Wife of TV doctor Michael Mosley says her ‘kind and brilliant’ husband found dead on Greek island

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The wife of TV doctor and columnist Michael Mosley has confirmed that her “wonderful, funny, kind and brilliant husband” was found dead on the Greek island of Symi.

Police launch large-scale manhunt for 67-year-oldThis morning Star after he was reported missing by his wife Dr Clare Bailey Mosley after he failed to return from a walk along the coast on Wednesday in the sweltering heat and without his mobile phone.

On Sunday, a body was found in a rocky area near Agia Marina, close to a cave complex known locally as “the Abyss”.

“It is devastating to have lost Michael, my wonderful, funny, kind and brilliant husband,” said Dr Bailey Mosley.

“We had an incredibly happy 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 last few days.”

“My family and I have been very comforted by the outpouring of support from people all over the world. It is clear that Michael meant a great deal to many of you. It is a comfort to us that he almost made it. He completed an incredible climb, took the wrong route and collapsed in a place where he could not easily be seen by the extensive search team.

“Michael was an adventurous man, that’s part of what made him so special. We are so grateful to the extraordinary people on Symi who worked tirelessly to find him. Some of these people on the island, who had never even heard of Michael, worked unprompted from morning to night.”

“I am so lucky to have our children and my wonderful friends,” added Dr. Bailey Mosley. “But most of all, I am so lucky to have had this life with Michael.”

Dr Mosley was on the beach at Agios Nikolaos with his wife and friends before setting off for a walk at around 1.30pm local time. The alarm was raised at 7.30pm and a major search and rescue operation was launched, involving local residents, rescue workers and a helicopter from nearby Rhodes.

Video footage showed Mosley safely arriving at the fishing village of Pedi, about 20 minutes from his starting point, but then he probably tackled a more difficult, hilly route in intense heat, without his mobile phone.

The mayor said the area Mosley is believed to have traveled through was “difficult to navigate” and “just rocks” and was populated by “tons” of snakes.

British journalists and a restaurant worker were the first to see the body. It was discovered near the shore under a fence that had been erected around the bar on Agia Marina beach. The beach is surrounded by hilly and rocky terrain that extends to the sea.

The bar’s manager, Ilias Tsavaris, said he only saw the body after the island’s mayor “saw something” at the bar’s fence and alerted staff. “They saw it by boat,” he said. “The mayor came and saw something, so they called me and said, ‘Hey, they saw something, go and look there.'”

“They called me and said, ‘You know what, we saw something from a distance, can you go and look?’ So I went. When I went, I saw what looked like a dead body, just to be sure.

“He came out of Pedi unharmed and did not go through the restaurant. If he had gone through there, we would have checked the cameras,” said the 38-year-old, adding that “rescuers have been searching the area every day with helicopters.”

The BBC quoted the mayor of Symi as saying: “As we approached a cave next to Agia Marina beach during our search, we filmed with cameras along the coast. We saw an object next to a fence on the beach and when we zoomed in closer, we realised it was Michael Mosley’s body.”

“He probably fell from a low cliff about ten metres high.”

A leather bag was also found next to the body, said Antonios Mystiloglou, a cameraman for state television ERT who was on the boat. “I wish we had better news for the family,” he told Sky News through tears, describing how they found the body.

Dr. Mosley is known as a columnist for the Daily Mail and has made a series of films about nutrition and exercise.

The broadcaster hosted the show on Channel 4 Michael Mosley: Who made Britain fat? and was part of the BBC series Trust me, I am a doctor.

He also lived with tapeworms in his intestines for six weeks for the documentary Infested! Living with parasites on BBC Four and promotes the ketogenic diet in his work.

Mosley received an Emmy nomination for BBC science documentary The human facepresented by John Cleese and featuring many famous faces including Elizabeth Hurley, Pierce Brosnan and Sir David Attenborough.

Mosley has four children with his wife Clare Bailey Mosley, also a doctor, author and health columnist, who wrote the cookbook Fast 800 Easy.

The couple, who have hosted theatre tours together, recently attended the Hay Festival, where Mosley presented a special edition of his Radio 4 series and podcast Just One Thing.

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