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

[imstilla.grandma]

Amorgos, the easternmost of the Cyclades islands, is a rocky 47-square-mile island of less than 2,000 inhabitants. A couple of years ago the island had a record number of visitors, over 100,000. According to the BBC, Calibet is “a regular visitor” to Amorgos and knows the hike he departed on. He was last seen about two hours after leaving the village of Aegiali when he stopped at a store to pick up a soft drink and a bottle of water.

Amorgos' deputy mayor for tourism Popi Despotidi told local media that officials think Calibet may have gotten dizzy and "collapsed somewhere." "It's odd because he's not someone who was walking this route for the first time," Despotidi added.

Temperatures across Greece peaked on Thursday to almost 113 degrees. They are expected to rise again from Sunday, although not to heat-wave levels.

"We are actively collaborating with multiple agencies abroad to provide assistance in the search for Deputy Calibet and will use every resource we have available to bring him back to those who love him," LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said in a statement

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/california-deputy-missing-vacation-greece-19516965.php

 

[imstilla.grandma]

A tourist found the missing 55-year-old man in the sea near the old port of Mathraki and informed the police, public broadcaster ERT and Athens News Agency reported.

The man was last seen alive on Tuesday and his body will be transferred to Corfu hospital for an autopsy. According to Athens News Agency, he was at Mathraki for a holiday with a Greek-American friend.

It is yet another case of a tourist death on Greece's islands in recent days, after that of BBC presenter Michael Mosley in Symi last week and a 74-year-old Dutchman found dead by the fire service in Samos on Saturday.

Two French women aged 73 and 64 are also reported missing in Sikinos, a small island in the Aegean Sea, and searches are ongoing for another tourist in Amorgos.

Most of them were attempting hikes under the scorching sun as much of Greece saw record temperatures for the first week of June, reaching 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit) in many areas of the country.

Meteorologists have noted it was the earliest heatwave -- which for Greece means temperatures exceeding 38C for at least three days -- on record.

The UNESCO-listed Athens Acropolis archaeological site, Greece's most visited attraction, was closed to the public during the hottest hours on Thursday for the second day running.

Tourist found dead off Greek island, three more missing

Athens: An American was found dead near the Greek island of Corfu on Sunday, media reported, the latest tourist fatality during an unseasonal heatwave...

thepeninsulaqatar.com

 

[FoxxTraxx]

I tried to summarize the various cases from different news sources. Please advise is anything is wrong on this list.
Found Dead:
Michael Mosley (UK) age 67 on Symi, found 6/9
Belgian man on Cyprus, 80, found 6/13
Dutch man, age 74 on Samos, found 6/15
American on Corfu, age 55, found 6/16
Missing:
Albert Calibet, 59, US missing on Amorgos
Two French women 64 and 73, missing on Sikinos
Two Israelis, missing in Vytina region of Peloponnese Peninsula (per NY Times)

 

[Skigh]

I tried to summarize the various cases from different news sources. Please advise is anything is wrong on this list.
Found Dead:
Michael Mosley (UK) age 55 on Symi, found 6/9
Belgian man on Cyprus, 80, found 6/13
Dutch man, age 74 on Samos, found 6/15
American on Corfu, age 55, found 6/16
Missing:
Albert Calibet, 59, US missing on Amorgos
Two French women 64 and 73, missing on Sikinos
Two Israelis, missing in Vytina region of Peloponnese Peninsula (per NY Times)

Thank you for posting this list. Michael Mosley was 67 not 55.

 

[FoxxTraxx]

Thank you for posting this list. Michael Mosley was 67 not 55.

Thanks - I corrected his age.

 

[pixiepixel]

I tried to summarize the various cases from different news sources. Please advise is anything is wrong on this list.
Found Dead:
Michael Mosley (UK) age 67 on Symi, found 6/9
Belgian man on Cyprus, 80, found 6/13
Dutch man, age 74 on Samos, found 6/15
American on Corfu, age 55, found 6/16
Missing:
Albert Calibet, 59, US missing on Amorgos
Two French women 64 and 73, missing on Sikinos
Two Israelis, missing in Vytina region of Peloponnese Peninsula (per NY Times)

Per the NYT article upthread, a 70 year old French woman and a 70 year old Dutch man also died on Crete "early this month"; this article reports both deaths occurred on June 5th (but also lists the Dutch man as being 67). Also, it seems that the 80 year old Belgian man died on Crete, not Cyprus, on 6/13.

 

[FoxxTraxx]

Per the NYT article upthread, a 70 year old French woman and a 70 year old Dutch man also died on Crete "early this month"; this article reports both deaths occurred on June 5th (but also lists the Dutch man as being 67). Also, it seems that the 80 year old Belgian man died on Crete, not Cyprus, on 6/13.

