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

[otto]

I'm still interested in finding out more about her, including where she is now.

I think she went swimming at noon, was pulled out by the tide (high tide just before noon), became too tired to swim to shore, and accidentally drowned. That's the most likely explanation. There are a lot of Islands and land in the area, so she should wash up somewhere. I think it would be unusual if she didn't wash up in the area.

Reposting these images - linked upthread.

Only alternative seems to be that she was never at the beach.

 

[detective.moon]

Suicidal tendencies - maybe. Do depressed, suicidal people wear a two-piece beaded swimsuit, yellow beach shoes and a pair of red horn-rimmed sunglasses? Sounds rather cheerful for a depressed person.

rsbm

i don’t fully agree with you here! i think people with suicidal tendencies wear all kinds of clothes. someone could even choose to wear colourful clothes to look more happy then they are, or it could be them trying to cheer themselves up in little ways. or it could simply be their style, or the kind of clothes they own.

i don’t know if she felt suicidal, but i wouldn’t rule it out. her husband did say she was depressed.

 

[otto]

rsbm

i don’t fully agree with you here! i think people with suicidal tendencies wear all kinds of clothes. someone could even choose to wear colourful clothes to look more happy then they are, or it could be them trying to cheer themselves up in little ways. or it could simply be their style, or the kind of clothes they own.

i don’t know if she felt suicidal, but i wouldn’t rule it out. her husband did say she was depressed.

I don't know anything about suicidal tendencies, so I'm just making a general layman's observation that she was wearing cheerful colours ... which generally means cheerful. I agree that it may mean something completely different for someone who has suicidal tendencies.

At the same time ... accidental drowning seems quite likely given the tides at the time that she went into the water.

 

[detective.moon]

I don't know anything about suicidal tendencies, so I'm just making a general layman's observation that she was wearing cheerful colours ... which generally means cheerful. I agree that it may mean something completely different for someone who has suicidal tendencies.

At the same time ... accidental drowning seems quite likely given the tides at the time that she went into the water.

yes, it makes sense to think cheerful clothing means feeling cheerful! i do think the reality isn’t always so straight forward.

also agree with you accidental drowning might still be the most likely! i just wouldn’t rule it out completely, but you can’t really know without knowing more about how she felt and thought at the time

in situations like this, i’m always reminded of this poem by stevie smith our english teacher read us in high school, it made a big impression on me then. “not waving but drowning”

 

[otto]

yes, it makes sense to think cheerful clothing means feeling cheerful! i do think the reality isn’t always so straight forward.

also agree with you accidental drowning might still be the most likely! i just wouldn’t rule it out completely, but you can’t really know without knowing more about how she felt and thought at the time

in situations like this, i’m always reminded of this poem by stevie smith our english teacher read us in high school, it made a big impression on me then. “not waving but drowning”

I recall learning about water safety as a child - that's where they taught us to wave arms in the air if in trouble. However, we know that as soon as we put our arms in the air above the water, we sink deeper into the water.

 

[jiminy]

Missing in London in 2020, missing from a beach chair on a Greek beach in 2025. If there are no "missing" incidents in between, doesn't sound like there's a connection.

If she had suicidal thoughts in 2020 (I'm wondering about this based on her being found by police), then I don't think we can discount a connection yet.

 

[crespo29]

Hmmm, I know the area and have been in danger swimming in the area, it is quite easy to get into problems. Not sure that I believe that Michele Bourda that was lost swimming otherwise her body would have been found by now. Had anyone actually seen her at the beach? Sorry to say that those closest to her have to be closely examined.

 

[Sarahlou]

Hmmm, I know the area and have been in danger swimming in the area, it is quite easy to get into problems. Not sure that I believe that Michele Bourda that was lost swimming otherwise her body would have been found by now. Had anyone actually seen her at the beach? Sorry to say that those closest to her have to be closely examined.

Yes people saw her. There's also a photo of her and her husband eating at a beachside cafe hours before.

 

[Inthedetails]

I think she went swimming at noon, was pulled out by the tide (high tide just before noon), became too tired to swim to shore, and accidentally drowned. That's the most likely explanation. There are a lot of Islands and land in the area, so she should wash up somewhere. I think it would be unusual if she didn't wash up in the area.

snipped

I agree. I think she was overcome by the ocean. Whether that was an accident or intentional, we may never know.

jmopinion

 

[otto]

Yes people saw her. There's also a photo of her and her husband eating at a beachside cafe hours before.

