TV doctor Michael Mosley's body was found heartbreakingly close to a resort on the small Greek island of Symi.
The body was found about 50 yards away from the Agia Marina resort; roughly 1.2 miles north west of the town of Pedi. The resort is built largely around a secluded beach, with a restaurant and sunloungers provided in the quiet bay. It's also incredibly close to a series of caves and tunnels, known locally as 'The Abyss'.
The outer perimeter of the resort has small stone walls, with a chain link fence on top. Michael's body was found just the other side of one of these walls, along with his distinctive purple umbrella.
Stunned locals were seen watching rescuers inspect the area earlier on Sunday afternoon, as police and a coroner retrieved Michael's body from the remote part of the island. He was later placed on a stretcher and escorted from the bay on a speedboat, along with several medical crew.
Michael took a wrong turn on his journey back to his accommodation, according to his wife, Dr Clare Bailey Mosley. It meant he ended up in dangerous, rocky terrain toward Agia Marina.
Man arrested for murder after woman found dead on New Year's Eve"We’re taking comfort in the fact that he so very nearly made it," she said in a statement on Sunday. "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. Thank you all."
Police later confirmed the body was Michael, and they were working on the theory he'd been dead for several days.
Just 24 hours earlier, search teams, including Dr Mosley’s children, had been within 200 yards of his body as they retraced his steps. Dr Mosley left wife Clare at St Nicholas beach on Wednesday afternoon at 1.30pm, heading towards the village of Pedi. CCTV picked him up walking through the village.
The last sighting was security camera footage from a house at the end of the bay in Pedi which showed him striding up a hill towards Agia Marina. The walk from St Nicholas beach to where the body was found is about three miles and would have taken a couple of hours.
Michael disappeared on Wednesday afternoon, after leaving the beach on the south side of the Pedi inlet.
Dr Mosley and his wife landed on the small, 25-square-mile island last Tuesday to stay for a week with a couple who have a house in Symi Town. The two couples took a boat up the coast on Wednesday morning. They stopped at Saint Nicholas beach where he went for a swim in the sea before deciding to walk the 2.2 miles back to the house for his mobile.
But when Dr Bailey and the couple returned they found he had not returned and raised the alarm. Tributes started to flood in yesterday after the tragic news of his death broke.