Husband's frantic search for Brit wife missing in Greece after waking up from sunbed & finding she had disappeared

The Irish Sun

2 days ago

A GREEK man launched a frantic search for his Brit wife after she mysteriously vanished from a beach while he was asleep.
Michele Ann Joy Bourda, 59, disappeared from the Ofrynio beach in Kavala - sparking a huge search operation by the authorities in Greece.
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Michele Ann Joy Bourda, 59, who disappeared from the beach of Ofryni, Kavala
Credit: Enterprise
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She was reportedly seen getting into deep water before she vanished
Credit: EPT NEWS
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She is believed to have gone to the beach with her husband, who was reportedly asleep when the woman disappeared.
When he woke up, the woman was nowhere to be found, according to local media reports.
The husband is said to have frantically asked for help from locals to find his wife when he realised she was missing.
A local shop owner told Protothema: "The couple were together and at some point the husband fell asleep, and it seems that the wife went in to swim.
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"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."
The shopkeeper added that the husband seemed to be "stressed".
Mrs Bourda was last seen wearing a two-piece beaded swimsuit, yellow beach shoes, and red sunglasses, according to authorities.
A Silver Alert was issued after authorites failed to locate the woman and said there are "no signs of her".
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Greek cops say they are stumped by the "very odd" disappearance of the Brit woman.
After four days of search operations, Cops said that it was highly unusual that the Brit was still not found.
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One well-placed source told The Sun: "It's very odd that after so many days, nothing has been found.
"The coast guard has not ruled out currents and winds somehow playing a role, but still it is highly unusual."
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Another official said: "We now have to ask why she continued swimming out so far."
A sports instructor earlier claimed that he saw a woman who resembled Mrs Bourda swimming in deep waters near the beach.
He claimed to have asked the Brit not to go any further, LBC reports.
The Greek coast guards today paused the operation, with search efforts now being taken over by the country's police force.
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Officials said a full-scale police probe would continue to be conducted into how the Brit mysteriously disappeared.
A spokesman said: "The search to locate the missing person will now fall to the responsibility of the police."
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Ofryni Beach, Kavala, Greece, where British tourist vanished
On late Monday, a Hellenic coast guard spokesperson confirmed to The Sun that the search had not only expanded across a much larger area but would continue.
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They said: "Patrol boats are now focused on the entire Strymonian Gulf and it will continue. There is no change in this operation."
A coast guard official previously said that the Brit had been "residing temporarily" in Serres, northern Greece.
The British embassy in Greece also issued an alert notice saying: "Michele Ann BOURDA went missing on 01/08/2025 at the beach of Ofrynio in Kavala.
"On the day she went missing, she was wearing a swimsuit with decorative stones, yellow water shoes, and red plastic sunglasses. Her life is in danger."
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It is believed that part of the beach from where she disappeared is surrounded by extensive crops, houses and a large reservoir.
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