Missing Michele Ann Joy Bourda's husband recalls last hours before wife vanished

Daily Mirror

2 days ago

Chris Bourda, 66, said his wife Michele Ann Joy Bourda had been 'quite happy' as they swam together on a beach in Greece - but woke up on his sun lounger to find the 59-year-old mother-of-one gone
The husband of a Brit who vanished in Greece has described the final hours he spent with her before she disappeared.
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Chris Bourda, 66, said his wife Michele Ann Joy Bourda had been "quite happy" that day before she disappeared. Describing their day together before his wife vanished after he fell asleep on a sunbed, he said: "She had seemed quite happy that day.
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"We went for a short swim as it was windy and there were a few waves. She then ordered a few crepes and said we could have a nice sleep after. Unfortunately, I fell asleep first and when I woke up she wasn't there."
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The couple, from Glasgow, were on a two-week holiday when she vanished without trace. Later that day, Chris fell asleep on a sun lounger and woke to find the 59-year-old mother-of-one gone. Her belongings, including her towel, were still in place.
When he asked a nearby waiter if he had seen her, Chris said he was mocked. "I went back to the waiter to say my wife was missing, have you seen her and he started laughing," he recalled. Chris eventually convinced a shopkeeper to call the police but has accused local officers of showing little urgency.
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"The police didn't do anything on the day. One guest who was there that day said she didn't see any police and I didn't see any police that day either, not one single policeman at the beach. The only thing I saw was a police car driving up and down the road to the beach. Not getting out of the car, just looking in the direction of the sea."
Since then, the pharmacist has been conducting his own search. "I have been searching without sleep or anything. Day and night, especially early in the morning. It was hard to see at night though as it was so dark. For days and nights I have gone up down the coast, searched bushes, olive groves, empty houses, building sites, later I went to the hills, nothing."
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Chris, who met Michele at university 36 years ago and has a son with her, said: "The whole night before she had been holding my hand and you would never think anything was wrong or something like this would ever happen. I don't think my wife would have gone to somebody in the car or anything. I really don't. I have tried everywhere but one person alone is very difficult to find something."
Michele, who previously worked at BT and later at a local council, is described as 5ft 5in, slim build, with blue eyes and shoulder-length hair. She was last seen wearing a rhinestone-embellished two-piece beaded swimsuit, yellow beach shoes and red horn-rimmed sunglasses.
A sports instructor reported seeing a woman resembling Michele swimming in deep waters and said he warned her not to go further out. However, police later told Chris the man had withdrawn his statement.
Chris has warned that other holidaymakers could face similar dangers if urgent action is not taken to improve searches for missing tourists in the area.