Michael Mosley disappearance timeline: How a TV doctor disappeared on the Greek island of Symi

Michael Mosley, a doctor and British television columnist, disappeared while on vacation on a Greek island.

Police launched a massive search and rescue operation to find the 67-year-old man.

On Wednesday afternoon, his wife, Dr Clare Bailey, raised the alarm when Mosley failed to return to their hotel after going for a walk on the Dodecanese island of Symi.

Follow the latest updates on the search for Michael Mosley here

Timeline of Mosley's disappearance

Wednesday, 1:30 p.m.: Dr Mosley was last seen leaving St Nikolas Beach at 1.30pm on Wednesday, when he was believed to have taken the coastal path back to nearby Pedi.

Wednesday, 3:00 p.m.: Mr. Mosley had still not returned to the accommodation where he resided with his wife even though temperatures in Symi reached more than 40°C.

Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.: Dr. Mosley's wife, Dr. Clair Bailey, sounds the alarm after he fails to return to their hotel. His phone was still at the place where the couple was staying.

Wednesday night: Local authorities began tracing Mosley's route but were unable to find him.

Thursday, 11 a.m.: An appeal about his disappearance was posted on a local Facebook group – Friends of Symi – describing Mosley and asking residents to look for him. It read: “Have you seen this man? He left St Nick's on foot at around 1.30pm and failed to return home. His friends are worried because they haven't seen him for 6 hours.

“His name is Dr Mike Mosley and he is a familiar face to many Brits.”

Thursday, around 12:00 p.m.: Thursday midday, Greek authorities were scouring the coast and police were expanding the search area from the immediate vicinity of his disappearance.

Thursday, 2:00 p.m.: Firefighters arrived in Symi from nearby Rhodes to assist with the search operation.

Thursday, 7:00 p.m.: An Athens helicopter was deployed to assist in the search for Mosley, 67. The search operation now involved firefighters, volunteers, police, a drone and a police dog. CCTV footage was also examined for any sign of Mosley.

Thursday evening: Local police announced that search operations would stop for the night but would resume with “more men” on Friday morning.

Friday morning: Searches are expected to resume with additional personnel and temperatures in Symi are expected to reach up to 48°C, making search conditions even more difficult.

Meanwhile, the mayor, Eleftherios Papakalodoukas, suggested that Mosley could have taken a different path or fallen into the sea. A police source was also cited by the Daily Mail as saying that “he may have slipped and fallen, perhaps due to a heart attack along the way.”

Greek police said “nothing at this stage can be ruled out”.

“We are focusing on the area of ​​the path we believe Michael would have taken from Ayios Nikolaos beach. [St Nicholas] in Pedi, but as a lot of time has passed since his disappearance, we have also extended our search to other parts of the island,” the police said.

Dr Mosley is a well-known British television personality and has worked as a documentary filmmaker and science journalist for 25 years.

Currently, he hosts the Just one thing podcast for the BBC and makes regular appearances on programs like This morning And The only show.

The TV doctor is credited with creating the 5:2 diet as a way to lose weight, which involves two days of fasting each week. He also advocated for the Fast 800 diet, which centers around Mediterranean-style meals and intermittent fasting.