Wednesday, June 4: Police were reported missing six hours later.
Dr Mosley left his wife, Dr Claire Bailey, on St Nicholas Beach at around 1.30pm on Wednesday. He is believed to have set out on a popular coastal walk towards the small village of Peddie. The walk is estimated to have taken around 15 minutes and the path has previously been described as a “clear path”.
The TV doctor had not returned to the accommodation he was staying at with his wife by 3pm. When she returned to the property he had left his mobile phone behind before leaving. Dr Bailey reported him missing to police at around 7.30pm, after which a rescue operation was launched.
Dr Mosley was seen on CCTV at St Nicholas Beach Restaurant that day. Grini Kaurmadia, whose family runs the restaurant, said Dr Mosley used the toilet around 1pm on Wednesday. She said: “I saw him go into the toilet and then leave but I don’t know where he went after that. I don’t know how he got here. Some people take a water taxi from Symi. They didn’t eat here so I don’t know how long they were on the beach. I haven’t spoken to him.”
Thursday 6th June: Locals spread word about the missing doctor as the Mayor expresses doubts that Michael is still in the area.
Posts began appearing in Simi’s Facebook group urging local people to keep an eye on Dr Mosley, with the group “Friends of Simi” calling for witnesses, describing the medical professional as “a familiar face to many Brits”.
By the afternoon, the fire brigade and coastguard had joined police in the search. Special forces also deployed teams of dogs, helicopters and thermal imaging drones to comb the area around Pedi. In the evening, Mayor Simi said it was “impossible” that Dr Mosley was still in the area. “It’s a very small, controlled area, full of people,” he said. “So if something had happened to him there, we would have found him by now.”
Friday, June 7: Divers and patrol boats join the search; severe weather warning issued
Further weather warnings were issued on Friday as forecasters stressed temperatures could soar to 48C. The search began at 9am on Friday, with divers combing the area in the afternoon.
“All our patrol boats are searching… about five of them. Also, civilian and commercial vessels are aware of the incident and they are also searching for (him) in the area. Civilian, commercial and patrol boats are searching,” Symi’s coast guard said.
A spokesman for the Greek Fire Service confirmed that Greek police were using sniffer dogs in the search. Later the same day, the first security camera images were released of the doctor with a pedicure and carrying an umbrella walking near the Blue Corner cafe.
Saturday, JJanuary 8: Firefighters resume searchDivision forced, snake warning issued
6AM: This morning, search coordinators confirmed the search resumed at around 6am, with firefighters beginning a search in a six-mile radius in mountainous territory surrounded by the sea.
Manolis Tsimpoukas, who is coordinating the search for missing people in the Dodecanese islands, said no trace of Dr Mosley had been found. He said the area was “very dangerous” and that if anything was found the doctor would be located within the hour.
Shortly before 8 a.m.: Symi’s mayor, Eleftherios Papakardoukas, said there was “no chance” the search would be stopped until Dr Mosley was found. The longtime mayor described the area where Dr Mosley is believed to have passed as “difficult to navigate” and “rocky.” He raised further concerns by saying the area was home to “a large number” of snakes.
10:34 AM: Firefighters flew a drone up the mountain range, where they believe the man was walking along a hilltop with no path or shade near the top of the hill between Pedi Bay and Agia Marina. The incident happened after a heatwave warning was issued for the area.
Shortly before 11 a.m.: Firefighters were forced to spread out to search the vast, rugged rock face on their own. One uniformed firefighter said there were 10 crews searching multiple peaks because it’s too dangerous for a large crew to operate in summer. “It’s not easy to bring 100 people here, especially at this time of year, which is the most dangerous time of the year. Everything is dry and it’s too dangerous for firefighters to search,” firefighter Stergos Jacoumakis said.