Thread 3 - Michael Mosley missing after disappearing on holiday walk

[ConesFones]

Continuing

People keep saying highly educated people can be reckless and make bad decisions and its true, but are we to believe a guy who knows so much about health and fitness would go on an unplanned trek up a mountain in 40 degree heat in a pair of trainers?

Quote below from one of today's rescue team:

One group of rescue workers coming off the mountain after a fruitless three-hour shift described the heat as almost unbearable.
The woman, wearing overalls, mountain boots and a helmet, said it was “very hot”.
Asked if she would recommend the area as a trekking route, she told Sky News: “No, absolutely not. Not without equipment and special shoes.”

Source is The Telegraphs rolling news thread on this. No point keep posting links to the same page.

If he’s collapsed he could be hidden by one of those large rocks … you’d think he’d would have been found by now though.

Agree, the original account was that he left abruptly (only an hour or so after arriving by boat) due to feeling "tired" and presumably wanted to head home as soon as possibly. This was then changed to "unwell" which makes the situation more urgent. That's now changed to him possibly just wanting to leave the beach for a scenic hike and still had the energy for several hours in the baking sun. Agree that the CCTV images don't show someone who looks ill or disorientated, although it's a very short snapshot.

People were attacked in the original thread for insinuating there may have been a fight or he simply didn't want to be there. But a lot of things regarding his motivation at certain stages of the journey clearly don't add up. For all we know "feeling tired" could have been an excuse to leave the beach because he intended to meet someone in Pedi Town. Maybe there was some sort of tiff. Maybe the group knew he wasn't genuinely feeling unwell, hence why nobody was concerned enough to accompany him. Maybe they knew he may have been meeting or going someplace which was not the villa in Symi but didn't disclose the information (or this wasn't disclosed to the public). Anything is possible at this point because many things don't make much sense.

Also "feeling tired" is frequently used as a euphemism for MH issues. People often say that when they're not doing so well but not in physical pain. If this were the case then it would also explain why the group were fine letting him walk back based on physical fitness.

Ooh look lively everyone, the thread police are here.

Agree, the original account was that he left abruptly (only an hour or so after arriving by boat) due to feeling "tired" and presumably wanted to head home as soon as possibly. This was then changed to "unwell" which makes the situation more urgent.

This is all hearsay.

Did this come from his family as far as we know ? (and I've read pretty much everything in the press - some of which is wrong and sloppy. The Telegraph can't even spell his wife's name correctly.)

There was a chap on Radio 4 about 45 minutes ago pointing out that the terrain is so rough and rocky that he could be behind a boulder or have fallen into a crevasse and it would be very difficult to spot him until someone actually was there and looked behind that boulder or into that crevasse. Although the island is small, the terrain is full of boulders and gaps and hollows.

Is that you ‘ofwarren’?

@TruthThatsHardAsSteel Posters like to play the detective!

But apart from mentioning what's already known, there's no point in speculating further.

So before my signing off, it would appear that -

For whatever reason, he decided to walk to Symi town where the villas was, (rather than go on the road or by bus) possibly across the hills.

Huh? 🤔

Yep, I thought this too. There doesnt appear to be any trees but if he needed cover he could have crawled under a boulder. As for finding him, drones are incredibly agile and could have located him quicker than a rescuer. And we know they've had drones up but still no luck.

You can't delete posts, if it's gone it must be because it was dememf to be breaking a rule

Just on the Dr comment. I too have friends who are Drs and in terms of unhealthy, risk-taking habits – drinking, recreational drug use, etc – they are some of the worst I know. Although don’t know how much of that relates to the stress of the job and perhaps also being confronted with mortality more often than most of us.

But in relation to risk assessment – banishing paddling pools, assessing symptoms – they are also usually pretty on it. Maybe it’s just easier to have a blind spot when it’s yourself?

In my own case, I can be a bit of a hypochondriac when it comes to weird or random symptoms. Yet I’m also pretty gung ho / perhaps a bit overconfident when it comes to physical exertion.

I’ve cycled 50 km on holiday by myself in baking midday heat and then climbed up paths I’m not familiar with, with a bike, to get a good view of an island and have a glass of wine and a bite to eat in the sun before cycling back. I’ve not told anyone my plans and been holidaying alone, so not expected back at a certain time.

