Hopes of finding alive a British woman who vanished from a Greek beach while her husband was asleep on a sunbed are fading, as police prepare to call-off their search operation.
The Greek authorities mounted a desperate land and sea search for Michele Ann Joy Bourda, 59, who had been swimming at Ofrynio beach in the city of Kavala at around noon last Friday before disappearing without trace.
Police conducted a search on land for the missing tourist, while Greece’s Hellenic Coast Guard have been searching in the sea – aided by local fishing vessels. But the central port authority in Kavala warned that rescuers were set to call off the operation at the end of Monday’s daylight.
A Silver Alert had previously been issued by a missing persons charity after the police failed to immediately locate the tourist in the hours after her disappearance with authorities admitting that her life was in danger.
The couple had been lounging on sunbeds in temperatures nudging 35C on the picturesque northern Greek beach that is surrounded by expansive fields, residential houses and a huge fishing pond, when Mrs Bourda went for a swim.
According to local media, she lived with her husband, who is reportedly of Greek origin, in the Macedonian city of Serres. Her husband reportedly fell asleep on his lounger and when he woke there was no sign of his spouse.
Ms Bourda was last seen wearing a rhinestone-embellished two-piece beaded swimsuit, yellow beach shoes and a pair of red horn-rimmed sunglasses.
She is described as being 5ft 6in, of a slim build with blue eyes and shoulder-length blonde hair.
Sources claim Ms Bourda’s belongings – her clothes and bag – were left behind on the beach beside her chair.
The Greek missing persons charity, Lifeline Hellas, issued a Silver Alert on Saturday after the police failed to locate her.
They said: “Her life is in danger. If you know anything, contact the Silver Alert service, 24 hours a day, at the National SOS Line 1065.”
A Silver Alert is issued to notify citizens about the disappearance of elderly people, especially those with dementia or Alzheimer’s.
The disappearance comes after a 60-year-old British tourist went missing in June while on holiday in Greece. His hired car was found abandoned on the island of Karpathos in 38C heat and he was last seen by the owner of his rented accommodation on June 27.
Meanwhile, fears are growing for a British woman who disappeared from a Spanish tourist hotspot last week.
Jennifer Frances Lacey, 41, vanished from the municipality of Vera on Monday, July 28. Her disappearance was reported by the SOS Missing Persons Association on Thursday and she is described as measuring 5ft 2in, having curly brown hair, blue eyes and wearing prescription glasses.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British woman who was reported missing in Spain.”
At least ten foreign tourists were found dead or disappeared last year in Greece while going for a hike, often in searing temperatures.