British television presenter Michael Mosley has been found dead on a Greek island after a days-long search, his family announced.
A police spokesperson, who requested anonymity due to the ongoing investigation, told The Associated Press that Mosley’s body was discovered on a rocky coast by a private boat on Sunday. Formal identification is still pending. Mosley’s wife, Clare Bailey Mosley, stated that her husband had taken the wrong route during a hike and collapsed in a location where his body was not easily visible. The 67-year-old had gone missing on the island of Symi on Wednesday afternoon.
“Michael was an adventurous man, and that was part of what made him so special,” Clare Bailey Mosley said. “It’s devastating to have lost Michael, my wonderful, funny, kind, and brilliant husband. We had an incredibly lucky life together. We loved each other very much and were so happy together.”
She expressed gratitude towards the people of Symi, who she said worked tirelessly to find him.
“Some of the islanders, who hadn’t even heard of Michael, worked from dawn till dusk without being asked,” she said. “My family and I have been hugely comforted by the outpouring of love from people around the world. It’s clear that Michael meant a great deal to many of you.”
Lefteris Papakalodoukas, the island’s mayor, who was on a boat with media representatives looking for Mosley on Sunday, told the AP that they saw a body approximately 20 meters (65 feet) above Agia Marina beach. “We zoomed in with the cameras and saw it was him,” he said.
The mayor mentioned that the deceased appeared to have fallen down a steep slope, coming to rest against a fence and lying face-up with a few rocks on top of him. The body had a leather bag in one hand, said Antonis Mystiloglou, a cameraman with state TV ERT, who was also on the boat.
Mosley was best known for his work on several British television programs, including the BBC series Trust Me, I’m a Doctor and various documentaries on diet and exercise, such as the Channel 4 show Michael Mosley: Who Made Britain Fat?
Having studied medicine in London, Mosley also made radio appearances and was a columnist for the Daily Mail newspaper. Internationally, he gained recognition for his 2013 book The Fast Diet, in which he proposed the “5:2 diet” to help people lose weight by minimizing their calorie intake two days a week. He also lived with tapeworms in his guts for six weeks for the BBC documentary Infested! Living With Parasites.