Thank you. I can no longer Edit the original post. I assume this information will have to be revised/updated again and again. Hopefully someone will be found safe before long.

 

[whitelilac]

This is so alarming. If temperatures are only going to rise more over the years due to climate change, how are the local populations going to adapt and cope in those island environments ? Not only the air temperatures but the rugged rocky terrain will absorb more and more heat to exacerbate the situation.

 

[Sillybilly]

Hey folks,

This thread is specifically dedicated to discussion of Albert Calibet's case, not cases of other missing persons.

Please stay on topic.

Thanks !!

 

[Marie A]

dbm

 

[Herat]

Another day done in Greece with no more news about missing Albert Calibet. The weather looks like the heat has eased off somewhat with highs forecast in the low 90's in Athens and mid 80's in the nearby island of Naxos.

Is there any news coming from his GF, brother, and the other searchers who flew over there recently?

 

[FoxxTraxx]

Another day done in Greece with no more news about missing Albert Calibet. The weather looks like the heat has eased off somewhat with highs forecast in the low 90's in Athens and mid 80's in the nearby island of Naxos.

Is there any news coming from his GF, brother, and the other searchers who flew over there recently?

There is a Facebook page called Amorgos. There is some information on there about the search I have not seen anywhere else. I am not sure how to link the messages pertaining only to Albert.

 

[Artis]

I tried to summarize the various cases from different news sources. Please advise is anything is wrong on this list.
Found Dead:
Michael Mosley (UK) age 67 on Symi, found 6/9
Belgian man on Cyprus, 80, found 6/13
Dutch man, age 74 on Samos, found 6/15
American on Corfu, age 55, found 6/16
Missing:
Albert Calibet, 59, US missing on Amorgos
Two French women 64 and 73, missing on Sikinos
Two Israelis, missing in Vytina region of Peloponnese Peninsula (per NY Times)

Good job with your summery because I've found the articles rather unclear. It's odd that the most of the people, missing or found deceased, are not even named.

Pretty awful to go on vacation and have this happen. About all you can say is know the environment that you're in. This is why Mexicans take siestas during the day.

This all reminds me of the family and their dog who recently died on a local hike, in northern California. Mom, dad, baby and doggie. The guy worked for Google. It was just too hot out and they dropped in their tracks.

 

[RickshawFan]

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?

I would venture to bet that cell service is not consistent. IMO you could get behind a rock or go into a hollowed area and be out of service.

If you run out of water in Greece, you can get crazy for water. My experience, in June, in Delos. Luckily, I found some shepherds huddled by a well hidden in a ruin. Otherwise, I would not have found a source.

I would venture to bet all these cases involve sunstroke, dehydration, and salt imbalance.

 

[RickshawFan]

Dbm. Poster has already indicated upthread that they knew the gentleman was carrying two cell phones. Apologies.

Yes, but they had to be working and on. Plus, there has to be service, and service is unlikely to be good inland at an island like this.

 

[GTB72]

Yes, but they had to be working and on. Plus, there has to be service, and service is unlikely to be good inland at an island like this.

Very true re phones on and working. I stay in a big city and by the time I am in the countryside - 30 minutes walking, I find the service drops off. How much more likely is that on Amorgos.

Ebm - spelling.

 

[Herat]

If I was familiar with that trail and was having some medical problem, but had no cell phone service, knowing I had a 2 hour hike ahead of me, I might have headed for those Smiley Caves to get out of the sun and hang out until it cooled down.

 

[HouseRules]

I was in Greece the last two weeks in May and the highs on the islands we were on were only like mid 70's but it was HOT. I live in Florida and so I expected to be chilly there but that was the hottest 75 degrees I have ever experienced in my life. The sun is just brutal too. Hearing about all these people going hiking on warmer islands on days where it is so much hotter than when I was just there a couple weeks ago sounds like a recipe for disaster. One of our lodgings on one island was up 247 steps! Not all in a row or even steps, like irregular meandering steps. That was rough.

 

[Snoopster]

There is a Facebook page called Amorgos. There is some information on there about the search I have not seen anywhere else. I am not sure how to link the messages pertaining only to Albert.

It sounds like the searches are concentrated to the NW of the trail, not on the SE (the side with the steep drop-off). I don't know if this is true but it seems to be based on phone pings. Take all of this with a huge grain of salt.

 

[fred&edna]

Retired Los Angeles County Deputy Albert Calibet has been missing from the island of Amorgos since Tuesday. Another U.S. tourist was found dead Sunday on Mathraki.