The brother of American tourist Albert Calibet, a retired Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy, who has been missing for over a week on the island of Amorgos, Greece, blasted the US government for “doing nothing” to help find him.
In an emotional YouTube video Oliver Calibet, who arrived from California on Amorgos last week to join the search operation, said that Greece is doing what it can with its limited resources, but “I don’t know why the US can’t come here and help. The US is doing nothing.”
He continued: “This is a small little island. He should have been found days ago if the US had put in a little, a tiny little effort.”
In the video, Oliver Calibet disputed the official version of the search and rescue operation. “I have yet to see a helicopter. I have seen some drones and a few people searching in the trails. But this is the Greek government. I can’t be mad with them. They do what they can. I am mad with the US. I need help. This is a US citizen who needs to be brought home.”
He appealed to people back in the US to raise the issue with their lawmakers to force the US authorities to do more. “Days have gone by and I know the chances of finding him alive are slim. But if there is that one percent I want to find him.”
Albert Calibet, 58, disappeared last Tuesday while hiking on Amorgos, a 49-square-mile island he had visited regularly for a decade. Despite being an experienced outdoorsman, no trace of him has been found, and his belongings are also missing.
The missing retired deputy is among several foreigners, including Americans, who have died or vanished under mysterious circumstances on Greek islands in the past week. While some cases may be linked to extreme heat, authorities are investigating potential criminal angles.
Missing American found dead in Greece
On Sunday a missing American tourist Toby Sheets was found dead on a beach on a small Greek island west of Corfu.
The New York Times reported that a 55-year-old Floral Park native, who was identified by TDN as Sheets, had been last seen on Tuesday, and that his body was found on the beach on Sunday.
According to the Associated Press, the tourist had “been seen Tuesday at a cafe in the company of two female tourists who have since left the island.”
A 74-year-old Dutch tourist was found by a fire department drone on Saturday on the island of Samos. He was lying face down in a ravine about 300 meters (330 yards) from the spot where he was last observed last Sunday, walking with some difficulty in the blistering heat.
Dr. Michael Mosley, a noted British television presenter and author, was found dead last Sunday on the island of Symi. A coroner concluded that he had died the previous Wednesday, shortly after going for a hike over difficult, rocky terrain.
On Friday, two French tourists were reported missing on Sikinos, a relatively secluded Cyclades island in the Aegean Sea, with less than 400 permanent residents.
The two women, ages 64 and 73, had left their respective hotels to meet.