Natalie Christopher: Second female scientist goes missing while jogging on Greek island

Authorities launched major search operation in Ikaria after British woman disappears

A female British scientist has been reported missing in Greece after she did not return from a morning run on Monday.

Greek authorities have launched a major search operation on the Greek island of Ikaria, with police, firefighters, volunteers and the coast guard all participating in the search of the 35-year-old woman.

Authorities did not publicly name the woman, but Greek media believe her to be Natalie Christopher, a British astrophysicist who lives and works in Cyprus.

Ms Christopher went to Ikaria on holiday with her 38-year-old Cypriot partner.

The couple were due to return to Cyprus via Athens on Monday, but her partner reported her as missing after she failed to return from jogging.

A helicopter is also participating in the search. Police said they were keeping all lines of inquiry open.

Ms Christopher would be the second female scientist who has gone missing after going for a run on a Greek Island this summer.

In July, US scientist Suzanne Eaton went missing in Crete.

Ms Eaton, 59, was a molecular biologist at the Max Planck Institute in Dresden in Germany and had travelled to Crete to attend a conference.

Her colleagues raised the alarm on 2 July when she did not return from jogging.

Her body was found in a Second World War military bunker used during the Nazi occupation of Crete and a coroner revealed she had been raped and killed.

The Max Planck Institute said in a statement that she was “a leading scientist in her field, a strong athlete, runner and senior black belt in Taekwondo”.

Additional reporting by AP