Search teams in Ikaria are racing against time to find Natalie Christopher, 34, who was reported missing by her partner at around midday on Monday.
The couple had travelled to the Greek island on August 3 and was due to leave on Tuesday.
The last contact with the British Cypriot astrophysicist who lives and works in Nicosia was on Monday morning when she told her partner by phone that she had gone for a jog. When she failed to reply to other calls, he reported her as missing and an intensive search has been underway since then.
The Greek media reports that the search teams have been reinforced by a special Greek police unit with GPS equipment who were flown to Ikaria on an army helicopter.
Despite efforts, they have still not been able to find her mobile phone – from which a signal was received on Tuesday. This placed it in inaccessible area near Kerame lighthouse, the Greek media said.
Search parties have covered a 10 km area, following the route the woman took on her jog.
The search is being carried out by air, land and sea. Divers and search dogs are expected to join the search.
Divers are expected to start searching a specific area of the coast early on Thursday morning, following by sea the route indicated by the pings on Natalie’s mobile phone.
The media notes that on finding the phone signal, police sent two text messages which went unanswered.
The Cyprus Justice Ministry has contacted Greek authorities offering help while police of the two countries are in touch.
The British Foreign Office said it was supporting the family and was in contact with the Greek authorities.
A Scotland Yard representative told the Cyprus News Agency that there no UK police involvement at present.
“The initial involvement in such cases involving British citizens abroad is an issue for the Foreign Office,” the spokesman said.
The British media has given extensive coverage to Natalie’s disappearance.
Read more
https://in-cyprus.com/search-continues-in-ikaria-for-missing-natalie/
