Authorities in Greece are urgently searching for Michele Bourda, a 59-year-old British woman who was last seen at Ofryni beach in Kavala, a coastal city in northern Greece.
British woman missing in Greece after beach visit
She disappeared at midday on Friday, 1 August 2025, while swimming with her husband.
The term “British woman missing Greece” is now trending as Greek emergency services, including the Hellenic Coast Guard, local police, and volunteers, work to locate her.
Bourda has been officially declared missing, and a Silver Alert has been issued by the Greek organisation Lifeline Hellas.
According to reports from Sky News and Lifeline Hellas, Michele Bourda went for a swim while her husband, a Greek national, rested on a sunbed.
When he woke up, she was gone. Her personal items—including her sunglasses, beach shoes, and bag—were still on the sand where she had left them.
The couple lived in the city of Serres, in the Macedonia region of Greece. They were visiting the beach for a day trip when the incident happened. The exact circumstances surrounding her disappearance remain unclear, but officials believe she may have entered the water and not returned.
Description and how people can help
Bourda is described as slim, 5 feet 6 inches tall, with straight blonde shoulder-length hair and hazel eyes. At the time of her disappearance, she was wearing a two-piece swimsuit with rhinestones, yellow beach shoes, and red bone-rimmed sunglasses, according to Lifeline Hellas.
In a public alert, the charity warned that “her life is in danger” and urged anyone with information to immediately contact Silver Alert’s Greek SOS Line 1065. The public has been asked to stay alert and assist in the search efforts if they were at the beach or nearby on the day of her disappearance.
The local port authority in Kavala received the missing person report on the evening of 1 August. Since then, rescue operations have included sea patrols, divers, and beach patrols, but no confirmed sightings of Bourda have been reported.
Officials continue to search both the shoreline and the surrounding waters, and they have not ruled out any possibilities, including the chance of drowning or becoming disoriented.
This incident follows a number of recent cases where international visitors have gone missing while exploring parts of Greece during the summer holiday season. Authorities are now focused on tracking any available CCTV footage and speaking with potential eyewitnesses.
As of now, Michele Bourda remains missing, and search efforts are ongoing.