Hopes that missing Mail columnist Dr Michael Mosley would be discovered alive after his disappearance were tragically dashed with the discovery of his body after a desperate five-day search.
Dr Mosley is now believed to have died less than two hours after leaving his wife on St Nicholas beach on the Greek island of Symi last Wednesday at 1.30pm.
His wife, Dr Clare Bailey, had seen him off after spending the morning on the idyllic beach with friends after arriving the day before for a week’s holiday.
Setting off with a small bottle of water but crucially no phone, Dr Mosley, a father of four, said he was returning to the three-bedroom Merchant House flat in Symi, where they were staying with friends.
They had arrived just the day before on what was Dr Mosely’s second trip to the sleepy Dodecanese island, having first visited eight years ago.
Dr Michael, whose death has been confirmed at the age of 67, was last seen last Wednesday.
His body was discovered this morning on the Greek island of Symi after five days of searching.
Local residents raised the alert after the mayor of Symi saw something he described as “unusual”.
The walk from St Nicholas to Pedi is about a mile and a half and took Dr Mosley no more than 15 minutes, with CCTV spotted at several points as he walked along the promenade.
The police were able to locate him thanks to a distinctive umbrella he was carrying, after being informed by a worker at the San Nicolás beach bar.
He was seen on CCTV at 1.42pm that day walking through the Kamares cafe and, five minutes later, he was seen on cameras at the Katsaras restaurant.
Then, at 1.52pm, he was photographed passing the Blue Corner Café, before the final CCTV image at 2.00pm showed him passing the home of a supermarket owner.
Two security personnel guarding a high-speed inflatable boat caught him as he passed by and headed to the trailhead towards Agia Marina.
With temperatures approaching 40°C and an excessive heat warning issued by the Greek meteorological service, Dr Mosley set off for Symi, but made the mistake of attempting to take a difficult mountain route.
Once in Pedi, there was an easy option to return to Symi, following the main road; Although it is not as picturesque, it offers shelter and places to stop to rest and drink water.
Instead, Dr Mosley decided to press on and take the inland route which climbs from Pedi to a height of about 60m before descending towards an artificial beach at Agia Marina.
Greek police have confirmed that the body found today is that of Dr Michael Mosley (pictured)
It is believed that he set out for Symi but made the mistake of taking a difficult mountain route.
This map shows the different paths through the Greek island that were available.
It was here that Dr Mosley’s body was sadly found shortly after 10am on Sunday, after Mayor Lefterios Papakalodoukas saw something “unusual” in the sea while sailing following media interviews.
Papakalodoukas spoke to reporters on the beach while standing just meters from where Dr. Mosley’s body would be found minutes later.
After finishing the interviews, he had returned to a boat and was heading back to Pedi when he turned around and something “unusual” caught his attention.
Greek television crews approached and told him it looked like a body, and he immediately alerted a nearby restaurant whose waiter Ilias Tsavaris was sent to investigate.
He ran and was hit by the sun shining on Dr. Mosely’s watch and, as he got closer, he realized with horror that it was the missing health guru.
The reporters were right behind him and caught the look of horror on the waiter’s face as he led them away and then called the police, who arrived twenty minutes later.
The body was near the perimeter fence of the beach restaurant and no more than 30 meters from where the tourists were enjoying the sun.
In another twist, a police officer at the scene suffered a suspected broken leg when jumping from a wall near the body and had to be carried away on a stretcher.
Customers continued to order lunch while others swam or played beach volleyball while forensic teams and emergency services went about their grim task.
Claire Bailey (right) has paid tribute to her “brilliant” husband Dr Michael Mosley (left) – seen together here on ITV’s This Morning in June 2019.
Police officers and search teams have been working for five days searching for Dr. Mosley.
Tributes have been paid after the death of Michael Mosley, pictured and appearing on ITV daytime show Loose Women on February 2 this year, was confirmed dead.
Dr Mosley was staying on the Greek island of Symi, on his second visit there.
Photographs of the body and the scene were taken by officers wearing gloves and masks, while it appeared that his backpack had been found away from the body.
A female researcher could clearly be seen picking up the khaki backpack and holding it about 20 feet up the slope, away from the body.
What investigators will now try to unravel is how and why Dr Mosley ended up where he was and why his body had not been seen during searches.
It is believed that he managed to climb the slope from Pedi to the top of the hill overlooking Agia Marina, but what is not clear is why he decided to go around the edge of the restaurant.
A more obvious route would be a signposted path to the restaurant, which overlooks a small island, before continuing the walk to Simi Harbour.
The guides describe the hike as traversing a “desert mountain landscape” and much of the trail was “stony to very rocky.”
One of them describes “false trails that can be misleading” but are “stony and uncomfortable”, adding that there is “little vegetation” along the route with only sheep and goats for company.
The question for investigators is trying to understand why they found him where he was. Did she slip and fall while she was trying to reach the water? Did she have some kind of attack? Why did a helicopter that flew over several times on Saturday not detect it?
Local cameraman Antonios burst into tears when talking about the discovery of the body.
The manager of the Agia Marina bar, Ilias Tsavaris, was also among those who raised the alert this morning.
Dr Mosley is believed to have taken a walk through the island’s treacherous mountainous terrain.
A drone view shows rescue teams arriving to move the body after this morning’s discovery.
Dr. Mosley’s television series includes one called Inside The Human Body, about the ‘last breath’ of a dying man.
Dr. Michael Mosley and his wife Claire Bailey were married for 40 years.
A Hellenic Coast Guard ship carrying the body is seen docked on the island of Symi.
Claire Bailey said of her husband Dr Michael Mosley (pictured): ‘He did an incredible climb, took the wrong route and collapsed where he couldn’t easily be seen.’
However, what is clear is that, tragically, it appears that Dr. Mosley tragically passed away two hours after leaving.
A waiter at Agia Marina told MailOnline: ‘I just can’t believe it. He was very close to us during all these days.
“They searched the area on foot and the helicopter flew over on Saturday. How come they didn’t find it?”
But for now those questions will be far from the minds of the heartbroken family as they gather and mourn a devoted father and husband.