Hours before noon?

It's an hour's drive from home to the beach. The husband fell asleep at noon.

Brunch hours before is 9 AM?

Do you recall where you saw the photo?

 

[otto]

Found it

Last known pic shows missing Brit woman in Greece before she vanished

A BRITISH woman who vanished from a Greek beach was last pictured with her husband just three hours before she mysteriously disappeared. Michele Ann Joy Bourda, 59, had been enjoying a snack with h…

www.thesun.co.uk

 

[otto]

Hmmm, I know the area and have been in danger swimming in the area, it is quite easy to get into problems. Not sure that I believe that Michele Bourda that was lost swimming otherwise her body would have been found by now. Had anyone actually seen her at the beach? Sorry to say that those closest to her have to be closely examined.

Where do you think she might be found?

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Neighbours fear for Glasgow mum who vanished from sun lounger in Greece

Retiree Michele Ann Joy Bourda disappeared from beach in the city of Kavala five days ago, while her husband was asleep.

www.dailyrecord.co.uk

Neighbours fear for Glasgow mum who vanished from sun lounger in Greece five days ago​

John and Catherine Ross said they were thinking of Michele’s husband and son.

John said: “Of course we’re thinking of them. It’s a horrible thing to go through. I hope their son is ok.

“It’s been a long time now to be missing but we will keep hoping for the most positive outcome.”

Catherine added: “They are very quiet and keep themselves to themselves but will always put Christmas cards through. “They moved here because their son was studying at university.

“It’s shocking. Our thoughts are with them.”

Another neighbour described Michele as “quiet” and “quite socially awkward” and said the couple had a property in Greece and would often holiday there for a couple of months in the summer.

 

[Skigh]

Brit who vanished from Greek sunbed 'seen walking away from scene'

Michele Ann Joy Bourda, 59, had been swimming at Ofrynio beach in the city of Kavala at around noon on Friday before she suddenly went missing.

www.dailymail.co.uk

A sports instructor claimed he saw a woman who resembled Mrs Bourda swimming in deep waters and said that he urged her to not go any further, LBC reports.

But sources are now saying they saw her walking away from the scene in northern Greece, according to Ilia Live.

This is not the first time Mrs Bourda has gone missing, the report claimed.

 

[Smccat]

Not replying to anyone in particular, but we have all seen the photo of them sat eating something now.
Michele looks like she is wearing a black or navy swimming costume to me in that photo.

JMO

 

[Skigh]

The article now mentions that:

In the photograph from the beach cafe, Mrs Bourda is pictured wearing a dark swimming costume and sunglasses, and appears calm as she chats with her husband, who is shown in the photo wearing a white cap.

Later in the article it says she went missing in the rhinestone decorated costume.

She was last seen wearing a rhinestone-embellished two-piece beaded swimsuit, yellow beach shoes and a pair of red horn-rimmed sunglasses.

 

[Cinister09]

Not replying to anyone in particular, but we have all seen the photo of them sat eating something now.
Michele looks like she is wearing a black or navy swimming costume to me in that photo.

JMO

It does look quite dark, but it could be the lighting.
Her hair looks pretty dark in the photo too, but it's supposedly blonde.

 

[Smccat]

The article now mentions that:

In the photograph from the beach cafe, Mrs Bourda is pictured wearing a dark swimming costume and sunglasses, and appears calm as she chats with her husband, who is shown in the photo wearing a white cap.

Later in the article it says she went missing in the rhinestone decorated costume.

She was last seen wearing a rhinestone-embellished two-piece beaded swimsuit, yellow beach shoes and a pair of red horn-rimmed sunglasses.

I was just reading that after I posted. So she's got wet and had a change. Makes sense.

 

[C.greek]

It does look quite dark, but it could be the lighting.
Her hair looks pretty dark in the photo too, but it's supposedly blonde.

View attachment 606657

For greek standards, her hair would be considered blonde (dark blonde) . Not in that specific photo which looks wet but overall!

 

[TootsieFootsie]

It was said that her sunglasses and water shoes were still there next to her lounger after she disappeared.

Did she have two swimsuits, two pairs of beach shoes, two pairs of sunglasses.

If she had two swimsuits and got changed out of one, where is the one she got changed out of.