British woman who vanished from Greek beach while her husband slept in the sun 'was used to swimming in cold water and going on hours-long hikes', neighbours say

Daily Mail​

05-08-2025

A British woman who vanished from her sunlounger on a beach in Greece while her husband was asleep was 'used to swimming in cold water', and would often spend a whole day rambling and exploring in the countryside, her neighbours said today.
Michele Ann Joy Bourda, 59, from Glasgow had been swimming at Ofrynio beach in the city of Kavala in Greece at around noon on Friday before disappearing.
Police have been conducting a major search for her. She has now been missing for over three days.
Greece's Hellenic Coast guard have been keeping up the general search efforts but a targeted land and sea search for her has now ceased, according to the central port authority in Kavala.
A summer sports instructor who was on the beach at the time she went missing also said he spoke to someone who matched her description.
He said he saw her swimming in deep waters and said he had urged her not to swim out any further.
Her belongings were left behind on her sun lounger after she vanished.
Michele, though described as timid by her neighbours in Glasgow, was said to be very adventurous and active.
One said: 'She has always dressed in walking gear with a fleece and boots or a cagoule. She is really into the outdoors.'
Neighbours would regularly see her and her husband Christos out walking with backpacks on as they loaded the car for another day trip in the wild.
One of her neighbours said: 'They've got bikes, and are quite active. They like to go walking, they like to go wild swimming.
'They would go, and they would often be away for the whole day in the summer, and then if we saw them coming in and out and they would say, "oh, we've been somewhere up north and we were swimming". And I would see her sometimes sit and reading in the garden.'
Those who lived nearby admitted they were shocked upon hearing that Michele had been reported missing while holidaying in Greece.
Another added: 'They've couple are very private and keep themselves to themselves. She is very quiet and timid and he is a bit more commanding. They moved to Glasgow about six years ago because their son is studying here.'
'They are retired and tend to go everywhere together even though they have two cars. They are quite guarded and private but I'm very shocked that she has gone missing.'
It comes after it was revealed her husband warned locals that his wife was 'not very well' and had 'disappeared before' as he frantically asked for help trying to find her after she vanished.
Her husband, who is Greek, had been sleeping and woke up to find that she had vanished from the beach.
He reportedly asked the owners of a nearby shop if they had seen his wife, and revealed that Mrs Bourda 'was not very well'.
Speaking to Greek outlet Protothema, one of the shop owners said: 'The couple were together and at some point the husband fell asleep and it seems that the wife went in to swim.
'When the husband woke up and didn't see her next to him, he came to the store and asked us if we had seen his wife, who had disappeared.
'He also told us that his wife was not very well, and that she had problems.'
The shop keeper went on to say that Mrs Bourda's husband 'was a bit stressed' and told them that 'his wife had done this before, that is, she had disappeared.'