Rescuers desperately searching for missing Mail columnist Dr Michael Mosley are focusing their search on a dangerous cave complex known as The Abyss.
His efforts in the network of caverns and “endless” underwater tunnels yesterday found no trace of the television doctor, but his wife has promised that the family “will not lose hope” of finding him.
Speaking yesterday for the first time since her husband’s mysterious disappearance, Clare Bailey spoke forcefully of the “longest, most unbearable days for me and my children”.
Greek police yesterday released new CCTV images of Dr Mosley taken on Wednesday afternoon, the day he disappeared on the island of Symi.
He carried an umbrella to protect himself from the 35°C (95°F) heat and walked purposefully toward a mountain trail.
New CCTV appears to show Mail columnist Michael Mosley walking towards rocky hills from the town of Pedi on Wednesday.
The health expert, pictured with his wife Clare Bailey, has not been seen since he went for a walk on the green island of Symi.
Volunteers walk mountain trails in Symi, where Michael Mosley may have gone after disappearing on Wednesday
A rescue helicopter joined the search yesterday, seen here flying over Pedi
In a statement yesterday, Dr Bailey, 62, said: “It’s been three days since Michael left the beach to go for a walk. The longest, most excruciating days for me and my children.
‘The search continues and our family is 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.”
Dr Bailey last saw her husband, 67, on the secluded St Nicholas beach on Wednesday, when he went for a walk to the town of Pedi, from where he was expected to catch a bus back to their villa in the port of Symi.
However, CCTV footage taken in Pedi around 2pm shows him heading towards the mountains.
Since then, and despite a massive search operation with dogs, drones, helicopters and divers, the writer and broadcaster has not been seen again.
Last night, sources told The Mail on Sunday that Dr Bailey had been called in again to give rescuers more details about what her husband had with him when he disappeared.
An official said: “It’s been four days and no trace of him has been found, so it was just to go over things again.”
“She explained that she was carrying a khaki backpack and had her wallet, a bottle of water and a watch, which was not a smart watch.”
On Friday, the couple’s four eldest children traveled to Symi to join their mother.
It was understood that yesterday they were part of the search party combing the two-mile path from Pedi to Agia Marina, a small beach near The Abyss, where rescue efforts will continue today.
To enter those treacherous caves, Dr Mosley would have had to swim from Agia Marina beach, just as coastguards and divers accessed them yesterday.
This is the photo of Dr Mosley released with an appeal after he went missing while walking on holiday in Greece on Wednesday.
A cafe on the island of Symi where Dr Mosley was seen passing by on CCTV footage
Reporter Nick Pisa on the path Michael Mosely used to return to Pedi Beach
Rescuers have also been searching around a separate rocky path near Agia Marina, which rises above uneven limestone terrain and leads a longer route back to Symi. But it is not marked and guides warn that it is a “technically difficult” trail.
The Mail on Sunday walked a stretch of this path yesterday and, although manageable, it would no doubt be hard work under a fierce sun.
A member of the search team we met said: ‘We have footage of him heading here from the last house in Pedi.
‘This is a difficult walk at the best of times and should not be undertaken between 11am and 5pm We believe you were here during the hottest time of the day, at two in the afternoon.
Rescuers are concerned for Dr Mosley’s well-being due to the dangerous heat and described the search as a “race against time” in which every minute is invaluable.
All boats have been asked to be aware of their presence in the water and, in a sign of the urgency with which they are dealing with the situation, firefighters who had been fighting fires on the nearby island of Kos were transferred to Symi after to control the flames. .
At Agia Marina’s purpose-built beach, staff told The Mail on Sunday that police had asked to review their CCTV.
One employee said: “I’m pretty sure I would have remembered a man with an umbrella, but no one came here dressed like that.”
‘It’s a climb to the top of the mountain, then down and up again before meeting a road that takes you to the town. It would take about an hour, hour and a half at most.
‘There is nothing between here and Symi but stones, more stones and sheep and goats. It’s all exposed and I wouldn’t try to walk through it in this heat.
Search teams have fanned out across the Greek island of Symi, a pristine paradise in the Dodecanese Islands off the coast of Rhodes.
Rescuers continued the search as Michael’s wife, Dr. Clare Bailey, declared “we will not lose hope.”
It is feared that Michael Mosley may have become disoriented in the heat and wandered off the trail, although this seems unlikely as it is clearly marked. In the photo: Rescuers on the road.
The unforgiving limestone terrain is described in tourist guides as a “desert mountain landscape with much of the road stony to very stony underfoot.”
Symi mayor Lefteris Papakalodoukas said: “We know he passed through Pedi and then walked towards Agia Marina – it’s about two miles and a harder walk than from St Nicholas.”
‘But then we don’t know if he reached Agia Marina or if he decided to climb the mountain… but that path is difficult.
“Only a few locals know about it and although it is marked, it is easy to get lost and unwise to walk through it in the middle of the afternoon with temperatures hovering around 40C. “If you tried to walk that way to Symi then it was a big mistake.
‘There are also many disturbing questions here. Why did he leave the beach, his wife and his friends? Why didn’t he take the phone from him?
‘It is also clear from the CCTV footage that he did not stop for a drink at Pedi or to rest. She seemed to walk with great determination. Surely it would have been better to stop and have a coffee or some water, but no, she decided to continue.’
The owner of a local restaurant, who asked to be identified only as Nikos, said: “It’s very strange what has happened, where has it gone?
‘It’s just a small island and he was wearing bright clothes. The firefighters, police and coast guard have been searching for three days without finding anything.
“They have placed a drone and they have not seen anything and they have also used thermal images.”
Yesterday, for the first time in 36 hours, a fire department helicopter joined the search as it flew over the mountain runway where Dr Mosley was thought to be headed.
It swooped down over the terrain and crossed it several times before returning to its base on the nearby island of Rhodes.
Dr Mosley – Known for BBC shows including Trust Me, I’m A Doctor and The One Show, as well as Radio 4’s Just One Thing. – He is believed to have last visited Symi eight years ago and stayed with some friends in a villa in the center of Symi port.