British woman missing in Greece ‘also disappeared in 2020'
Michele Ann Joy Bourda, 59, vanished while her husband was sleeping on a sunbed on Ofrynio beach near Kavala last Friday.
She had been swimming at about 12pm and was last seen wearing a two-piece swimsuit featuring rhinestones, yellow beach shoes and sunglasses with red bone frames, according to the British embassy in Greece.
Some witnesses have claimed they saw a woman matching her description swimming in deep water, while another claimed to have seen her walking away from the scene.
But local reports are now saying it is not the first time she has gone missing.
They claim her husband, thought to be of Greek origin, asked local shop owners if they had seen her when he awoke on the beach and noticed she was gone.
He reportedly told them that she had previously disappeared in London in 2020 after being sacked from her job and was subsequently found by police. The Telegraph has approached the Metropolitan Police for comment.
Lifeline Hellas, a Greek missing persons charity, issued an alert on Saturday after the police were unable to find Mrs Bourda.
The charity's alert 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.'
Straight blonde hair
Mrs Bourda is described as having straight blonde hair down to her shoulders and hazel eyes, and as being 5ft 6in tall and of slim build.
The Hellenic Coastguard is reportedly conducting a search operation at sea and investigating reports that her belongings were left on the beach.
The British embassy in Greece shared a notice on Facebook which read: 'Michele Ann Bourda went missing on Aug 1 2025 at the beach of Ofrynio near 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.'
Last month, a 60-year-old British tourist went missing while on holiday in Greece.
He was last seen in Tristomo, a village on the island of Karpathos, and his car was abandoned in 38C heat.
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Telegraph
10 minutes ago
- Telegraph
‘My wife is missing in Greece... when I told the waiter he laughed'
The husband of a British woman who is missing in Greece has claimed a waiter laughed at him when he asked for help. Michele Ann Joy Bourda, 59, vanished while Chris Bourda, 66, was sleeping on a sunbed on Ofrynio beach near Kavala on Aug 1. Mr Bourda has hit out at the Greek police for their lack of urgency in searching for his wife who has now been missing for more than a week. Speaking from Greece, the pharmacist told the Daily Mail they went for a swim in the sea together, ate crêpes at a cafe and he then fell asleep on a lounger on the beach. 'When I woke up she wasn't there,' he said. 'I quickly ran to the toilet and knocked on the ladies but she wasn't in there. I then ran to the beach to look again in the water. 'I then quickly went back to the waiter to say my wife was missing, have you seen her and he started laughing.' He said it was only after he said his wife had 'psychological problems' that the barman realised how serious the situation was. Mr Bourda said his wife, who had worked for BT and then at a local council, had suffered from depression and anxiety for a number of years. But he claimed that the police did not arrive at the scene for another two hours and 'didn't do anything' on the first day his wife went missing. 'Days and nights' Mr Bourda also claimed that the search boat was only being used either very early in the morning or at night, so as not to 'disturb or concern the tourists'. 'I have been searching without sleep or anything,' he continued. '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 and down the coast, searched bushes, olive groves, empty houses, building sites, later I went to the hills, nothing.' The couple live in Glasgow, but Mr Bourda said she previously went missing in London in 2020. Some witnesses have claimed they saw a woman matching her description swimming in deep water, while another claimed to have seen her walking away from the scene. Lifeline Hellas, a Greek missing persons charity, issued an alert on Saturday after the police were unable to find Mrs Bourda. The charity's alert 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.'
