An Israeli man has been missing since Sunday while hiking on Mount Olympus in Greece, with his family saying they have been unable to contact him since he sent photos while making his way toward the summit.
Ami Yogev, 46, from the central city of Modi’in, last spoke with his mother, Shosh Debi, around noon Sunday. His phone has since become unavailable and his family does not know what happened to him.
Ami Yogev
“Contact with Ami was lost on Sunday. At noon was the last time he picked up,” Debi told ynet. “At 4 p.m., I sent him a message. He saw the message but didn’t respond, and since then there has only been one check mark. His phone is unavailable.”
A thermal-drone company located with the help of the Israeli Embassy in Greece has volunteered to assist in the search, including at night, ynet has learned. The company is expected to deploy drones over areas considered relevant to the search.
Debi said her son flew from Israel to Athens the previous Tuesday on a spur-of-the-moment trip and remained in regular contact with her after arriving.
“He spoke with me from the time he landed in Athens,” she said. “He got a phone plan and contacted me every day. On Sunday, he told me he intended to climb Mount Olympus. He spoke with me while he was climbing and sent me pictures. He also spoke with a friend and sent him pictures.”
“After he sent a picture saying he was on his way to the summit, he stopped answering and hasn’t contacted us since,” she said.
Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece and the legendary home of the gods in ancient Greek mythology, rises to 2,918 meters, or about 9,573 feet. Its upper reaches include steep and exposed terrain, and weather conditions can change rapidly.
Debi, 65, said she had barely slept since her son disappeared.
“I haven’t slept for two days,” she said. “I can’t stop crying. I’m afraid. I just want to know that he’s OK, that everything is OK. I don’t need anything. I just want them to tell me he’s alive and everything is fine.”
“If he doesn’t want to come back, I just want him to take care of himself,” she added. “I can’t travel there, as they suggested at the Foreign Ministry. I’m 65. I can’t go there to conduct searches.”
Yogev left Israel without travel insurance, and his mother said she cannot afford to privately finance a search for him.
“We notified the Foreign Ministry and the police,” she said. “Yesterday, someone at the Foreign Ministry told me to contact Magnus, and maybe they could help, but they can provide assistance for $8,500 for three days. I don’t have that kind of money.”
Magnus International Search and Rescue is an Israeli company specializing in locating and rescuing travelers overseas.
Debi said the Foreign Ministry told her it had provided the relevant information to Greek authorities and that Greek police were searching for her son.
“We also filed a missing-person report with the police,” she said. “They received all the information and said they were forwarding it to Interpol. We are all worried about him and hope to find him safe and sound.”
The Foreign Ministry said its consular officials were working with Greek authorities to help locate Yogev.
“From the moment the case became known, the Israeli consul in Athens and the Foreign Ministry’s department for Israelis in distress abroad have been in contact with the local authorities and are working to provide all possible assistance in locating the Israeli citizen with whom contact has been lost in Greece,” the ministry said.