Found Deceased Michele Ann Joy Bourda, 59, British tourist, suddenly disappeared from Ofrynio beach in Kavala, Greece, 1 Aug 2025

[Izzylizzy]

Huh?

"It is understood that Bourda had been living in Serres, northern Greece, which is about an hour away from the beach.

An alert was issued after authorities failed to locate her. “Michele Ann Bourda went missing on 01/08/2025 at the beach of Ofrynio in Kavala,” it read.

“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.”

British woman missing in Greece ‘warned not to swim too far out’

Michele Ann Joy Bourda, 59, was last seen on Friday lunchtime at Ofrynio Beach in Kavala, but there are no plans to scale down the search for her

www.thetimes.com

 

[Izzylizzy]

Seeing as Michele reportedly lived in Greece with her Greek husband, I find it quite unusual that they were on the beach in the midday sun in August, only tourists on holiday normally venture out at that time.
Locals tend to avoid going out in the heat of the day.
Also, I maybe wrong but from the picture provided, she didn't look like a sun worshipper and if she just enjoyed swimming in the sea there are better times to do it.
JMO.

It was reported that she lived 1 hr from the beach so where was the husband sleeping?
At local relatives of his?

 

[NervousNellie]

Based on my own experience at the beach, I agree with the posters suggesting it seems unlikely she heard the warnings shouted to her if she was swimming "too far." Also, if she's a good swimmer as indicated in the article, she may not have thought she needed to heed the warning.

Alternatively, If she is unwell, it could be she was swimming with a purpose.

Three unanswered questions after British woman, 59, goes missing from Greek beach

The disappearance of Michele Ann Joy Bourda has prompted a wide-ranging search of land and sea

inews.co.uk

"In a press release issued by the Hellenic Coastguard, Ms Bourda was described as a “swimmer”."

 

[NervousNellie]

Huh?

"It is understood that Bourda had been living in Serres, northern Greece, which is about an hour away from the beach.

An alert was issued after authorities failed to locate her. “Michele Ann Bourda went missing on 01/08/2025 at the beach of Ofrynio in Kavala,” it read.

“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.”

British woman missing in Greece ‘warned not to swim too far out’

Michele Ann Joy Bourda, 59, was last seen on Friday lunchtime at Ofrynio Beach in Kavala, but there are no plans to scale down the search for her

www.thetimes.com

Europe represents the date as day/month/year, unlike the US.

 

[Dotta]

Europe represents the date as day/month/year, unlike the US.

Yep
Today is 5th August.
05.08.2025
That's how we write it.
At least in my European country.

 

[miss marble]

One cannot continue surveillance on somebody else 24/7.

This is real life
and he is not a jailer to constantly watch her.

JMO

I didn't say he should be on 24/7 surveillance or be her jailer though did I?
Most everyday situations are not dangerous, but being in or near water is potentially life threatening for someone described as 'unwell' or has 'got lost' before.
I merely posted my opinion and what I would do in that situation.

 

[Sarahlou]

Yep
Today is 5th August.
05.08.2025
That's how we write it.
At least in my European country.

Going by Wiki most countries in the world use the day/month/year format

List of date formats by country - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Izzylizzy]

Europe represents the date as day/month/year, unlike the US.

lol!
Duh me.

 

[Izzylizzy]

Was it reported just where her husband was sleeping?

 

[otto]

Was it reported just where her husband was sleeping?

He was asleep on the beach next to her. When he woke up, she was gone, but her clothes were left behind. That suggests she went into the water.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

He was sleeping next to her on the beach, on a sun lounger or whatever they're called.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Both posted at the same time, or me just after.

 

[Smccat]

It was reported that she lived 1 hr from the beach so where was the husband sleeping?
At local relatives of his?

On a sun lounger at the beach.

ETA Sorry repeating .. hadn’t refreshed

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Sun, sea… and a baffling disappearance: Brit woman vanishes from Greek beach as coastguard mounts huge search

British woman Michele Bourda, 59, mysteriously vanished from a Greek beach while her husband napped. Her belongings were left behind as coastguard and police launched a massive land-and-sea search.

www.ibtimes.co.uk

So wherever she went, she was not wearing her water shoes, or her sunglasses because they were found next to her lounger.

"She was beside her Greek husband, who decided to take a short nap. When he opened his eyes, she was gone.

Her lounger was empty. Her bag, sunglasses and water shoes were still neatly placed beside it. But Michele had vanished without a trace"

 

[Dotta]

Sun, sea… and a baffling disappearance: Brit woman vanishes from Greek beach as coastguard mounts huge search

British woman Michele Bourda, 59, mysteriously vanished from a Greek beach while her husband napped. Her belongings were left behind as coastguard and police launched a massive land-and-sea search.

www.ibtimes.co.uk

So wherever she went, she was not wearing her water shoes, or her sunglasses because they were found next to her lounger.

"She was beside her Greek husband, who decided to take a short nap. When he opened his eyes, she was gone.

Her lounger was empty. Her bag, sunglasses and water shoes were still neatly placed beside it. But Michele had vanished without a trace"

I wonder if she took advantage of her husband's little nap.

JMO

 

[otto]

Sun, sea… and a baffling disappearance: Brit woman vanishes from Greek beach as coastguard mounts huge search

British woman Michele Bourda, 59, mysteriously vanished from a Greek beach while her husband napped. Her belongings were left behind as coastguard and police launched a massive land-and-sea search.

www.ibtimes.co.uk

So wherever she went, she was not wearing her water shoes, or her sunglasses because they were found next to her lounger.

"She was beside her Greek husband, who decided to take a short nap. When he opened his eyes, she was gone.

Her lounger was empty. Her bag, sunglasses and water shoes were still neatly placed beside it. But Michele had vanished without a trace"

If she wandered away in a bathing suit, someone would have noticed her. No witness for that so far. That leaves two options: in the water, she was never there. Let's assume she was there.

A witness (unnamed) believes he saw her in the water and told her that she was too far from shore. The time that she was in the water is roughly noon, and the tide was going out.

She is described as a "swimmer", meaning she probably views herself as a strong swimmer. If she was too far out at noon, she could have been pulled out of the bay by the tide. She would not have realized that she was in trouble until it was too late ... unless she was a strong swimmer and could use reason to get out of the situation.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Her two piece beaded swimsuit sounds quite distinctive.

 

[detective.moon]

in defense of his nap.. sometimes it just happens and there’s nothing you can do! you’ll tell yourself you’ll stay awake but suddenly you’re not anymore especially when you’re laying down and relaxing in the sun

assuming this is all an unfortunate accident i hope the guilt won’t weigh too heavy on him

 

[Izzylizzy]

On a sun lounger at the beach.

ETA Sorry repeating .. hadn’t refreshed

Thanks, I just read that he was sleeping and no mention of where so I thought they were staying at a resort and he was in the room.

 

[Izzylizzy]

in defense of his nap.. sometimes it just happens and there’s nothing you can do! you’ll tell yourself you’ll stay awake but suddenly you’re not anymore especially when you’re laying down and relaxing in the sun

assuming this is all an unfortunate accident i hope the guilt won’t weigh too heavy on him

If she did drown we don't even know if she was able to scream for help and even so could anyone hear her?

Sorry if I'm repeating what's already been discussed as I'm late to the thread and haven't read all the prior posts.