The Sun
5 hours ago
- The Sun
Husband of missing Brit Michele Bourda ‘was laughed at' as he begged for help after waking up to find her gone in Greece
THE Brit husband of a missing woman in Greece has told how he was laughed at as he begged for help after waking up to find his wife had disappeared. Chris Bourda, 66, claims he woke up on a sun lounger on Ofrynio beach on Friday - before finding his partner Michele, 59, had mysteriously vanished during their vacation in Kavala. 7 7 He also blasted search efforts by local cops for his wife, branding the police "unbothered". The devastated holidaymaker explained that he had initially dozed off while soaking up the sun with his partner - before finding that she had disappeared, even leaving her towel behind. He told the Daily Mail: "She had seemed quite happy that day. 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." Michele was last seen wearing a two-piece beaded swimsuit, yellow beach shoes, and red sunglasses, according to authorities. Her husband detailed his panicked attempt to find her after realising she had vanished. "I quickly ran to the toilet and knocked on the ladies but she wasn't in there. I then ran to the beach to look again in the water," he said. "I asked the people behind us if they had seen her, they said no but then later they sent a photograph to the police which had shown us eating crepes in the background." He added: "I then quickly went back to the waiter to say my wife was missing, have you seen her and he started laughing." Pleading texts missing boy Giovanni Pelletier sent in hours before he vanished as last people to see him 'change story' The staffer only started to take the situation seriously when Bourda desperately explained that his wife had "psychological problems". The distraught husband then asked a local shopkeeper for help. The local rang the police, but cops took two hours to arrive at the scene. This left Bourda to frantically search for Michele on his own. He said that he did not see a single police officer on the beach the day his wife went missing - and a fellow hotel guest echoed this claim. Bourda said: "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." The tourist also slammed cops by revealing they have not been using drones of search dogs in the search efforts. Police have only been using search boats in the early morning or night "so as not to disturb or concern the tourists", the Brit said. He added that when he visited the hospital while searching for his wife, doctors told him that "a lot of incidents" happen on that beach and that it can sometimes be dangerous. "I wonder if they have told me if she is alive so other tourists don't get scared," he said. 7 7 Bourda pleaded: "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." He continued: "I asked the police if they think that she is alive, why don't they use dogs, drones, helicopters and they replied where shall we search? It's a vast area? "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." Pharmacist Bourda said his wife had battled bouts of depression and anxiety for years - and had vanished once before after being made redundant in London. Luckily, cops found her the same night. She fell ill again in February but was reportedly in good spirits when the couple jetted off to Greece for some sun. The couple, who have been married for 36 years after meeting at university in Germany, were enjoying their first few days wandering around Kavala before the frightening ordeal. Bourda 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. "We were talking the other day and she was saying how happy our 40 years together and I said yes, we will hopefully have another 40 years in front of us." The Brit also made a complaint to the British Embassy in Athens after feeling completely let down by local police. Bourda added: "I want to complain as they have around 40 million tourists visiting here each year but they don't have any infrastructure here to help if things go wrong. "These are things we would not usually think about when we are safe until something happens and you realise you are not safe." He added: "The police are not bothered, they sit in their office in the shade or I've seen others just standing in the shade under some trees. That's how they work. "When I visited the station there were just five of them sitting there playing on their phones." A police source told The Sun: "We are giving it our all. "There are still no signs as to whether she went missing on land or sea but right now there are no plans either to end this search. "We are not at that stage." 7
Metro
6 hours ago
- Metro
Husband of missing woman in Greece said he was 'laughed at' searching for her
The husband of a British woman who has gone missing in Greece said he was laughed at by locals as he desperately searched for his wife. Chris Bourda, 66, woke up from his sun lounger on Ofrynio beach, Kavala, on Friday afternoon to discover his wife Michele, 59, had disappeared. The mum-of-one's belongings were still on her sun bed, but she was nowhere to be found. He told the Daily Mail: 'I quickly ran to the toilet and knocked on the ladies but she wasn't in there. I then ran to the beach to look again in the water. 'I then quickly went back to the waiter to say my wife was missing, have you seen her and he started laughing.' Chris explained to the waiter his wife had 'psychological problems' and needed to call the police. But officers did not arrive at the scene for another two hours, forcing him to continue his search alone. Chris said: '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 search boat is only being used at night or early in the morning to 'not disturb or concern the tourists'. Chris, a pharmacist, has been left searching for his wife alone, and has gone without sleep to devote all his time trying to find her. He said: '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. 'I asked the police if they think that she is alive, why don't they use dogs, drones, helicopters and they replied where shall we search? It's a vast area? '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 suffers from bouts of depression and anxiety, Chris explained, and on one occasion disappeared while they were living in London. But police acted quickly and found her on the night she went missing. The couple, who now live in Glasgow, had decided to visit Greece and seeing Chris's family in Germany and had planned to stay for six weeks. He has since made a complaint to the British Embassy in Athens believing Greek police are not doing enough to help him find his wife. A sports instructor claimed he saw Michele swimming out in deep waters and shouted at her to not go any further. He has since withdrawn his statement to police. More Trending Chris said: 'But even if he was shouting at her 'where are you going, come back' there were other people on the beach and I cannot understand how nobody, not one person, would see her or hear her. 'Surely someone would notice if she went out and didn't come back?' Missing person charity LifeLine Hellas issued a silver alert – typically used for missing adults with dementia or Alzheimer's – saying Michele's 'life is in danger' and asking anyone who had seen her to get in touch. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Map of France wildfires shows where the Aude region is as blaze intensifies MORE: Man found alive a week after going missing while hiking on Norwegian glacier MORE: Europe's oldest neighbourhood orders locals to snitch on tourists: 'Act now before it's too late'
