A brilliant British scientist has mysteriously disappeared while out running on an idyllic Greek holiday island.
Dr Natalie Christopher, 34, vanished on beautiful Ikaria and when she didn't return to her room her devastated partner raised the alarm.
A huge search has now been mounted for the woman.
Dr Christopher, who was born in London, arrived on the island on Saturday for a short break before being due to leave for Cyprus on Monday.
When her partner woke up he couldn't see her so rang her mobile and she said she was just going out for a jog.
But later he could not reach her so three hours later he called the police.
The boyfriend told Protothema News that she told him that she was jogging up a hill in a rocky part of the island, and promised that she would be careful.
'I can't go fast, I'll be back slowly, don't worry,' he claims she told him.
But when she hadn't returned by 11am he got worried and informed the landlord of the property the couple were renting, who then called police.
The landlord said that the woman's phone was ringing, but nobody was picking up.
They discovered her mobile was sending out a signal from the same area at first, but later appeared to have been switched off.
On Sunday she posted on Facebook: "Beautiful spot for swimming and deep water solo, had so much fun today.
"Realised later there are bolted routes here too, would love to come back again to climb. Any takers?"
A police spokesman said: “We now have helicopters and fire fighters assisting us in the search.”
Appeals for help have been posted online with a photograph of the missing woman.
Dr Christopher is a renowned astrophysicist, conducting research at the European University Cyprus in the Astrophysics and High Performance Computing group.
Now living in Cyprus Christopher recently represented the country at the International Science Communication Competition FameLab.
She also launched the “Cyprus Girls Can” campaign to get women and girls, of all ages and abilities all across Cyprus, more involved in sport.
