Greece American tourist a retired cop, 59, not returned from a solo hike, Amorgos Island, 11 June 24

[RickshawFan]

You'd have to carry a lot of water for any of these hikes: several liters. Electrolytes, too. This takes a significant day pack. I would be completely covered, too, because of exposure.

Also, cell phone maps are likely to be useless. Service may be patchy, but you might also have no service in every dip.

 

[Snoopster]

So no drop down south to Chola then from the starting point. Straight from Aegeoli to Katapola as per Google Maps.

I don't agree that that is correct. The article never says that he is meeting his travelling companion in Katapola. And even if it did, it wouldn't change his hiking route. I believe the hike goes to Chola and then continues on to Katapola. Hikers follow hiking trails. They don't walk along roads for 5 hours.
I may be wrong, but I don't think that that info changes my view.

ETA: If I was a hiker and I had a choice between 5 hours along a road and 5 hours along a hiking trail, I know which I would pick. Both routes are similar times.

 

[Snoopster]

You'd have to carry a lot of water for any of these hikes: several liters. Electrolytes, too. This takes a significant day pack. I would be completely covered, too, because of exposure.

Also, cell phone maps are likely to be useless. Service may be patchy, but you might also have no service in every dip.

Apparently the route is clearly marked, and he had done this hike multiple times in the past, so I don't think he was 'relying' on cell phone maps. Having said that, if he was feeling a bit tired and dehydrated, then, to your point about hydration, all bets are off. It also might explain why he hasn't answered his phone.

Thanks for your input RickshawFan. I've always appreciated it on missing hiker threads! I know you know your stuff! I have learned so much from you.

 

[otto]

I don't agree that that is correct. The article never says that he is meeting his travelling companion in Katapola. And even if it did, it wouldn't change his hiking route. I believe the hike goes to Chola and then continues on to Katapola. Hikers follow hiking trails. They don't walk along roads for 5 hours.
I may be wrong, but I don't think that that info changes my view.

Agreed. Whether he was meeting a friend in Chora or Kalapola doesn't really matter. The trail led to Chora first, and he was not seen there.

Per reports upthread, he was seen buying water near a church on the same trail, and it was expected that he would be seen near the monastery on his way to Katapola via Chora. He was not seen at the monastery, but it's possible that he took a different route to Katapola after being seen near a church.

 

[GTB72]

You'd have to carry a lot of water for any of these hikes: several liters. Electrolytes, too. This takes a significant day pack. I would be completely covered, too, because of exposure.

Also, cell phone maps are likely to be useless. Service may be patchy, but you might also have no service in every dip.

We could have done with you on the Dr Mosley thread. Your verified knowledge would have been invaluable. Why didn’t you post in said thread?

 

[RickshawFan]

Samos is my favorite Greek island, though I'm not familiar with the SW end. even "before climate change", you'd not be wandering around in late morning, early afternoon. Beautiful beaches there. It's right off the Turkish coast (at Ephesus), so you can explore all of that, too. I could totally understand a Dutch tourist being there! I'm not sure about falling into the sea, though, unless he was walking on rubble along a cliff and slipped. You'd need lots of water for any kind of hike.

Samos has some VERY unusual ruins, including an ancient tunnel (6th century BC) through a mountain, wherein the diggers started from 2 ends and met in the middle. They planned it mathematically and almost exactly matched up. Don't ask me why they needed a tunnel, but rulers sometimes like vanity projects. It was indeed clever.

I am permanently damaged from falling asleep in the Greek sun under an umbrella (on Mykonos) in my youth....

 

[RickshawFan]

Eric set off at 7am, 4 hour walk, a walk he knew well. Back by 11am. No matter how hot it is, this is not the heat of the day, which is usually mid to late afternoon. Just because it’s hot to me it’s no reason just to disappear. Yes people can have medical emergencies, accidents, but why are they not Immediately found close to trail? I also have walked when it’s hot on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. People usually set off as early as possible even in the dark to walk as much as possible when it’s cooler. Thee are times though I have walked temps close by 40 c with no shade or breeze. Quite often u get a breeze on these Greek Islands even in hot temperatures. Hundreds and thousands have also walked Camino’s in Europe and I have never heard of people going missing aside from 1 which sadly turned out to be a murder a few years ago.
To me it’s really unusual all these mostly hikers going missing on the Greek Islands recently and usually in June. Even previous years disappearances have also mostly been in June. Yes the weather is hot in June, but usually July August are equally as hot if not hotter.
Let’s hope are current missing hikers can be found alive.

