Search for American tourist continues in Amorgos
The search for a 59-year-old American tourist who went missing while hiking alone on the Cycladic island of Amorgos continued on Thursday.
Eleftherios Karaiskos, the mayor of Amorgos, told state-run broadcaster ERT that authorities are focusing “on a fairly large area that covers almost a quarter of the island” at the north. The area was determined by information shared by mobile operators who examined the signal from one of the two phones he was carrying with him.
The man, a retired police officer who has been visiting the island for years, departed from the port settlement of Aegiali, located in the northwest of the island, shortly after 7 a.m. His intended destination was Katapola, the island’s main port along the western coast, a trail estimated to take approximately four hours.
A friend reported him missing to the authorities after eight hours, having been unable to reach him on either of the two cell phones he carried.
Karaiskos said the route the American should have followed is a well-trodden path linking the two ports that is easy to follow and opined that the 59-year-old may have left it and chosen a more difficult hike.
His co-traveler told the authorities they spent three days in Aegiali and were planning to continue their holiday in Katapola. He drove to the main port on Tuesday but his missing friend chose to walk.
Amorgos, the easternmost island of the Cyclades, has a population of around 2,000.
