The husband of a British woman missing in Greece has slammed police for their response to her disappearance as he revealed she vanished after he dozed off on a sun lounger.
Michele Ann Joy Bourda, 59, had been swimming at Ofrynio beach in the city of Kavala at around noon last Friday when she disappeared.
Police have been conducting a major search for her. She has now been missing for a week.
Speaking for the first time since her disappearance, her devastated husband, 56-year-old Chris Bourda, hit out at the search effort as he described the moment he realised his wife had vanished.
“She had seemed quite happy that day,” he told the MailOnline.
“We went for a short swim as it was windy and there were a few waves.
“She then ordered a few crepes and said we could have a nice sleep after. Unfortunately I fell asleep first and when I woke up she wasn't there.
“I quickly ran to the toilet and knocked on the ladies but she wasn't in there. I then ran to the beach to look again in the water.
“I asked the people behind us if they had seen her, they said no but then later they sent a photograph to the police which had shown us eating crepes in the background.
“I then quickly went back to the waiter to say my wife was missing, have you seen her and he started laughing.”
The waiter only realised the seriousness of the situation when Mr Bourda told him his wife had “psychological problems.”
Police took two hours to arrive on the scene, he added.
“The police didn't do anything on the day. One guest who was there that day said she didn't see any police and I didn't see any police that day either, not one single policeman at the beach.
“The only thing I saw was a police car driving up and down the road to the beach. Not getting out of the car, just looking in the direction of the sea.”
The distraught husband also disputed the claim police have been using dogs and drones to search for his wife, claiming he has only seen boats.
He continued: “I have been searching without sleep or anything. Day and night, especially early in the morning. It was hard to see at night though as it was so dark.
“For days and nights I have gone up down the coast, searched bushes, olive groves, empty houses, building sites, later I went to the hills, nothing.“I asked the police if they think that she is alive, why don't they use dogs, drones, helicopters and they replied where shall we search? It's a vast area?
“I don't think my wife would have gone to somebody in the car or anything. I really don't. I have tried everywhere but one person alone is very difficult to find something.”
Mr Bourda confirmed to the MailOnline that his wife “suffered intermittently from episodes of depression and anxiety for a number of years.”
The pair have been married for 36 years after meeting at university in Germany.
Looking back on the night before his wife vanished, he said: ”The whole night before she had been holding my hand and you would never think anything was wrong or something like this would ever happen.
“We were talking the other day and she was saying how happy our 40 years together and I said yes, we will hopefully have another 40 years in front of us.”
