A retired California sheriff’s deputy went missing while hiking in Greece during a heat wave earlier this week.
Albert Calibet, 59, was hiking on the 47-square-mile island of Amorgos on Tuesday when he failed to return.
The retired Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy spoke with his girlfriend Debbie Leshane before the hike and texted her a photo of the trailhead around 9:30 a.m., but he hasn’t been in touch since. . the Puerta de San Francisco reported.
Two hours later, footage showed Calibet leaving the town of Aegiali, where he grabbed a soft drink and a bottle of water.
A rescue operation was launched on Tuesday afternoon and reinforcements were requested from the nearby island of Naxos, including the recruitment of a helicopter.
Albert Calibet, 59, was hiking on the 47-square-mile island of Amorgos on Tuesday.
Calibet (right) spoke to his girlfriend Debbie Leshane before the walk, but hasn’t been in touch since.
A desperate island-wide search has been launched, including a helicopter and local shepherds, in the hope of locating the 59-year-old man.
Police have requested data from mobile operators to help determine Calibet’s last known location, and the search has even joined local pastors in the efforts, ABC News reported.
“It makes us sick to our stomachs knowing it’s out there somewhere.” Leshane told ABC7.
Popi Despotidi, deputy mayor for tourism in Amorgos, said Calibet likely became dizzy from the heat and “collapsed somewhere.”
“It’s strange because it’s not someone who travels this route for the first time,” Despotidi told local media.
Calibet is reportedly a regular visitor to Amorgos, a rocky island of less than 2,000 inhabitants.
“(He) is very well known on the island,” Despotidi said. “He has been visiting for several years and has already completed the Aegiali-Ketapola route several times in the past.”
Temperatures reached dangerous levels across Greece on Thursday, reaching almost 113 degrees.
Footage captured Calibet walking through a town on the day of her disappearance, where she bought a soft drink and a bottle of water on the sweltering, hot day.
The Vice Mayor of Tourism of Amorgos said it is likely that Calibet became dizzy from the heat and “collapsed somewhere.”
Calibet is a regular visit to Amorgos, a rocky island of less than 2,000 inhabitants.
Calibet’s disappearance comes just days after a missing American tourist was found dead on a rocky beach on the small Greek island of Mathraki.
The victim was reported missing on Thursday by her host, a Greek-American friend.
He was reportedly last seen on Tuesday at a local cafe in the company of two women who have since left the small island.
Details about the man, including name and hometown, were not immediately available.
Last week, beloved British TV presenter and Daily Mail columnist Dr Michael Mosley was found dead on the island of Symi after collapsing during a walk.
His wife said he took the wrong route and collapsed just before reaching a marina, in a place where his body could not easily be seen.
Dr Mosley, 67, was found dead next to a fence in the Agia Marina resort on Sunday morning, just 80 meters from a beach bar and safety.
Temperatures at the time were around 40°C and excessive heat is believed to have played a role in his death.