia Marina.

A journalist on the boat said the shine from Dr Mosley’s watch was also noticed on a camera as they zoomed in.

Bar manager Ilias Tsavaris was asked to go and look – and said he also immediately saw the “glint from a watch”.

 

Questions remain over how Dr Mosley ended up on the mountainous route.

There are theories Dr Mosley was either trying to get to the resort just 100 yards away or had been heading to the sea hoping to cool off in 37C temperatures.

It is thought he could have then collapsed or slipped and banged his head.

Beloved doc Michael Mosley transformed the lives of millions and popularised 5:2 diet used by stars in 20-year TV career

Mayor Papakaloudoukas believes, however, that Dr Mosley could have “felt rather unwell and laid down” before dying.

Dr Mosley is feared to have lost his bearings trying to walk from a beach to his holiday home on the island.

His body was finally found 100 yards from the safety of a restaurant — and 150 yards from a spot searched by their four grown-up children the day before.

He is understood to have taken a wrong turn – ending up on a rocky, mountainous trek for nearly two hours in unforgiving 37C heat.

Dr Mosley’s movements between when he was last seen in Pedi just before 2pm and when he was seen on CCTV making his final walk towards bar at around 3.45pm remain a mystery.

The walk from Pedi to Agia Marina – where he was found – normally takes around 30 to 40 minutes if you stick to the path, yet it took Dr Mosley at least one hour and 45 minutes.

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
2.50pm Body removed by boat from Symi
3.30pm Dr Clare Bailey confirms her ‘wonderful’ husband’s death

An autopsy completed today in Rhodes signalled Dr Mosley may have taken a final rest just 90 seconds away from the safety of a bar.

Initial findings indicating the doctor’s time of death was around 4pm on the day he went missing, according to police sources.

A report by a Greek coroner shows that from the position of his body, the doctor appears to have rested his hand on a wall before collapsing.

The autopsy also shows that Dr Mosley didn’t seemingly sustain any injuries that indicate criminal activity.

It is understood the condition of the remains has made it difficult to establish the doctor’s exact cause of death.

After confirming his body had been found, Dr Mosley’s wife Clare Bailey shared a heart-rendering tribute to her husband of 37 years.

She also thanked rescue teams who scoured mountain paths in blistering heat.

Dr Bailey, 62, said: “I don’t know quite where to begin with this. It’s devastating to have lost Michael, my wonderful, funny, kind and brilliant husband.

“We had an incredibly lucky life together. We loved each other very much and were so happy together.

“I am incredibly proud of our children, their resilience and ­support over the past days.

“My family and I have been hugely comforted by the outpouring of love from people from around the world. It’s clear that Michael meant a huge amount to so many of you.

“We’re taking comfort in the fact that he so very nearly made it.

“He did an incredible climb, took the wrong route and collapsed where he couldn’t be easily seen by the extensive search team.

“Michael was an adventurous man, it’s part of what made him so special. We are so grateful to the extraordinary people on Symi who have worked tirelessly to help find him.

“Some of these people on the island, who hadn’t even heard of Michael, worked from dawn till dusk unasked.

“We’re also very grateful to the Press who have dealt with us with great respect.

“I feel so lucky to have our children and my amazing friends. Most of all, I feel so lucky to have had this life with Michael.”

Downing Street said Michael Mosley was an “extraordinary broadcaster” who had a “huge impact” on people’s lives.

A coroner travelled to Symi ­yesterday from mainland Greece and ruled out anything suspicious.

Dr Mosley’s body was covered, placed on a stretcher and carried the short distance to a boat.

Downing Street said Michael Mosley was an “extraordinary broadcaster” who had a “huge impact” on people’s lives.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The reports from the weekend are heartbreaking and our thoughts are with Dr Michael Mosley’s family, his wife Clare and friends, in what must be deeply sad times.

“We have seen some incredibly touching tributes which have made clear the huge impact that Dr Mosley had on people and helped to transform people’s lives for the better.

“He will be known as an extraordinary broadcaster who used his platform to influence and change the way we think about many public health issues.”

Emergency services leave Agia Marina in SymiCredit: PA

The second last sighting of Dr Mosley only 20 minutes after he left his wife at the beach to walk back aloneCredit: Enterprise

Dr Mosley pictured with wife Clare

Firefighters combing the mountain side after the search shifted to the rocky outcrops on SaturdayCredit: News Group Newspapers ltd

‘SADDEST STORY I’VE WORKED ON’

By Ed Southgate, in Symi

Early yesterday we headed to Agia Marina with British journalists to view the area known as the  Abyss caves following fears Dr Michael Mosley may have fallen in there.

What we found was much worse than anything I could have ever imagined.

He had endured more than a two-hour walk in searing temperatures to get to this point.

Sun photographer Simon Jones and I wanted to film a piece explaining the latest development.

But we were interrupted by the bar’s manager who was indicating he had seen something on the other side of the barbed wire fence.

I peered over and saw the body of Dr Mosley, with a dropped umbrella nearby.

I froze. It was horrifying and incredibly overwhelming. I was hit by an intense shock and sadness. I felt sick and at several points I was on the verge of tears.

It is among the saddest stories I have worked on.

Immediately I dashed back to the restaurant area where everyone else was to help raise the alarm.

“There’s a body over there,” I said, as the bar manager got his colleague to phone the police.

It then became chaotic. I was still trying to process what I had just seen.

Staff were running around and trying to keep people away as tourists were coming up trying to see what was going on.

I was here to report on the search for Dr Michael Mosley.

The tragedy of this is that he was just yards from the beach resort where he could have sat and had water.

Search parties were looking so close to this area in the previous days without noticing his exposed body, and even a low-flying helicopter had scoured the terrain. But he was never found.