The body of TV doctor Michael Mosley has been found on the Greek island Symi after a days-long search.
Dr. Mosley’s remains were discovered with an umbrella next to a fence near Agia Marina beach, about 30 minutes’ walk from the village of Pedi.
The body is awaiting formal identification, however police officials said they believed the remains to be those of the missing 67-year-old.
The authorities reportedly identified Dr. Mosley’s remains by his watch and clothing.
Dr. Mosley disappeared after setting off from Agios Nikolaos beach towards Pedi on Wednesday.
The body was discovered behind the fence by a bar manager after the mayor of Symi reportedly “saw something” on a boat and notified staff.
“They called me, they said ‘You know what we saw something from far away, can you go and check’ so I went there,” Agia Marina bar manager Ilias Tsavaris told The Mirror.
“So when I walked up I saw something like a body to make sure.”
Mr Tsavaris said rescuers had searched that area with helicopters everyday.
“He came from Pedi OK, and he walked not through the restaurant. If he had walked through there (the bar) we would have checked the cameras.”
Local cameraman Antonios was on the boat with the mayor when the body was spotted near Agia Marina beach.
He told Sky News the body matched the description of the TV doctor.
While watching back footage, Antonios said he “clearly” saw a man “lying down with his hand on his belly”.
“The description is exactly of the guy we were looking for.”
“I’m really sorry for the family, I’m sorry that I’m the one to find him,” he said as his voice broke and he became emotional.
A police spokesperson told The Sun “there was no question” the man was Dr Mosley.
“We have been able to identify him from his watch and clothes,” said police spokesperson Konstantina Dimoglou.
“How long he had survived there is hard to tell but he had walked a very long way. He was close to where he wanted to get to.”
A police source told BBC News the deceased had been dead “for a number of days”.
Dr. Claire Bailey speaks out
Dr. Mosley’s wife, Dr. Claire Bailey, confirmed his death in a statement.
“I don’t know quite where to begin with this,” she said.
“It’s devastating to have lost Michael, my wonderful, funny, kind and brilliant husband.
“We had an incredibly lucky life together. We loved each other very much and were so happy together. I am incredibly proud of our children, their resilience and support over the past days.
“My family and I have been hugely comforted by the outpouring of love from people from around the world. It’s clear that Michael meant a huge amount to so many of you.
“We’re taking comfort in the fact that he so very nearly made it.
“He did an incredible climb, took the wrong route and collapsed where he couldn’t be easily seen by the extensive search team.
“Michael was an adventurous man, it’s part of what made him so special.
“We are so grateful to the extraordinary people on Symi who have worked tirelessly to help find him.
“Some of these people on the island, who hadn’t even heard of Michael, worked from dawn till dusk unasked. We’re also very grateful to the press who have dealt with us with great respect.
“I feel so lucky to have our children and my amazing friends. Most of all, I feel so lucky to have had this life with Michael.”
She had previously described the time since her husband went missing as “the longest and most unbearable days for myself and my children”.
It is understood that Dr Bailey was on the island with her British friends searching for any trace of her husband.
The search and rescue operation for Dr Mosley – who was a popular TV personality known in Australia for his appearances on SBS – resumed on Saturday.
The doctor’s four children also flew to the Greek island to assist in the search.
Alexander, Jack, Daniel and Katherine, who are all adults, were yesterday scouring the route on Symi where he was known to have walked.
CCTV footage
CCTV footage, obtained by the BBC, appears to show him walking with an umbrella next to the marina in the village of Pedi on Wednesday, walking towards rocky hills at roughly 2pm.
It is believed to be one of the last two CCTV sightings of Mosley that helped shift the search focus to the perilous mountain path.
Local Mayor Eleftherios Papakalodoukas had earlier said firefighters believed it would be “impossible” for Dr Mosley to remain in the Pedi area of Symi.
“It is a very small, controlled area, full of people. So if something happened to him there, we would have found him by now,” he told the BBC.
Mr Papakalodoukas said he believed it was most likely that the TV doctor either “followed another path” or had fallen into the sea.
‘The Abyss’
Firefighters were seen on Saturday afternoon local time entering the coastal area known by locals as “The Abyss”, The Sun reports.
The rocky outcrop features a network of water-filled “bottomless” tunnels close to Agia Marina, where the search is now concentrated.
Mosley would have had to swim from the Agia Mariana beach to access the site. Divers and the coastguard had to reach the treacherous location this way.
“It’s like a deep system of tunnels, but it is full of water and can spread for kilometres,” a waiter at a nearby beach told The Telegraph.
“If there is a hole and you fall, you lose your sense of balance and drown there.
“There is a reason they call it ‘The Abyss’. There is something very strange going on.”
The firefighters spent an hour looking inside, but said it was difficult to see through the mass of rocks, The Times reported.
A source told The Mail on Sunday how his distressed wife told rescuers more details about what Dr Mosley was carrying with him at the time he disappeared.
She said he had a “khaki backpack and had his wallet, a bottle of water and a watch.”