Ummmm, that's not my experience in Greece.....The Greek islands are MUCH hotter than Europe. Those rocks RADIATE heat, and the trails are dusty and rubbly. They suck the juice out of you. You are getting salted from the air over the sea. No way you're taking a long hike at mid day, especially as a foreigner. The heat may be worse at 2, but it's AWFUL at noon. At noon, you're hanging out at a taverna, under an umbrella, lounging with a cold beer, iced coffee, and a good lunch.

IME hiking in lowland Greece would be like hiking in Big Bend NP in summer. Or on Cascades lava.

Foreign hikers could very easily have issues a) in the sun, b) taking the wrong turn, and c) because of lack of water or shade. They may think there's water en route, and find none. They'd need electrolytes, too. Very easy for a foreigner to underestimate any of this. It would be very likely to walk off trail in a desperate search for either water or shade.

I've been all over Greece, and IIRC have never felt a breeze on land (except maybe in the remote mountains or down at a harbor). On a boat, yes, but all I can remember is the stillness of the air on land. It's very intense.

 

[FoxxTraxx]

You'd have to carry a lot of water for any of these hikes: several liters. Electrolytes, too. This takes a significant day pack. I would be completely covered, too, because of exposure.

Also, cell phone maps are likely to be useless. Service may be patchy, but you might also have no service in every dip.

Agree. Albert's family and acquaintances have said several times that he is in great physical condition and has hiked this trail several times. But I doubt it was 100+ degrees (F) during those other hikes. Greek authorities issued a high heat warning but I don't know how such messages are broadcast on Amorgos Island. Temperatures reached 43 degrees Celsius, approx. 109 (F) in Cyprus and some locations in Greece.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

Thanks to @otto and @Snoopster for the maps.

I've noticed on many threads that a lot of people struggle to understand the topographical maps. I have no criticism of that because it can be tricky. But once you learn how to read them, it makes so many things much easier to understand.

I can see so many places on the maps that have been posted where it would be easy to fall. And the temperature at the time means all bets are off in terms of physical conditioning and experience; 40C heat doesn't care about your physical condition or prior experience.

Unless Albert managed to walk further without being seen (which can't be completely discounted) it does seem most likely that he's somewhere between the church and the monastery.

 

[Herat]

The number of non-local people we know about who are missing on the islands in this heat wave is extremely concerning. Several of them are clearly experienced hikers very familiar with the locations and terrain. Hiking alone always brings on added risks. and we are seeing that now.

I am assuming that this is basically the trail he intended, just in the opposite direction.

Clearly, he was seen on the trail early on and did buy some water along the way but never made it to Choros or the white church on the cliff.

Heat stroke can disable or kill you, even if you have enough water to drink. The problem is your body temperature is too high and can't be brought down without a large amount of cold water or such.

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/greece/amorgos/chora-hozoviotissa-monastery-egiali

 

[otto]

Trailhead of 4h9m hike. Does that means the Hozoviotissa Monastery trail, or another route to Kalapola that includes a church, but not the monastery?

 

[RickshawFan]

We could have done with you on the Dr Mosley thread. Your verified knowledge would have been invaluable. Why didn’t you post in said thread?

I haven't been to Symi. But, if you look at the terrain in the Symi photos, you get an idea of what a hike like this would look like. Hellish hot. Unrelenting. Very dangerous.

 

[RickshawFan]

The number of non-local people we know about who are missing on the islands in this heat wave is extremely concerning. Several of them are clearly experienced hikers very familiar with the locations and terrain. Hiking alone always brings on added risks. and we are seeing that now.

