87-Year-Old Tourist Found in 44-Hour Corfu Search

A Dramatic 44-Hour Search for an 87-Year-Old Holidaymaker

An 87-year-old man from North Staffordshire, John Eagles, was found after a dramatic 44-hour search on the island of Corfu. The widower had been reported missing at around 6:30pm on Wednesday, 29 April, after he went missing during his holiday.

John had flown alone to the Greek island on 27 April to visit his brother, Eddie Eagles, who has an apartment in Klimatia as a gift for John's 87th birthday. However, the celebration took a turn when John disappeared.

Stacey Cooper, John’s granddaughter, shared the details of the events leading up to his disappearance. She said, “He met his brother at the airport after landing in Corfu and they went back to his apartment. They spent the start of the week enjoying some time together. They went on day trips on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It was lovely for my grandad. It was the first time he’d been abroad since his wife died.”

On the evening of Wednesday, John and his brother decided to go out for tea. While his brother was getting ready, John said he was going to pop out to take some pictures of the local churches. He mentioned he would be away for about 15 or 20 minutes but never returned.

His brother became panicked and called the local police. A search party was sent out with dogs and drones, but nothing was found. They discovered some clothes, but they didn’t belong to John.

The family quickly began fearing the worst. Stacey explained, “The first 24 hours were terrifying. After they called off the initial search, we all began to fear the inevitable. You just start expecting the worse. I thought that he might have fallen off a cliff or something. They have little gulleys everywhere. He is tough for his age but he’s still 87 and does struggle sometimes on his legs. I thought he might have had a problem with the terrain. It felt pretty hopeless once we neared the 48-hour mark.”

However, John was located by the Greek authorities at around 2:15pm on Friday, 1 May. Stacey continued, “They just found him in the woods. He had a few cuts and bruises but he was okay. He had been following a stream downhill in an attempt to find a nearby village. He’d found an old water bottle on the floor and he was topping it up from the stream and surviving off that. His instincts from his army days must have kicked in. He’s a resourceful little thing - I’ll give him that.”

She added, “I’ve spoken to him since he’s been discovered. He was a bit confused as he was dehydrated and hungry. But he remembers that he went off to the churches and then somewhere else he tried to go was shut. So he went off the beaten track and lost his way. Now he’s being sent to a hospital in Corfu for treatment, just to make sure he’s okay. My mum is flying out to see him now. The police are going to pick her up at the airport and take her straight to him.”

John has already survived bowel cancer and a mini-stroke. Stacey added, “When I had that phone call to say that they’d found him, I started crying my eyes out in relief. Honestly - in true grandad form - he’s just wondering what all the fuss is about right now. He’s tough as old boots. He’s from that generation, isn’t he? I’ll be able to actually enjoy my bank holiday weekend now! Once he gets back, we’re all going to have a big celebration - and maybe buy a couple of baby reins.”