ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A missing Dutch tourist was found dead early Saturday on the eastern Greek island of Samos, local media reported, the latest in a recent spate of tourist deaths and disappearances in the Greek islands, some of whom – though not all – had been out hiking in scorching heat.
Well-known British television presenter and author Dr Michael Mosley was found dead on the island of Symi last Sunday. The coroner determined he died the previous Wednesday, shortly after hiking through rugged, rocky terrain.
Samos, like Symi, is located very close to the Turkish coast.
The body of the 74-year-old Dutch tourist was found by a firefighters drone lying face down in a ravine about 300 metres (330 yards) from where he was last seen on Sunday, having struggled to walk in the scorching heat.
Authorities are continuing to search for four people who were reported missing in recent days.
Two French tourists were reported missing on Friday from Sikinos, a relatively remote Cyclades island in the Aegean Sea with a permanent population of fewer than 400 people.
The two women, aged 73 and 64, left their respective hotels to meet.
A 70-year-old American tourist was reported missing Thursday on the small northwestern Greek island of Matraki by his Greek-American host friend. The tourist was last seen at a cafe on Tuesday with two female tourists who had since left the island.
Matraki, with a population of 100, is a wooded island of 3.9 square kilometers (1.2 square miles) west of the better-known island of Corfu. High winds had reportedly prevented police and firefighters from reaching the island to search for the missing as of Saturday afternoon.
On the island of Amorgos, authorities continue to search for a 59-year-old tourist who went hiking alone in extreme heat and has been reported missing since Tuesday.
U.S. media identified the missing tourist as Albert Carivet, a retired Los Angeles County deputy sheriff from Hermosa Beach, California.
Amorgos, the easternmost of the Cyclades, is a rocky island covering 122 square kilometers (47 square miles) with fewer than 2,000 residents. A few years ago, the number of tourists visiting the island hit a record high of more than 100,000.
Some media commentary has focused on the need to inform tourists of the dangers of setting off on hikes in extreme heat.
Temperatures across Greece on Saturday were more than 10 degrees cooler than on Thursday, when highs reached nearly 45C. Temperatures are expected to rise again from Sunday, but will not reach heatwave levels.
