British Grandmother Vanishes on Greek Island

A British grandmother has gone missing on the Greek island of Telendos. Susan Hart, aged 74, was last seen by her husband Ed Hart at the port of the secluded island on the morning of April 30.

The family, who are originally from Bath in the United Kingdom, are still searching for answers. They expressed concerns to a British tabloid that Mrs. Hart’s health may have played a role in her disappearance, as she had been showing signs of dementia.

The family has been conducting their own improvised investigation on the Greek island whilst continuing to question the efforts of local authorities to find the British grandmother.

Grandmother from UK missing on Greek island holiday https://t.co/pAxozm5FuO

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Disappearance of British grandmother on Greek island

On the day that she went missing, Susan Hart and her husband took a ferry from the island of Kalymnos to nearby Telendos for a day excursion.

The couple, who are British but mainly reside in Switzerland, have been visiting Kalymnos for around eight years. This trip was the first time they had returned since the COVID-19 pandemic.

When they arrived at Telendos, Mr. Hart went rock climbing whilst Mrs. Hart read a book at a restaurant. However, when Mr. Hart returned to the restaurant, Mrs. Hart was nowhere to be seen.

Mrs. Hart is the mother of three daughters who were raised in Bath, but currently reside in Canada, Australia, and London respectively, along with their own families.

One of her daughters, Ruth Landale, explained that they were worried that their mother might have been developing dementia around the time she went missing.

“It’s been a stressful and distressing time for the whole family,” Ms. Landale commented. “We have absolutely no idea where she has gone”.

“How does someone just disappear without a trace?” said Bethan Blackwell, another daughter of Mrs. Hart.  “The hopes of finding her alive are diminishing by the day and my sisters and I do not know what to do next.”

“Do we start grieving or keep having hope that she’s still out there alive? What’s our next avenue?” she continued.

Investigation

Local authorities are reportedly investigating the disappearance of the British grandmother on the Greek island. An extensive search was launched by the Greek coast guard, together with local volunteers and the family of Mrs. Hart.

However, the family of Mrs. Hart has questioned how seriously the inquiry is being taken by local officials.

“We were told that CCTV footage of the last time she was seen shows her walking away from the restaurant she was supposed to be at. So we asked; ‘Well, what about on the other side?'” the family told The Mirror.

When the family returned to the police station with John – a local taxi driver who helped them with translations – they were reportedly denied access to the CCTV footage by the police. “We don’t know why they have directly lied to us. Maybe they wanted us off the island so we would stop bugging them,” the family said to the British tabloid.

The family of Mrs. Hart has also had to deal with unsubstantiated claims the British grandmother was found dead on the Greek island, further adding to their confusion.

“We have been desperately trying to shut down these claims. One of the search teams actually called up a Greek TV show that made the claims and threatened to sue them if they did not take down the claims,” Ms. Blackwell said.

Mr. Hart reported that, after eight days, local police had still not organized search and rescue dogs, so he hired private divers and investigators.