American tourist rescued after night-long search in Crete

A 26‑year‑old American tourist called the emergency number 112 around midnight on Friday, reporting that she was lost on the difficult Sougia‑Agia Roumeli trail in the southern part of the Chania region on Crete.

Greek emergency services launched a large‑scale operation through the night, deploying eight firefighters from EMODE, a four‑person team from EMAC, drones, and additional personnel from the coast guard, police and the ELAS mountain rescue unit. Teams accessed the remote Sfakia area by boat and on foot, coordinating the search across the trail and the nearby beach of Domata.

Early on Saturday the firefighters located the tourist on Domata beach. She was fatigued but in good health. After being found, the coast guard vessel that had been on the water returned to Sfakia, concluding the multi‑agency rescue effort.