Search operation underway to find British woman missing on Greek island

Greek authorities launched a large-scale search operation on the northern Aegean island of Ikaria on Tuesday to find a British woman who was reported missing by her partner, according to a local news website.

The 34-year-old woman, identified by a missing persons alert as astrophysicist Dr Natalie Christopher, went missing hours before she and her 38-year-old Cypriot partner were scheduled to fly to Cyprus, where they both live permanently, according to the report.

The couple had been vacationing since August 3 in Ikaria’s Kerame area.

The 38-year-old man reported Christopher missing around noon on Monday when she failed to return from her jogging, www.ikariaki.gr reported.

He told police he woke up in the morning to discover she was gone. After calling her mobile, she told him she had gone running, but did not pick up the phone in subsequent  calls.

Policemen, firefighters, coast guard officers, volunteers and a helicopter were taking part in the search operation, with units combing the mountainous area around Kerame.

Christopher’s disappearance follows another incident last month, when American scientist Suzanne Eaton was raped and murdered in Crete, the country’s largest island.

A local man confessed to the crime in which sexual assault appeared to have been the motive.