Body found in Symi search for missing presenter Michael Mosley

A body has been found in the search for TV and radio presenter Dr Michael Mosley on the Greek island of Symi.

The 67-year-old went missing on Wednesday after setting off on a walk from Agios Nikolaos beach.

The body – which has yet to be formally identified – was found on a hillside near Agia Marina beach bar in the early hours of Sunday.

Symi’s mayor Eleftherios Papakalodouka said the body was found as teams were searching the coastline with cameras.

A police source told BBC News the deceased had been dead “for a number of days”.

The body was found next to a fence, with an umbrella close by, around 30 minutes walk from the village of Pedi where Dr Mosley was last seen.

It is a few metres away from where children are playing in the water at Agia Marina beach.

A bar manager who was with journalists found the body, PA news agency reported, after the island’s mayor “saw something” by the fence of the bar and alerted staff.

Agia Marina bar manager Ilias Tsavaris said: “They called me, they said ‘You know what, 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.”

Rescuers had been searching the area every day with helicopters, he added.

One police officer who is part of the team trying to recover the body, apparently broke his leg and was moved away by boat.

A coroner has now examined the body. Police spokeswoman Konstantia Dimoglidou told the BBC authorities had to rule out any possibility that the death was the result of a criminal act.

“We need to get a first insight into the causes of death and whether [it] preceded the person’s fall to the ground,” Ms Dimoglidou said.

On Saturday, BBC News obtained CCTV footage showing one of the last-known sightings of a man believed to Dr Mosley walking with an umbrella next to the marina in the village of Pedi on Wednesday.

Greek authorities had been conducting an extensive search for Dr Mosley over five days amid high temperatures.

The effort has included firefighters, dogs, helicopters, drones, local people and officers from Symi and outside the island.

His four children had also joined his wife, Dr Clare Bailey Mosley, on the island.

Dr Mosley was first reported missing after he left Agios Nikolaos beach to set off on a walk at about 1330 local time (11:30 BST).

His wife later reported him missing.

Dr Mosley studied medicine in London and qualified as a doctor and for the last two decades has been working as a presenter, documentary maker, journalist and author.

He is known for his TV programmes including Trust Me, I’m a Doctor, and BBC Radio 4’s Just One Thing podcast.

He has regularly appeared on BBC One’s The One Show and ITV’s This Morning, and was a columnist for the Daily Mail.

Dr Saleyha Ahsan, his co-presenter on Trust Me, I’m A Doctor, told BBC News he was a “national treasure” and a “hugely talented” man.

She also praised his “passion for explaining science to a wider audience”, adding he made it “accessible to anyone and everyone, not just a niche scientific crowd”.

He is also known for popularising the 5:2 and the Fast 800 diets, which advocate for intermittent fasting and low-carbohydrate meals.

His diets have attracted a lot of attention in the past, both for their methods and scientific accuracy.

While qualified as a doctor, Mosley was no longer registered as a medical doctor.

Wednesday 1330 local time (11:30 BST) – Dr Michael Mosley leaves his wife Clare on Agios Nikolaos beach and sets off on a walk

1350 – Man carrying umbrella is seen on CCTV in Pedi

1357 – Same man is seen again at Pedi’s marina heading north-east

Thursday 1115 – Police are unable to find the presenter, so they inform Athens and request assistance from the Greek fire department

1400 – Greek fire services, with six firefighters and a drone team, arrive in Symi

1900 – Helicopter deployed to assist search

Friday – Divers join the search in the water around Symi

Saturday 0600 – Firefighters resume search for Dr Mosley

1400 – His wife Clare says the Mosley family “will not lose hope” and thanks those involved in the search

Sunday – Authorities looking for Dr Mosley find a body

Additional reporting by Nikos Papanikolaou