Michele Bourda, a 59-year-old British woman who vanished from a sunbed while her husband slept on Aug. 1, died from drowning, medical examiners in Greece concluded after an autopsy, her husband told British media.
Bourda's body was recovered more than a month after she disappeared from Ofrynio beach near the northern Greek city of Kavala. The body was found on Fidonisi, a small privately owned island about 25 miles down the coast from where she was last seen, according to her husband, Chris Bourda, 66.
A forensic scientist, Nikos Kifnidis, told The Sun that the autopsy identified drowning as the likely cause of death and that there were no other injuries. Kifnidis said the swimsuit Bourda was wearing, which had been bought in the United Kingdom, and evidence of a previous chest operation were central to confirming her identity.
Chris Bourda, a pharmacist who said he had spent weeks searching for his wife, criticised harbour police in Kavala for what he described as a delayed and inadequate response when she first disappeared. He told the Daily Mail that local officers did not begin a search until late that night, that they failed to use dogs or drones during the initial search, and that they searched by boat only at night or in the early morning so as not to alarm tourists.
The husband said Bourda had left all her belongings on the sun lounger, including her glasses, medication and towel, and that he was confident she would not have left voluntarily without them. He said he woke to find her missing, ran to search the beach and notified staff and other guests. He said an initial police response was slow and that some local people questioned why he had been brought to ask whether they had seen her.
Authorities in Greece have not publicly released an official timeline of their search operations or a statement on the autopsy findings. The details reported by Bourda and cited by British outlets come from the family and from local media conversations with forensic officials.
Bourda told British reporters he was uncertain whether his wife had intended to harm herself. He said she had experienced intermittent episodes of depression and anxiety for several years, and cited a previous episode of disappearance while the couple lived in London, during which police found her the same night. He said she had been in better spirits before the couple travelled to Greece after visiting family in Germany and that they had planned to stay at the beach resort for six weeks.
He also criticised mental health services in the United Kingdom, saying earlier psychiatric intervention and medication might have made a difference.
Among those assisting the identification of the body, Kifnidis said, were physical clues such as the swimsuit and evidence of past surgery. Bourda said the couple had been married for 36 years after meeting at university in Germany and lived in Glasgow.
Chris Bourda told reporters he had been told at a local hospital that "a lot of incidents" happen on that beach and that it can sometimes be dangerous. He said he believed the police had not treated the disappearance with appropriate urgency and that their response was affected by the fact the couple were foreigners.
Local authorities in Kavala have not issued detailed public comments on the case in English-language media reports at the time of the family's statements. The case has been reported by British tabloid outlets citing the husband's account and local forensic sources.
The investigation into the circumstances of Bourda's death remains with Greek authorities. The autopsy report cited drowning as the probable cause, while the family has urged improvements in both local search-and-rescue responses and wider mental health provision in Britain.
Friends and family described Bourda as a former BT employee who later worked for a local council. The couple had been on holiday following a visit to Mr. Bourda's family in Germany when she disappeared. Her death has prompted renewed scrutiny from the family on how missing-person reports are handled for foreign visitors in Greek resort areas and on available mental health support for people with recurring conditions.
Officials have not disclosed whether any further forensic or criminal inquiries are under way; Greek police and consular services customarily coordinate with foreign nationals' families in such cases, including notifying British consular officials when a citizen dies abroad. The family said they were continuing to seek answers about the circumstances leading up to Bourda's disappearance and subsequent death.