Barman describes harrowing moment he found body in Michael Mosley search as hunt comes to tragic end
A BARMAN has told of the agonising moment he discovered the body believed to be missing TV doctor Michael Mosley.
Ilias Tsavaris, 38, found what police sources say is the British presenter on rocky ground just 120 yards from where rescue teams had been searching.
Dr Mosley, 67, known for his appearances on The One Show and This Morning, had been missing since Wednesday after he went for a walk alone along a coastal path in searing heat.
For five days, the health expert seemingly disappeared without a trace, prompting a major search operation involving helicopters, divers, firefighters, dogs, and drones.
A police spokesperson told The Sun today they had identified his body using his watch and clothes.
The body was found a 30 minute walk from where Dr Mosley was last seen and close to a dangerous cave complex known to locals as “The Abyss”.
The remains still await formal identification.
Ilias, a bar manager in Agia Marina, first found the body after receiving a call from Symi’s mayor who had spotted the body from the boat.
He said: “I walked up 30 metres and I saw an image of a person, I said is that… I went closer and closer.
“I called the owners, him and the other guy, and they called the police now.
“They told me to check out over there. They called me to go and check over there.
“But they saw it with the boat, the mayor came and saw something so that is when they called me…they said ‘we saw something from far away can you go and check’ so I went there.
“So when I walked up I saw something like a body to make sure. And then I saw what I saw.
“You don’t see a dead body everyday, it is not a warzone, it’s summer you are supposed to have fun and swimming.”
Locals at the chaotic scene told The Sun it was “shocking” to hear the tragic news.
Tragically, the body was found just 100 yards from the path between between Agia Marina and Symi Town that rescuers took to retrace Dr Mosley’s possible last steps
The body was roughly only 100 yards away from the beach.
Ilias said: “He came from Pedi okay, and he walked not through the restaurant, if he had walked through there [the bar] we would have checked the cameras.
He was shocked the body had not been found earlier, stating: “Rescuers had searched that area everyday with helicopters.”
The rocky outcrops and caves surrounding Agia Marina on the northeast of the island became the focus of the search on Saturday.
The leading theory was that Dr Mosley took a wrong turn while trying to get back to his accommodation in Symi Town.
Police feared last night that the BBC star may have gotten into trouble and ended up in the “bottomless” caves that surrounded the beach resort.
It is unclear if he had an accident or if he felt unwell
Eleftherios Papakalodouk
Firefighters were seen searching “The Abyss” but they were unable to find anything.
The search was set to resume in the area this morning before the barman discovered the body.
The mayor of Symi, Eleftherios Papakalodouk, said he was on a boat when he spotted a body lying 20m above the Agia Marina beach and called a nearby bar to have a look.”
“We zoomed with the cameras and saw it was him,” he said.
“The body was found on land 10m from the beach, next to a plot fence, which is why it had not been found for so many days”.
He later said: “We analysed the recorded evidence and it was obvious that it was, unfortunately, Mosley.”
“It is unclear if he had an accident or if he felt unwell,” Papakalodoukas added.
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
WHAT HAPPENED?
Dr Mosley left Saint Nikolas beach on Wednesday at 1.30pm, where he had been with his wife Clare and two friends.
He is believed to have then walked alone along a coastal path without his mobile phone to Pedi.
He was caught on CCTV in the fishing village at 1.52pm close to a cafe in Pedi shielding himself underneath an umbrella.
Further CCTV, released to the public on Saturday, showed him then leaving Pedi and heading towards a rocky path in blazing temperatures of up to 37C.
Rescuers feared he may have taken a wrong turn while trying to get back to his accommodation in the town of Symi.
He was initially feared by cops to have “fallen from a height” as he walked a rocky path leading from the beach to Pedi.
However, the footage made clear he made it to the village safely and was potentially attempting a much longer route home than previously thought.
Police on Friday night then shifted their search away from the water and into the mountains where they worked around-the-clock to comb through the barren land.
The search continued on Saturday, with at least 100 rescuers and volunteers and a helicopter focused on Agia Marina.
Search teams and the mayor both told The Sun the walking route can be incredibly “dangerous” and “treacherous” with no shade.
Mayor Papakalodouka added that Mosley had no water, stating: “You can’t survive in this weather.”
Describing the mountainous route, he said: “The area is so difficult to walk. It’s so rocky.
“He wouldn’t have known where he was going. He could have got lost.”
In her first powerful statement since her husband’s disappearance, Clare said on Saturday that her family would “not lose hope”.
“It has been three days since Michael left the beach to go for a walk. The longest and most unbearable days for myself and my children.
“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.”
The couple’s four adult children – Alexander, Jack, Daniel and Katherine – arrived on the island on Friday to join the search efforts.
Who is Dr Michael Mosley?
BY Henry Holloway, Deputy Foreign Editor
DR MICHAEL Mosley is a TV presenter and health expert known for his work with the BBC – with regular appearances on The One Show.
He is a diet expert who advocated for intermittent fasting, low-carb diets and has written books promoting keto.
Born in India, he studied philosophy, politics and economics and worked as a banker before graduating from medical school.
He joined the BBC in 1985 as an assistant producer, and quickly rose through the ranks – becoming a popular presenter.
Dr Michael worked on programmes such The Human Face with Professor Robert Winston – and Inventions that Changed The World with Jeremy Clarkson.
Eventually fronting his own shows and regularly appearing on breakfast television, he gained a reputation as a diet guru.
He also hosted the BBC podcast Just One Thing.
The TV star is married to Clare Bailey, a GP, and they have four children.