I am assuming that this is basically the trail he intended, just in the opposite direction.

Clearly, he was seen on the trail early on and did buy some water along the way but never made it to Choros or the white church on the cliff.

Heat stroke can disable or kill you, even if you have enough water to drink. The problem is your body temperature is too high and can't be brought down without a large amount of cold water or such.

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/greece/amorgos/chora-hozoviotissa-monastery-egiali

You'd need ALOT of water for this hike. If he bought one bottle, that would not be nearly enough. He might have expected to get more along the way (perhaps a well he knew about), but either didn't make it, or the source went dry.

 

[GTB72]

I haven't been to Symi. But, if you look at the terrain in the Symi photos, you get an idea of what a hike like this would look like. Hellish hot. Unrelenting. Very dangerous.

I already knew that given I have just spent the last 4 days on the thread. But thank you nonetheless.

 

[RickshawFan]

I already knew that given I have just spent the last 4 days on the thread. But thank you nonetheless.

The real reason I wasn't on the Moseley thread was I've never been on Symi, though I've been all over Greece and islands. I don't know how the geography goes, but I have to guess.

After looking it up: I've sailed past, but maybe the middle of the night. I'm not crazy about that cluster of islands (e.g. Kos and Rhodes): way too many tourists, flown in direct from northern countries, even in the old days.

 

[GTB72]

The real reason I wasn't on the Moseley thread was I've never been on Symi, though I've been all over Greece and islands. I don't know how the geography goes, but I have to guess.

Thank you for your response. Very revealing.

Ebm - entered the word your to make easier to read.

 

[otto]

The temperature that the retired police officer was walking in apparently was over 100F, he had two phones, knew the area like the back of his hand according to the Deputy Mayor but was attempting a walk that normally takes FOUR HOURS. As Dirty Harry once said: "A man's gotta know his limitations."

In addition, said gentleman above had already successfully walked the route many times before as per media reports.

Ebm - additional info.

He had two phones with him when he vanished. If he ran out of water, or lost his way, and he had his wits about him, he could have phoned for help. He did not.

That suggests that either something happened so fast that he could not use either phone, or he lost his wits and didn't think to use a phone.

I'm curious - if someone is dehydrated, or suffering sun-stroke, are they prone to taking risks? If so, that would account for going a few feet off trail, if he went a few feet off trail, wandering around without using a phone for help, lost wits, or does dehydrated mean keeping our wits about us and calling for help?

I'm leaning towards going a few feet off trail and slipping. Was he wearing proper footware?

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

I think it's fair to say that in 40C+ heat, being an experienced hiker is about as useful as being an experienced mountain climber during an avalanche. The only truly safe option is to not attempt it at all. The weather will win.

Whatever has happened to Albert, I predict the weather conditions played a role. Sadly, even experienced people regularly underestimate the conditions, overestimate their own ability to deal with the conditions, or a tragic combination of both creeps up on them.

It doesn't surprise me that so many holidaymakers are going missing in this heatwave. Saddened, but not surprised.

 

[Snoopster]

Good night all. Thank you to everyone posting here. We are all trying to make sense of this, but it's been so many days now.
Where are you Albert??
We are all here for you. We hope you are safe.

 

[GTB72]

He had two phones with him when he vanished. If he ran out of water, or lost his way, and he had his wits about him, he could have phoned for help. He did not.

That suggests that either something happened so fast that he could not use either phone, or he lost his wits and didn't think to use a phone.

I'm curious - if someone is dehydrated, or suffering sun-stroke, are they prone to taking risks? If so, that would account for going a few feet off trail, if he went a few feet off trail, wandering around without using a phone for help, lost wits, or does dehydrated mean keeping our wits about us and calliing for help?

I'm leaning towards going a few feet off trail and slipping. Was he wearing proper footware?

I don't know is the honest answer to all of your questions. I know it is hot but this guy has walked this trail several times. According to the Deputy Mayor he knew the island like the back of his hand, yet he has disappeared. Is it just possible there are nefarious reasons for his disappearance?