Foul play has been ruled out in the death of Michael Mosley – as CCTV footage appears to show him falling over close to where his body was found.
Warning: This article contains descriptions of his last moments which some readers might find distressing
There were no injuries on the TV doctor’s body that could have caused his death, Greek police sources told Sky News.
Image:
Dr Michael Mosley. Pic: SYSPEO/SIPA/Shutterstock
CCTV footage appeared to show him falling over close to where his body was found in Agia Marina on the island of Symi – and clearly shows that no one was with him.
His time of death was around 4pm on Wednesday, very soon after he fell.
Two and a half hours earlier at about 1.30pm he had left friends on Agios Nikolaos beach to go for a walk before going missing.
The cause of death can only be determined once the toxicology report is back.
Footage found by a beach bar at Agia Marina shows what appears to be the 67-year-old making his way down a rocky slope close to a fence before he falls out of view.
Agia Marina bar manager Ilias Tsavaris, 38, told Sky News correspondent Sadiya Chowdhury in Symi the CCTV shows Mosley walking along the perimeter.
“Over there in the mountains, like 30m from the place where we found him, he started crawling a little. And then the distance of 30m, which a normal person could do in two minutes or five minutes, took him half an hour or more,” he said.
“So he’s still crawling over and then he fell, passed out exactly in the place where we found him.”
Read more:Michael Mosley: Fearless and unafraid to experiment on himself
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A rocky path in the hills of Pedi. Pic: PA
His widow Dr Clare Bailey Mosley said he “very nearly made it” to safety.
She said Mosley – who went missing on Wednesday after leaving his wife and friends at Agios Nikolaos beach to walk back to their hotel – appeared to have undertaken an “incredible climb, took the wrong route and collapsed where he couldn’t be easily seen” by search and rescue teams.
Tributes have poured in for the doctor who made popular the 5:2 diet and championed public health.
Mosley first trained as a doctor in London before moving into the world of media, becoming a presenter, documentary maker, author and columnist.
Image:
Michael Mosley.
Pic:bl/Shutterstock
His body was discovered by a cameraman on Sunday morning after a widespread search by emergency services operating in dangerous conditions and high temperatures.
He had been missing for four days and police said they believed he had walked north from Pedi marina in the direction of Agia beach.
His wife raised the alarm after he failed to return.
His four children also arrived on the island to help search for their father as the focus shifted to a snake-infested mountainous area after CCTV footage on Saturday emerged of his then last known movements.
It showed him on Wednesday making his way through the small fishing village of Pedi heading up into the remote rocky terrain.
Image:
This image of Mosley was shared in a local Facebook group appeal
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0:28
CCTV of Mosley on day he went missing
Read more:Mosley’s body found metres from safetyWho was Michael Mosley?
Mr Tsavaris was the person sent to check if what local cameraman Antonios saw was indeed the doctor’s body.
He told Chowdhury: “Without saying anything I went outside the fence and as soon as I turned my head on the left, I saw something. I went up close, really close to the man. I saw the body.
“You don’t see these kinds of things every day, especially on a small island and a small place like this. So it was not the best feeling.”
He said he has not been able to eat since yesterday, adding his thoughts are with Mosley’s children who he said had followed their father’s perceived footsteps two days earlier and searched just metres away from where his body was eventually found.
How search for Michael Mosley unfolded
Wednesday 5 June
1.30pm:
Dr Michael Mosley left friends on Symi’s Agios Nikolaos beach to go for a walk.
7.30pm:
Dr Mosley’s wife Dr Clare Bailey raises the alarm after he failed to return to their hotel. Local police launch a search operation.
Thursday 6 June
11.15am:
Fire services are asked by police to help with the search, deploying drones to scour the island.
7pm:
A helicopter is deployed to assist the search.
Friday 7 June
Divers join the search along with the local coastguard.
Island residents join the search using their own boats to find Mosley.
His four children join their mother on Symi to help with the search efforts.
Saturday 8 June
6am:
Divers restart searching the water around the island.
3.20pm:
An emergency helicopter is seen flying over Pedi bay towards the mountainous terrain where the search for Mosley is being carried out.
Sunday, 9 June
9.30am:
It is revealed a body has been discovered by a cameraman in a rocky area beside Agia Marina.
1.30pm:
Dr Bailey confirms her husband has been found dead, adding that the news was “devastating”.
Monday, 10 June
Greek police sources tell Sky News foul play has been ruled out in the death of Mosley. It comes as CCTV footage appears to show him falling over close to where his body was found. Sky News learns there were no injuries on the TV doctor’s body.
His time of death is believed to have been at around 4pm on Wednesday – just two-and-a-half hours after he left friends on Agios Nikolaos beach.
“The whole family came here still searching. They had some water to get some rest. And then they continued searching, walking. But they took the path back on the opposite side.”
He told of how close Mosley’s children had come to finding their father.
“If they walked for five minutes, probably,” he said.
“I don’t know if that’s a bad thing or a good thing, because I cannot imagine his family that’s here to see what I saw. And believe me, what I saw, it’s… I cannot describe. It was not a good thing to see.”
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A coastguard boat took the body to Rhodes for a post-mortem
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Pic: Reuters
Mosley’s body was found about 50m from the closest jetty and the resort’s northern sunbeds – and taken to Rhodes by the Greek coastguard for a post-mortem and formal identification.
The coroner’s office in Rhodes confirmed to Chowdhury an autopsy has been completed.
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The news has sparked an outpouring of grief from his loved ones and fans, with friends and colleagues praising him for innovating the world of science and health broadcasting.
Chris van Tulleken, Mosley’s co-presenter on BBC series Trust Me, I’m A Doctor, said broadcasting can be “very competitive and a bit cut-throat” but Mosley “created this generous idea that we were all in this together and so he was endlessly helpful off screen as well”.
He added: “There’s so much of his content I just consumed as a normal consumer. I enjoyed it, it entertained me while I was listening, and then it quietly changed my daily practices. So my own personal medical routine every day is very, very based on the work of Michael Mosley over the last 10-15 years.”
Downing Street said Mosley was an “extraordinary broadcaster” who had a “huge impact” on people’s lives.
