Michael Mosley search teams using a sniffer dog have reportedly quit the scene and returned to Athens – potentially over concerns for the dog's health.
The TV doctor was spotted walking through the town of Pedi on the Aegean island of Symi on Wednesday at 1.52pm, around 20 minutes after setting off from St Nickolas beach on a hiking trail. Many believed that he may have run into trouble during that hike, but searchers on Saturday night turned their focus to a cave system known as The Abyss that they believe he could have entered.
BBC Correspondent Joe Inwood, speaking live from Symi on BBC Breakfast on Sunday morning, said: “The authorities have said that they will continue the search, they will continue to look for Michael Mosley until he is found, but the longer it goes on the more that hope will dwindle I’m sorry to say.
Sniffer dogs were reportedly pulled from the search for Michael Mosley on Sunday morning (Supplied)“Another thing we’ve learned this morning is that the search and rescue dog who had been on the hillside is being sent back to Athens. Now that could be a.sign that they are winding down, but it’s also being reported that it’s so hot here that the dog has been burning its paws on the hillside and so can’t work because of the heat. Now we don’t know which of those it is but that is a development we’ve had in the last hour or so.”
Helicopters, drones, dogs and a number of emergency responders continue to scour the Dodecanese Island. Local police were informed about the disappearance of the 67-year-old British national on the island on Wednesday.
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The search is continuing on Symi on Sunday (Tim Merry/Mirror Express)A search is being carried out by the Fire Brigade with the assistance of forces of the Hellenic Police, Civil Protection (a local and regional coordination agency), volunteers and a police dog, with drones also being used to find Dr Mosley.
It is understood Mosley was last seen by CCTV at a grey-stoned house beside a harbour on the island. He may have walked along a steep uphill concrete road. At the end of the street, a small path leads into the rocky landscape which has little vegetation beyond thistles and dry grass
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Eleftherios Papakaloudoukas, the mayor of Symi, has said he will continue the extensive search operation which has involved police, firefighters with drones, and divers. Speaking through a translator, the mayor of 22 years questioned how anyone could survive in the heat that topped 40C on the day the 'Trust Me, I'm A Doctor' presenter vanished.
Michael Mosley with his wife Clare Bailey (Maureen McLean/REX/Shutterstock)On Saturday, Michael's family spoke out for the first time through his wife. In a moving statement, the first released publicly since her husband went missing, Dr Bailey Mosley said: "It has been three days since Michael left the beach to go for a walk. The longest and most unbearable days for myself and my children.
"The search is ongoing and our family are so 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."
On Friday, the mayor’s daughter Mika Papakalodouka told the PA news agency that “a lot of” island residents had joined the search using their own boats to find the British national.
“It is a small island, people talk. We’re good people actually here. Everybody is looking for him,” the 20-year-old told PA. "It’s such a small island to get lost on. It’s so weird for us. Everybody is worried and looking for him.”
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