Concern grows for British doctor and TV presenter missing in Greece

ATHENS, Greece — Greek police say a major search and rescue operation underway on the small island of Symi in the eastern Aegean Sea has still failed to locate the doctor and television presenter British television Michael Mosley, reported missing Wednesday afternoon after a walk.

Police said on Friday that the coastguard, police and firefighters were involved in the search, with a helicopter, drones and a police sniffer dog deployed. They found no trace of the 67-year-old who was vacationing on the island.

The search focused on the area between Agios Nikolaos, the coastal area from where Mosely apparently set out for his walk, and the island's main town, Symi. Authorities also looked into whether he had left the island altogether, but found no indication that anyone had traveled under his name.

The British Foreign Office said it was in contact with Greek authorities about the research.

Mosley is well known in Britain for his regular appearances on television and radio as well as his column in the Daily Mail newspaper. He is known outside the UK for his 2013 book “The Fast Diet”, which he co-wrote with journalist Mimi Spencer. The “5:2 diet” explains how people can lose weight quickly by minimizing their calorie intake for two days a week while eating healthily the other five days.

He then introduced the Fast 800 diet, a rapid weight loss program, and made numerous films on diet and exercise.

Mosley often pushed his body to extremes to see the effects of his diet and also lived with tapeworms in his guts for six weeks for the BBC documentary “Infested!” Living with parasites.

Concerned friends and colleagues have expressed shock at Mosley's disappearance.

“This shocking news focuses our minds on Michael's wife Clare and their sons,” said Roy Taylor, professor of medicine and metabolism at Newcastle University who co-wrote “The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet ” with Mosley. “Our thoughts are with them in this terrible time of uncertainty, hoping that he will be found safe and sound.”

In 2002, Mosley was nominated for an Emmy for his role as executive producer on the BBC science documentary “The Human Face,” hosted by Monty Python star John Cleese and featuring many famous faces, including Elizabeth Hurley , Pierce Brosnan and David. Attenborough.

Mosley has four children with his wife Clare Bailey Mosley, who is also a physician, author and health columnist.