Rescuers hunting for missing Michael Mosley are now searching dangerous cave called ‘The Abyss’ amid fears Mail columnist is trapped in the ‘endless’ underwater tunnel system

Rescue teams desperate to find missing Mail columnist Dr. Michael Mosley concentrate their search on a dangerous cave complex known as The Abyss.

Their efforts in the network of caves and ‘endless’ underwater tunnels produced no sign of the TV medic yesterday, but his wife has vowed the family will ‘not lose hope’ of finding him.

Yesterday, for the first time since her husband’s mysterious disappearance, Clare Bailey spoke forcefully about the ‘longest and most unbearable days for myself and my children’.

Greek police yesterday released new CCTV footage of Dr Mosley, taken on Wednesday afternoon, the day he disappeared on the island of Symi.

He carried an umbrella to protect himself from the 35 degrees Celsius heat and walked purposefully towards a mountain path.

New CCTV footage shows Mail columnist Michael Mosley walking towards rocky hills from the town of Pedi on Wednesday

The health expert, pictured with his wife Clare Bailey, has not been seen since taking a walk on the green island of Symi

Volunteers walk mountain trails on Symi where Michael Mosley may have gone after he disappeared on Wednesday

A rescue helicopter joined the search yesterday, seen here above Pedi

In a statement yesterday, Dr. Bailey, 62, said: ‘It’s been three days since Michael left the beach to go for a walk. The longest and most unbearable days for myself and my children.

‘The search is ongoing and our family are so incredibly grateful to the people of Symi, the Greek authorities and the British Consulate who are working tirelessly to help find Michael. We will not lose hope.’

Dr. Bailey last saw her 67-year-old husband on the remote St Nicholas Beach on Wednesday, when he left to walk to the town of Pedi, from where he was expected to catch a bus back to his villa in Symi harbour.

However, the CCTV footage taken in Pedi around 2pm shows him heading to the mountains instead.

Since then – and despite a large-scale search involving dogs, drones, helicopters and divers – the writer and presenter has not been sighted.

Last night sources told The Mail on Sunday that Dr Bailey had been called in again to give rescuers more details about what her husband was carrying when he disappeared.

An official said: ‘It’s been four days and no trace of him has been found, so it was just to go over things again.

“She explained that he was wearing a khaki backpack and had his wallet, water bottle and a watch, which was not a smart watch.”

On Friday, the couple’s four adult children traveled to Symi to join their mother.

They were believed to be part of the search party that yesterday scoured the two-mile path from Pedi to Agia Marina, a small beach near The Abyss, where rescue efforts will continue today.

To enter these treacherous caverns, Dr. Mosley must have swum from Agia Marina beach – the same way the coastguard and divers gained access yesterday.

This is the photo of Dr. Mosley who was placed on a call after he went missing while on holiday in Greece on Wednesday

A cafe on the island of Symi where Dr. Mosley passed on camera images

Reporter Nick Pisa on the path Michael Mosely used to return to Pedi Beach

Rescuers have also searched for a separate rocky path near Agia Marina, which climbs over jagged limestone terrain and takes a longer route back to Symi. But it is not marked and guidebooks warn it is a ‘technically difficult’ path.

The Mail on Sunday completed part of this path yesterday and while it was manageable, it would certainly be hard work under a bright sun.

A member of the search team we encountered said: ‘We have footage of him heading this way from the last house in Pedi.

‘This is a difficult walk at the best of times and should not be done between 11am and 5pm. We think he was here in the hottest part of the day, at 2 p.m.’

Rescuers are concerned about Dr.’s well-being. Mosley because of the dangerous heat and described the hunt as a ‘race against time’ where every minute is priceless.

All boats have been asked to keep an eye on him in the water and in a sign of how urgently they were dealing with the situation, firefighters who had been battling the fires on the nearby island of Kos were transferred to Symi after bringing the flames under control. .

At the purpose-built beach at Agia Marina, staff told The Mail on Sunday that police had asked to check their CCTV footage.

One worker said: ‘I’m pretty sure I would have remembered a man with an umbrella, but no one came this way dressed like that.

‘It’s a climb to the top of the mountain, then you walk down and it climbs again before you meet a road that takes you into town. It would take about an hour, maximum an hour and a half.

‘There is nothing between here and Symi except stones, more stones and sheep and goats. It’s all exposed and I wouldn’t want to walk with it in this heat.’

Search teams are spread across the Greek island of Symi, an unspoilt paradise in the Dodecanese Islands off the coast of Rhodes

Rescuers continued the search as Michael’s wife Dr Clare Bailey declared: ‘We will not lose hope’

There are fears that Michael Mosley may have become disoriented in the heat and wandered off the path, although this seems unlikely as this is clearly indicated. In the photo: Rescuers on the road

The unforgiving limestone terrain is described in guidebooks as a ‘desert mountain range landscape with much of the trail ‘stony to very stony underfoot’.

Symi’s mayor Lefteris Papakalodoukas said: ‘We know that he came via Pedi and then continued towards Agia Marina, it is about three kilometers and a more difficult walk than from Sinterklaas.

‘But then we don’t know if he reached Agia Marina or if he decided to climb over the mountain… but that path is difficult.

‘Only a few locals know about it and although it is marked it is easy to get lost and it is not wise to walk there in the middle of the afternoon when temperatures are around 40 degrees. If he tried to walk that way to Symi, that’s a big mistake.

‘There are also many difficult questions here. Why did he leave the beach and his wife and friends? Why didn’t he bring his phone?

‘It is also clear from the CCTV footage that he did not stop for a drink in Pedi or to rest. He seemed to be walking very purposefully. It definitely would have been better for him to stop and have a coffee or some water, but no, he decided to continue.”

A local restaurant owner, who asked to be identified only as Nikos, said: ‘It’s very strange what happened, where did he go?

‘It’s just a small island and he was wearing bright clothes. Fire brigade, police and coast guard have been searching for three days and have found nothing.

“They flew a drone and didn’t see anything, and they also used thermal imaging.”

Yesterday a fire brigade helicopter joined the search for the first time in 36 hours as it flew over the mountain path where Dr Mosley is believed to have gone.

Hovering low above the terrain, he traversed several times before returning to his base on the nearby island of Rhodes.

Dr. Mosley – known for BBC programmes including Trust Me, I’m A Doctor and The One Show as well as Radio 4’s Just One Thing. – he was thought to have last visited Symi eight years ago and was staying with friends in a villa in the center of Symi harbour.