The strange disappearance and death of Bruce Diggle in Cyprus
Bruce Diggle, disappeared July 19, 2020, Sotira, Limassol district, Cyprus. Body Found November 1, 2020.
Revised October 2023
Bruce Diggle, 82, was last seen on Sunday, July 19, 2020, at around 5.25 pm. In common with several disappearance cases, Bruce was hiking in a group and left of his own accord, never to be seen again. He was frail and vulnerable, so it would seem unlikely he went too far, yet the many searches turned up nothing.
Five months later, on Sunday, November 1, 2020, shortly after 10 am, hunters found the skeletal remains of a man in an inaccessible area near Episkopi. The remains were confirmed as being Bruce. What happened to him?
The walking group near Sotira in Cyprus
Bruce was a British man who walked with a group of 8 or 9 people in a rural area of Cyprus on Sunday afternoon, July 19, 2020.
The group had walked less than half a mile (or a few hundred metres) along a dirt road to where it crossed the tarmac road, about 0.6 miles (1 km) from the village of Sotira. After deciding he could not complete the walk with the rest of the group, Bruce was directed back via the tarmac road towards the rendezvous point where the cars were parked, a distance of about 0.4 miles (600 meters).
Though he was seen to set off in the right direction, walking with poles, he was not at the rendezvous point when the rest of the walkers returned.
According to the information from the Police, the disappearance occurred on the main road between the villages of Kantou-Sotiras. The walkers immediately alerted the authorities.
The search
Bruce was around 5ft 7 (1.7 m) tall and of medium build. He had short, light grey hair and brown eyes, and he wore glasses. At the time of his disappearance, he was wearing a blue t-shirt, cut-down denim shorts, and boating shoes.
The search involved members of ADE Limassol, MMAD, Civil Defense, ETEA volunteers, members of the British Base Police, and relatives.
The British military forces in Cyprus also provided over 20 soldiers to assist the local police in the search, but they found no clues. A helicopter was used to scour the area as ground teams conducted investigations. The official search and rescue effort was terminated on July 14, 2020.
Discovery of Bruce Diggle’s body
On Sunday, November 1, 2020, shortly after 10 am, hunters found the skeletal remains of a man in an inaccessible area near Episkopi, in the Limassol district. According to some reports, he was found in a sitting position under a bridge. Police immediately suspected it was Bruce Diggle. A week later, DNA tests confirmed it was him.
What happened to Bruce Diggle?
Did Bruce succumb to the heat, seek shelter and die from natural causes?
Some aspects of this case remain puzzling. Why was Bruce’s body not discovered after an extensive search, despite being close to the road he was last seen walking on? If he was found under a bridge, why did it take five months to find him?
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Read about other hiking group disappearances
Sources
https://www.lbtrust.org/single-post/2020/07/19/Bruce-Diggle
http://www.parikiaki.com/2020/07/british-national-missing-in-cyprus/
https://www.facebook.com/ukincyprus/posts/4130485870357728
https://www.cyprusdailynews.com/british-forces-personnel-to-assist-with-search-of-missing-briton/
https://cyprus-mail.com/2020/11/01/body-of-a-man-found-by-hunters-in-limassol-district/
https://cyprus-mail.com/2020/11/08/remains-found-last-week-in-limassol-identified-as-82-year-old-missing-man/