The wife of British TV presenter Michael Mosley says it is "devastating to have lost him" after her husband's body was found on the Greek island of Symi.
Dr Mosley's body was discovered on Sunday morning, local time, on day five of an extensive search on air, land and sea after he went missing on a walk during a holiday on Wednesday.
"It's devastating to have lost Michael, my wonderful, funny, kind and brilliant husband," Clare Bailey Mosley said in a statement.
"We had an incredibly lucky life together. We loved each other very much and were so happy together. I am incredibly proud of our children, their resilience and support over the past days."
The body was found on a rocky slope above a beach.
It was recovered and moved from the area by members of the coast guard.
Doctor 'took the wrong route and collapsed'
Dr Bailey Mosley said her 67-year-old husband "did an incredible climb, took the wrong route and collapsed where he couldn't easily be seen by the extensive search team".
"We’re taking comfort in the fact that he so very nearly made it," she said.
She also thanked local authorities and residents of Symi who contributed to the search.
"Some of these people on the island, who hadn’t even heard of Michael, worked from dawn till dusk unasked," she said.
"We’re also very grateful to the press who have dealt with us with great respect."
"I feel so lucky to have our children and my amazing friends.
"Most of all, I feel so lucky to have had this life with Michael."
Lefteris Papakalodoukas, the island's mayor, told the Associated Press he was on the boat with members of the media representatives when they saw a body some 20 meters above the Agia Marina beach on Sunday.
"We zoomed with the cameras and saw it was him," he said.
The mayor said that the body appeared to have fallen down a steep slope, stopping against a fence and lying face-up with a few rocks on top of it.
"It is unclear if he had an accident or if he felt unwell," Mr Papakalodoukas told State TV ERT.
Police said he had been dead for several days.
The body had a leather bag in one hand, said Antonis Mystiloglou, a cameraman with state TV ERT, who was also on the boat.
Reports of body in cave dismissed
Another police official said the body had been found on rocky terrain, close to the sea, dismissing earlier reports that said he was found in a cave.
Police are investigating the scene.
The 67-year-old Dr Mosley was holidaying with his wife on Symi when he went for a coastal walk on Wednesday afternoon, but did not return.
A broad search-and-rescue operation had been underway on the small island since Wednesday.
CCTV shed light on doctor's movements
Dr Mosley went for a short stroll on his own from Agios Nikolaos beach to the fishing village of Pedi.
At first, authorities were concerned he went missing along the path, but on Friday CCTV images were released confirming Dr Mosley had made it to Pedi about 20 minutes after leaving the beach.
Police said he took a coastal path, which is about 1.5 kilometres long and takes 20 minutes to walk.
Concerns were first raised after he had not returned on Wednesday evening.
His phone was found where he was staying with his wife, Clare Bailey Mosley, a police spokesperson told BBC News.
Dr Mosley is well known in Britain and Australia for popularising the intermittent fasting diet and rose to fame with appearances on the BBC.
An extensive land, sea and air search continued on Saturday focusing on a different part of the island.
Searchers shifted their focus to between Pedi and the beach of Agia Marina.
[map]The area is extremely rocky and mountainous.
Symi is a small island, sitting on the eastern side of the Aegean Sea, about 6.5 kilometres from Türkiye's coast.
The rocky island is 16km long and home to about 2,500 residents.
Doctor, presenter, advocate
Dr Mosley was a broadcaster well known in the UK for programs including the BBC series Trust Me, I'm a Doctor. He also appeared on BBC's The One Show and ITV's This Morning.
He is known in many parts of the world for his 2013 book The Fast Diet, which he co-authored with journalist Mimi Spencer.
The 5:2 diet, as it became known, set out how people could lose weight fast by minimising their calorie intake for two days in a week while eating healthily on the other five.
He has subsequently introduced the Fast 800 diet, a rapid weight loss program, whereby dieters restrict their calorie intake to 800 a day for at least two weeks, before transitioning to the 5:2 program.
Dr Mosley has often pushed his body to extreme lengths to see the effects of his diets and also lived with tapeworms in his gut for six weeks for the BBC documentary Infested! Living With Parasites.
He is also known for his column in the Daily Mail newspaper and has made a number of films about diet and exercise.
He has also presented shows in Australia — Australia's Health Revolution and Australia's Sleep Revolution — which both aired on SBS.
Dr Mosley has four adult children with his wife, who is also a doctor, author and health columnist.
The children had joined his wife on the island for the search.
Friends and former colleagues paid tribute to the doctor and media personality on X.
"Over the years I'd had the great pleasure of interviewing Michael Mosley a few times," Australian TV presenter Marc Fennell wrote.
"He was a truly generous, curious, warm-hearted man who cared as much about people themselves as the science that could help them."
ABC Sydney radio presenter Richard Glover said the news was "very sad".
"Not many people made the lives of so many others so much happier, healthier and longer."
Professor Alice Roberts, who worked as an executive producer for Dr Mosley's 2009 series Human Journey, also paid tribute.
"The fragility of life is so shocking," she wrote on X.
"I can't believe he's gone. My thoughts are with his bereaved family."
Editor's note (11/6/24): An early version of this story said Clare Bailey Mosley reported her husband missing on Thursday morning. That information has been removed, and the story amended to confirm that an alarm was first raised on Wednesday evening.
