The body discovered late in the afternoon in the Fre area, in the municipality of Apokoronas in Chania, belongs to 33-year-old doctor Alexis Tsikopoulos, who had gone missing last December, prompting immediate mobilization of authorities. According to neakriti.gr, the Chania Police Director, police forces and relevant services rushed to the scene to investigate the circumstances under which the body was found, while no further information about the cause of death has been released so far.
According to statements by Chania Police Director Kanellos Nikolaou, the body was discovered by a passerby who immediately notified the police. Police forces from the local department rushed to the scene, along with members of the investigative team and a forensic doctor. From the initial evidence and characteristics of the body: “From research we conducted with the forensic doctor, it was determined that the body belongs to the missing young doctor. We saw that characteristics of his clothing matched those of the body,” he said characteristically.
The body was found in an outdoor area with dense shrub vegetation and dry branches, near the area where a small church is located, but not inside it. According to the Police Director, the terrain morphology and dense vegetation significantly hindered the discovery.
Timeline of the 33-year-old doctor’s disappearance
From the first days of his disappearance, a major search operation was launched by police and fire service forces, as well as volunteers, with the goal of finding the 33-year-old alive. The searches were continuously expanded as time passed, while every possible scenario was being examined.
According to the case details, Alexis Tsikopoulos had contacted his father in Thessaloniki by phone on the day of his disappearance, telling him that he wasn’t feeling well and asking him to come to Crete. However, before his father could even reach the island, the 33-year-old had disappeared, without any communication with him since.
His car was found in Apokoronas
His car was located in the Apokoronas area of Chania, at the height of Fre. According to his mother, the vehicle had broken down, a fact that led authorities to focus searches on surrounding villages, examining the possibility that he sought help on foot. Despite extensive searches in the area, no evidence emerged that could lead to finding him.
In early January, volunteers from OFKATH, led by Christos Ramos, also participated in the searches, remaining in Crete for about five days assisting in the search efforts. Operations continued in February with increased intensity, while the family maintained hope that the 33-year-old would be found alive.
However, the searches bore no fruit and the case closed in the most painful way, with the discovery of Alexis Tsikopoulos’s body.
