Missing TV Doctor’s Family ‘Will Not Lose Hope’ as Rescuers Searching for Him Say It’s a ‘Race Against Time’

The search continues for a U.K. TV doctor who went missing on the island of Symi, Greece, earlier this week.

Michael Mosley had gone on a walk from St. Nicholas Beach on the island a little after 2 p.m. local time on Wednesday, June 5, according to reports from The Sunday Times, the BBC and The Independent. However, when he didn’t return to his lodgings in the town later that night, his wife, Dr. Clare Bailey Mosley, reported him missing.

CCTV footage obtained by the BBC and the Times showed that Mosley, 67, was last seen entering a mountain path inland from a small marina in the coastal town of Pedi. Rescuers described the decision to walk there to PA news agency as “inexplicable,” as it would have taken three hours for a fit young person to walk.

“The path is not easy to follow. If he took a wrong turn, he would be lost. He could be anywhere. It is a race against time,” one of the rescuers said, per the Times.

Emergency crews began searching for the missing doctor with drones, though they later called off the search around 8 p.m. on Friday as it became too dark to continue. The search resumed again on Saturday morning.

Mosley’s four children flew in from the U.K. on Friday evening to provide aid.

The doctor’s wife told the Times: “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.”

She said, however, that they will “not lose hope,” adding, “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.”

More than 100 rescuers have been involved in the search, per the Times.

Symi’s coast guard confirmed to The Independent that “all” of their patrol boats, in addition to private and commercial boats, were searching the Pedi area.

The Greek fire service also told the outlet that it has “seven firefighters, one drone checking the wider area,” while the Hellenic Police Office sent officers with search dogs. 

The mayor of Symi, Eleftherios Papakalodouka, told the Times that the search for Mosley had shifted from the port and coastal town of Pedi to the Vroulias mountains, located on the northern coast of the island.

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“We are searching an area of around 6.5 km, which is in the mountains, and it’s very difficult to pass,” the mayor said. “There are only rocks, no shade, no trees. With 47 degrees [celsius] heat you can’t survive.”

“There is no chance we will call off the searches, but I believe they will conclude somewhere today,” Papakalodouka added on Saturday.

Mosley is best known for appearing in BBC shows including, Trust Me, I’m a Doctor and Michael Mosley: Who Made Britain Fat?, in addition to ITV’s This Morning, according to the Times.

He has also written several health columns for The Daily Mail.