I think if you’ve generally been fine and feel confident physically it’s easy to underestimate your own vulnerability to the elements.

I don’t think we should go through life being scared of everything, but all of this has certainly made me reassess my relationship with avoidable risk.

Still hoping there might be a positive outcome. Very sad and worrying.

If you are on X (Twitter) there are some very good photos of the rescue team (firemen in red clothing) looking into the crevices and behind boulders.

They were doing the equivalent of a 'finger tip' search working in a line across the mountain.

It came from a Greek Journalist, but where she got it from goodness knows.

Michael Mosley reportedly told his wife and friends he wasn’t feeling well, before going missing on the Greek island of Symi. Mosley’s wife, Dr Clare Bailey, raised the alarm after he failed to return back to their accommodation after embarking on a coastal walk on the Dodecanese island of Symi on Wednesday afternoon (5 June). Greek journalist Ioanna Niaoti gave an update on the search for Mosley on TalkTV on Friday (7 June), saying he had told those he was with he was not feeling well. She said: “He stated this to his wife and the other couple that he wasn’t feeling well and wanted to return to where they were staying.”

Im also amazed at the people on this thread that think people dont walk in 40 degrees too. There will be thousands of people walking round various places/sightseeing/hikes in the Med in 40 degrees. I dont know the island, but if there is an actual path there, its not inconceivable that he could have decided to attempt it (perhaps not being fully aware of the terrain ahead of him). I hope hes found safe soon.

That's what I thought too, looking at the terrain. You'd have be on the correct side of the boulder to see him if he had tried to hide in its shade. And although the island is small, it's still a lot of terrain to cover.

Let's just all hope for a good outcome. Somehow.

There is much to say about it all ( it seems) from a hiking safety perspective. But now is not the time.

Let's all just continue to send our warmest thoughts to the family. I cannot ( unlike some posters on this thread due to their own tragedies) begin to imagine the level of their suffering.

I hope for the families sake there is some news soon.

Obviously I was generalising. I'm aware that people have different lives, but a 67 year old man going off for a solo walk in an area that has a very hot temperature with no phone, after being in the company of your partner and close friends for just a few hours on the first full day of a holiday is unusual and certainly unwise. I'm not saying it never happens.

I agree. Visiting many places of interest in Australia often involves a walk in 40 degree heat. My husband went on a walk in Death Valley in 50 degree heat. He returned unscathed.

He discusses this episode, in 2019, in this Daily Mail article:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-7367573/amp/DR-MICHAEL-MOSLEY-reveals-dip-sea-left-wife-fearing-suffered-stroke.html

How a dip in the sea wiped out my memory: DR MICHAEL MOSLEY reveals how a frightening drama last weekend left his wife fearing he'd had a stroke

By Dr Michael Mosley For The Mail On Sunday 22:01 17 Aug 2019, updated 22:01 17 Aug 2019

It's clear that many who are posting are not reading the reliable and timely reports..even when they are linked on here. Referring to stuff that has been quashed or explained already proves it...it's not helpful to anyone to be shocked or saddened whilst offering theories and insinuating someone is to blame like family, friends and local Greek people..the benefit of hindsight should resonate with many of us if we think about it

A lot of searching is done by drone now.

It's just as good as humans and their eyes now, except that it can't clear vegetation - but it can identify areas where scrub means humans to go and poke through it, also potential crevasses.

It's also safer, as the operators can sit in nice air conditioned vans (which could be literally miles away) and the humans out and about don't have to cover as much ground

She'd stayed at a hut and had told the hut warden where she was heading to next. She had probably filled in the hut book too to register her stay and her previous and upcoming destination. She then met another hiker on the route she had told the hut warden she was going on, they walked together for a bit and then she told the hiker where she was going.
So actually, even though the Pyrenees are huge and she was on a multiday hike, the actual search area was much smaller and she was indeed found on that route, not far from the trail.
The speculation was awful though, with people keen to blame her boyfriend for her disappearance.

Silly question maybe but are they not using drones? Don’t think I’ve seen any mention of then, but surely a team of 10 or so drones could fairly quickly search that boulder area effectively, without people needing to scramble over it in the heat!