DOCTOR Michael Mosley’s wife paid a heart-rending tribute to her husband of 37 years after a four-day search for him ended in tragedy.
Clare Bailey thanked rescue teams who scoured mountain paths in blistering heat after he apparently lost his bearings trying to walk from a beach to their holiday home on the Greek island of Symi.
14
Michael Mosley is pictured for the last time on the beach before heading offCredit: Facebook
14
Sad task for members of search team as they retrieve rucksack among boulders
14
The four-day search for the TV doctor ended in tragedy after his body was found on rocky ground close to a beach bar on the Greek island of Symi, above with wife ClareCredit: Free for editorial use
14
Spot where the body was found is circled just a short distance from bar
14
The body of the 67-year-old TV favourite 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 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.
“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.”
The couple had arrived with two friends on the ten-mile wide island on Tuesday and visited St Nikolas beach on Wednesday.
At 1.30pm the health guru set off alone to walk back to their accommodation in Symi Town, where he had left his phone.
The journey should have taken around 20 minutes. CCTV showed him in the town of Pedi, walking with an umbrella to shelter from the baking sun.
He is believed to have then taken a wrong turn, clambering over a rocky two-mile trail towards Agia Marina, accessible only by foot or water taxi.
14
Emergency services arrive by boat with a stretcher after the TV doctor was foundCredit: PA
14
The Sun has seen CCTV which appears to show his last movements before he sinks close to the spot his body was found
14
Police and first responders flooded the scene after a barman discovered Mosley’s bodyCredit: Simon Jones
14
Ilias Tsavaris, a local bar manager, told The Sun of his horror as he discovered the body
Dr Mosley, often seen on The One Show and This Morning, was reported missing at 7.30pm and a search involving up to 100 people was launched the next morning.
His children Alexander, Jack, Daniel and Katherine flew out to help.
Yesterday Symi mayor Eleftherios Papakalodoukas accompanied media to Agia Marina on a 15-minute water taxi but glanced back as they left for Pedi.
Spotting something suspicious in the rocks near the Agia Marina bar, he called a beach restaurant and alerted staff.
‘SADDEST STORY I’VE WORKED ON’
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.
By Ed Southgate, in Symi
Barman Ilias Tsavaris was dispatched to investigate – and there he made the heartbreaking discovery of Dr Mosley’s body.
Sun journalist Ed Southgate and photographer Simon Jones were nearby when the tragic discovery was made.
One of Ilias’s colleagues called police while tourists nearby were ushered away.
‘Very sad’
Mr Tsavaris, 38, said: “I feel very sad. You don’t see a dead body every day. It’s summer, you are supposed to have fun and swim.”
Dr Mosley’s body was away from a designated path lined by barbed wire.
His backpack was around 20ft further up the rocky hill.
A police officer at the scene suffered a suspected broken leg as he jumped from a wall close to the body and had to be carried away on a stretcher.
CCTV seen by The Sun showed Dr Mosley walking down the mountainous route towards Agia Marina.
He is seen descending towards a wall before disappearing from view. It is unclear if he sat down or stumbled.
He was seen on the camera at 3.44pm — two hours and 14 minutes after he left St Nikolas Beach, and around an hour and 45 minutes since walking through Pedi.
Last night there were theories Dr Mosley was either trying to get to the resort or had been heading to the sea hoping to cool down in 37C temperatures, then collapsed or slipped and banged his head.
It’s absurd we didn’t find him and questions will be asked
Police Source
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.
He was taken to Rhodes, around 25 miles away, where a full post-mortem will be conducted today.
His wife is understood to have accompanied Dr Mosley and will formally identify him.
Questions remained over why it took so long to find him, despite rescuers calling in a helicopter and drones.
A sniffer dog was also brought in from Athens — and was yesterday seen with burnt paws from the blisteringly hot rocks.
Greek authorities originally feared Dr Mosley had fallen into the sea or been bitten by one of the island’s venomous snakes.
But the search switched inland when CCTV images emerged on Friday afternoon showing him clutching the umbrella as he walked through Pedi town.
By Saturday the search was focused on the route to Agia Marina, with crews searching the rocky area above a perilous underwater cave system known to locals as the Abyss.
At one point teams appeared to be within around 50 yards from where the body was finally found.
One highly placed police source told The Sun: “We had everyone — every service, in every branch out there looking for him on this small island. It’s absurd we didn’t find him and questions will be asked.
“The CCTV cameras should have been checked much sooner and more quickly.”
Dr Mosley was one of Britain’s best known medics, popularising the 5:2 diet and writing a string of best-selling books.
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
14
Dr Mosley was one of Britain’s best known medicsCredit: Rex
14
An aerial view of Agia Marina where Dr Mosley’s body was discoveredCredit: PA
14
A helicopter flying over the hills close to Pedi as part of the rescue missionCredit: News Group Newspapers ltd
14
Firefighters combing the mountain side after the search shifted to the rocky outcrops on SaturdayCredit: News Group Newspapers ltd
14
Over 100 people were involved in the major search across the tiny islandCredit: News Group Newspapers ltd
News
Sinitta SH0CKS Loose Women panel with X-R@T3D comment about new BOYFRIEND
Sinitta stunned the Loose Women panel today when she opened up about her new relationship. The Toy Boy star, 60, who used to date media mogul Simon Cowell, has been single for 10 years, but is now delighted with her new man, who…
FATHER CAUSES FURY Tommy Fury’s dad John made CRUEL comment about Molly-Mae and DEFENDED his son during the couple’s SH0CK SPLIT
TOMMY Fury’s dad John once made a cruel comment about Molly-Mae “not being a wife” – appearing to predict the couple would split YEARS before they broke up. The influencer, 25, ended her five-year relationship after being sent an upsetting video of…
MAE DAY Molly-Mae accused of ‘FAKING HOLIDAY’ with Tommy Fury before SPLIT as fans spot TWO HUGE CLUES
MOLLY-MAE’s fans shared a wild theory she faked a holiday with Tommy Fury before their split. The former Love Island stars, both 25, split last week after five years together. Your info will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy…
MOVING ON Molly-Mae Hague’s ‘ULTIMATE REVENGE’ on Tommy Fury with new MONEY-SPINNING move in America
Determined Molly Mae Hague is poised to deliver the ultimate knockout blow to dumped Tommy Fury by conquering America. Boxer Tommy, 25, was embarrassingly denied entry to the States last year for a fight after American authorities refused an entry visa after background…
Katie Price’s children ‘ANGRY’ as mum becomes a ‘LAUGHING STOCK’ over new surgery
Katie Price’s children have urged her to stop after she underwent her latest £10,000 facelift. The former glamour model is no stranger to plastic surgery but it’s reported her children want to put a stop to her mum’s desire to…
EXCLUSIVE: Molly-Mae HUMILIATED Tommy Fury, then played the VICTIM, Trust me, there’s more to this SPLIT than meets the eye…
After Molly-Mae Hague’s shock Instagram announcement that her five-year relationship with Tommy Fury was over amid rumours of his infidelity, her eight million fans were so distraught that some said they were ‘actually sobbing’ over the death of the fairytale….
End of content
No more pages to load