RESCUERS have said it is "impossible" that Michael Mosley is still in Pedi area of the Greek island as fears grow that he may have fallen into the sea.
Dr Mosley vanished on a coastal walk in Symi on Wednesday as a major search operation involving helicopters, drones and dogs was launched.
The TV doctor, 67, went missing on Wednesday after leaving his wife on Saint Nikolas beach to walk back to where they were staying in Pedi.
His wife Dr Clare Bailey, 62, alerted police that evening when he had failed to return home by 7.30pm from the 20-minute coastal walk.
Cops are set to start a "much deeper probe" around the star's disappearance today as it approaches the 48-hour mark.
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And witnesses are set to be quizzed amid claims he was spotted talking to people in Pedi.
But the mayor of Symi, Eleftherios Papakalodoukas, said firefighters carrying out the search believe it is "impossible" that Mr Mosley is there.
Papakalodoukas told BBC News: "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 thinks Mr Mosley likely either "followed another path" or fell into the sea.
Police initially said the 67-year-old may have "fallen from a height" or lost consciousness on the hike home from the Saint Nikolas Beach at around 1:30PM.
They also said the star could have suffered a heart attack due to the 37C heat or have been bitten by a snake.
Senior police spokesman Constantina Dimoglidou initially told the Daily Mail that Dr Mosley "forgot his phone at the beach", making efforts to track him digitally difficult.
But his device was later found at the accommodation they were staying in, a police spokesperson told the BBC.
The specific movements of Dr Mosley, his wife Dr Bailey and another couple they were travelling with that day have not been completely clarified by police.
Some reports suggest the four of them left Pedi bay on Wednesday morning in a boat bound for Saint Nikolas beach - with Dr Mosley's phone at home.
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Then at around 1.30pm he opted to take the brief coastal walk back to the house instead of the boat.
An appeal was posted on a local Facebook group that day with a picture of Mr Mosley on a beach - wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses.
It read: "Have you seen this man? He set off to walk back from [Saint Nikolas beach] at about 13:30 and failed to make it home.
"His friends are concerned as it is 6 hours since they last saw him.
"His name is Dr Mike Mosley and he is a familiar face for many British people as he has appeared on the BBC."
How does someone, a man going from one point to the other, just vanish like that?
Senior Greek official
Cops then filed a missing person report at 10.30am on Thursday morning and have been scouring CCTV footage for any sign of the missing man since.
Six firefighters, a vehicle and a drone team were all seen arriving in Symi from Rhodes at around 2pm yesterday as they circled the area around Saint Nikolas Beach.
With The Sun being told a number of extra police squadrons, coast guard officials, specially-trained sniffer dogs and military helicopters all set to be flown in from Athens today.
A senior officer overseeing the operation said yesterday: “We've got forces who will also being coming in from Rhodes.
“They will start a much deeper probe tomorrow, people will be brought in for questioning.
“How does someone, a man going from one point to the other, just vanish like that?"
And a senior Greek official also said "no stone" would be left unturned to find Dr Mosley.
They added: “There are people on land, on the sea, there are machines in the skies [drones] looking for him.
“One way or another he will be found but right now, after all these hours of looking, it’s beginning to resemble a mystery.”
The search is expected to continue for up to five days, mayor Papakalodoukas said.
Speaking to Greek media the island's mayor said some witnesses claimed they spotted Dr Mosley in town after his walk, speaking to another person.
He told Live News: "The whole island is in turmoil. The volunteers of the island and the services are out looking to find him.
"The information we have says that he returned from the beach of Agios Nikolaos [Saint Nikolas], walked the footpath which is 10-15 minutes and arrived at Pedi, which is a residential area."
A woman told TV outlets in Greece that she saw Mosley speaking to an elderly man near to some bins after news of his disappearance first broke.
A third person was also said to have been with them at around 14:20pm "wearing a very thin plaid shirt" they said.
One woman in the area said his disappearance was "strange" because the path he set out to walk was "clear".
She said: "It's a quiet place… if you see the map of the area it's a clear path, it's nothing dangerous.
"Many people go every day, every few minutes, that's the reason it's very strange because it's a clear path."
The mayor went on to explain that there was "very little crime on the island" causing even more concern for officials.
"It is not easy for a person to go missing in Symi, I think if something had happened, since last night when they were searching and scouring Pedi, we would have found some trace," Papakalodoukas said.
The UK Foreign Office said earlier today they were “supporting” Dr Mosley’s family.
Speaking to Proto Thema the mayor added: "All of these are testimonies that are being investigated at the moment.
"The mobilisation of the police and the fire brigade is great and we hope that the man is found quickly and that he is in good health."
A policeman said the search so far has focused on the area between the beach of Saint Nikolas, where Mosley was last seen, and the resort of Pedi where he was staying with his wife.
Senior Police Spokesman Constantina Dimoglidou previously told the Mail: "He was at the beach of Ag. Nikolas with another couple when he decided to go back to his home in the area of Pedi of Symi.
"It was around 1.30pm and he forgot his phone at the beach. Any and every attempt to track him down has not produced any result.
"We have now asked the fire brigade to assist in the operation in the case that he may have slipped, tripped, fallen, even bitten by a snake, remaining injured somewhere.
"There is just no trace of him. None whatsoever and that means that for us at least, every potential scenario is open and being investigated."
Fellow TV presenter Jeremy Vine sent a touching message of support towards Dr Mosley and his family.
He posted on X: "I'm praying this lovely man is found and thinking of Claire and the whole Mosley family."
Julia Hartley-Brewer also said on her show today: "Michael Mosley, he has gone missing on a Greek island. Lovely, lovely, lovely man. [It’s] very, very worrying.”
With Trust Me I'm A Doctor star Saleyha Ahsan calling the news "shocking" and that she was hoping the loved doctor would be "found safe".
She added: "I literally feel sick with worry. Don't even know what to say."
Dr Mosley is best known for hosting the BBC podcast Just One Thing.
He has also appeared on This Morning and The One Show.
The 67-year-old broadcaster did the Channel 4 show Michael Mosley: Who Made Britain Fat? and was part of the BBC series Trust Me, I'm A Doctor.
He also lived with tapeworms in his guts for six weeks for the documentary Infested! Living With Parasites on BBC Four.
