Woman found 'without a head' after swimming off Greek coast

Michele Bourda (Credit / Lifeline Hellas) & Aerial View Of Kavala. (Credit / Getty Images)

Heartbreaking details are continuing to emerge following the death of a British woman found “without a head” after vanishing off the coast of Greece.

According to reports, Michele Bourda, 59, disappeared from a sunbed on Ofrynio beach in Kavala, northern Greece, on August 1, while her husband, Chris, 66, slept.

The couple, from Glasgow, Scotland, were on a two-week holiday and had gone swimming before having a nap on a pair of sunbeds. Yet when Chris awoke, Michele had vanished, though her belongings remained on the beach.

Chris immediately reported her as missing, urging authorities to begin a search. He says, however, that they did not act until later that night, having initially made the “rubbish” claim that she had disappeared with another man.

“The problem is the harbour police did not start their search until late at night and I don’t know what effect that had. They said they couldn’t find her, they claimed she had disappeared with an unknown man, but this was rubbish,” Chris told MailOnline.

Tragically, Michele’s body wasn’t found by authorities until around a month after she first disappeared.

Michele’s disappearance sparked a search. Credit: Lifeline Hellas

As per Chris, police located her on the private island of Fidonisi, 40km away from the beach in Kavala. She was discovered without a head, half-naked, and partially eaten by fish.

Offering an update as to the manner of her death, Greek authorities ruled out “foul play”, claiming she had almost certainly drowned.

Speaking to The Sun, forensic scientist Nikos Kifnidis said: “There were no other injuries… I have concluded her death was a result of drowning in the water.

“The swimsuit she was wearing, bought in the UK, was central to her being identified.”

Panoramic aerial view from a drone of the city of Kavala and the old town of Kavala Panagia, in Eastern Macedonia, Aegean Sea. In the pictures are visible the Roman aqueduct with the arches, Byzantine barrier, the fort and fortification of the Acropolis of Kavala, residential area, the marina and the port. Kavala is also a travel and tourist destination famous for the sea and the beaches around, the restaurants, the nearby mountains, antiquities, summer festivals, air show and islands nearby. The city is located across Thasos island on a hill. Kavala, Greece on July 2022 (Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Husband Chris moved swiftly to take aim at the local Greek authorities, hitting out at their perceived inaction.

“I think the harbour police really didn’t do anything and next time something happens like this they should think about it. It shouldn’t take them three hours to write up a missing person’s report before starting the search,” he said.

“They said there were no signs she had drowned, that there was no body, that she was following someone else. But I knew this was not the case. She would not have gone off without her money, her glasses or her medication.”

Chris also said he did not see a single police officer on the beach the day his wife vanished.

“I had only been to the prosecution centre yesterday to complain about how the police and harbour police have handled this,” the heartbroken husband continued.

“It will be easy to see when I called the telephone line and how long they didn’t do anything for.”

According to the Daily Mirror, Chris revealed that Michele had suffered on and off from episodes of depression and anxiety over the past few years. The 59-year-old had briefly gone missing while she and Chris were living in London after she was made redundant from her job, subsequently falling into a depressive episode.

On that occasion, though, the swift actions of the police led to Michele being located that same night.

She had reportedly fallen ill again earlier this year in February, but was recovering and said to be in good spirits.