British TV doctor Michael Mosley found dead in Greece

After a four-day search, Greek officials said on Sunday they had found the body of Michael Mosley, a British medical journalist and documentary filmmaker who disappeared last week while traveling on the Greek island of Symi.

His body was found on a beach in Agia Marina, said Symi Mayor Eleftherios Papakalodoukas.

His disappearance sparked a massive search operation involving firefighters, police and volunteers. Authorities also deployed dogs and drones, and the Greek coast guard joined the operation as fears grew that Mr Mosley had drifted out to sea.

BBC journalist Mosley, 67, arrived on Symi, a group of islands in the Dodecanese in the Aegean Sea, on Tuesday for a week-long trip. On Wednesday afternoon, he told friends on the beach at Agios Nikolaos that he would return on foot to his accommodation in the town of Symi, local authorities said.

The walk is about three kilometres long, depending on the route chosen. After several hours had passed and there was no sign of life from Mr Mosley, his wife Clare Bailey Mosley reported him missing to the police.

Search efforts shifted north towards Agia Marina on Friday after surveillance camera footage emerged in the village of Pedi – about halfway between Agios Nikolaos and the town of Symi – apparently showing Mr Mosley carrying an umbrella.

The terrain to the north above Agia Marina is much more rugged and dangerous.

Police said Mr Mosley did not have his phone with him during the walk and was last seen by a witness at a bus stop in Pedi.

Over the years, many British viewers have come to trust Mr Mosley, a long-time researcher in science and health, for his myth-busting advice on diet, exercise and sleep. Before venturing into television, Mr Mosley was a trained doctor. He hosted the popular BBC health podcast Just One Thing and appeared on the show Trust Me, I’m A Doctor.

He produced a number of health and science programs for the channel, often volunteering himself as an experimenter for the documentaries he presented. He swallowed parasites and tried magic mushrooms, but he was best known for popularizing the 5:2 diet, a form of intermittent fasting in which you eat normally for five days a week and fast for two.

In 2002, he was nominated for an Emmy for “The Human Face,” a series that explores the science behind beauty.

He recently produced two series for Channel 4, looking at obesity in the UK and the nutritional issues affecting consumers’ food shopping. This year he toured the UK with his wife, also a doctor and health columnist, presenting a live, interactive healthy living show.