A missing British astrophysicist’s phone mysteriously ‘turned on’ more than 24 hours after she vanished while on holiday with her Cypriot boyfriend in Greece it was revealed today.
Dr Natalie Christopher, 34, who was born in London but now lives in Cyprus, was reported missing by her boyfriend on the Aegean island of Ikaria on Monday.
Local media report her phone’s signal began pinging yesterday, as teams of coastguards and volunteers focused on a rocky ravine where Dr Christopher had been running.
Her 38-year-old boyfriend told local media she had gone out for a morning jog when he woke on Monday. He called her once and she picked up, but a few hours later he got no response and police were summoned.
Her sister Jena Christopher wrote on Facebook yesterday: ‘If you have her phone number please DO NOT call her. As this will drain the battery and the police are trying to use her phone to find her location.’
Greek papers reported today that police were investigating blood stains found on a bedroom pillow. Dr Christopher’s partner attributed these to a nose bleed she’d had the night before her disappearance, Skai reported.
Meanwhile the hotel maid claimed she’d heard voices the night before Dr Christopher went missing and thought the couple might have slept in separate beds.
Dr Natalie Christopher, 34, who was born in London but now lives in Cyprus, went missing on the Greek island of Ikaria while out jogging on Monday morning
The Greek island of Ikaria (pictured) is located 10 nautical miles south west of Samos and is named after the Greek legend of Icarus. Kerame (not pictured above) is where the focus of the manhunt is taking place with the mountainous areas being of interest to the police. Natalie Christopher had been running up a rocky hill when she last spoke to her partner
Dr Natalie Christopher, 34, is a keen runner and was out for a jog on the Aegean island of Ikaria on Monday morning
Theodori Theodorakis told Sigmalive: ‘I heard some voices last night. When I checked in the room, I found that there was a sheet spread on the bedroom sofa, which may indicate that the couple was sleeping in separate rooms the previous night.’
It is understood police had considered shutting down a phone mast on the neighbouring island of Fournoi yesterday as they sought a clear signal from the Oxford-educated physicist’s phone.
Fire crews, coastguard, residents and even a naval helicopter with thermal imaging have been drafted in to help with the search.
Greek authorities have sent a specialised police unit with geolocating equipment to help discover her location.
The area of Ikaria where Dr Christopher is said to have been running has paths across steep sea cliffs and is within roughly ten miles of her hotel.
Her boyfriend told Protothema News yesterday 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.
At around 9pm on the eve of her disappearance she posted photos from a trip to Seychelles Beach where she spoke of her interest in climbing
Before arriving on the island of Ikaria Dr Christopher posted a photo of her bathing in waters at Lemonakia Beach on the neighbouring island of Samos
But when she hadn’t returned by 11am he got worried and informed the hotel owner who then called the police.
The hotelier said the police had now sealed off the room and he was putting up Dr Christopher’s boyfriend in his own home.
‘He is a very good lad, he’s from Cyprus. He’s lost it, he has panicked, he cannot believe it,’ the man told Greek media.
He described Dr Christopher and her partner as ‘a nice little couple’ and said there had been no signs of strife between the pair.
In her last Facebook post on Sunday at around 9pm, Dr Christopher shared pictures from a day trip at Seychelles Beach, about an hour’s drive of where she had been staying.
She wrote: ‘Beautiful spot for swimming and deep water solo . . . had so much fun here today! Realised later there are bolted routes here too, would love to come back again to climb. Any takers?’
The couple were scheduled to head home to Cyprus, where they both work, on the day of her disappearance.
The fitness fanatic’s phone gave out signals yesterday, 24 hours after she was first reported missing, according to local media
The astrophysicist works as a researcher with the European University Cyprus in Nicosia, she studied at Oxford (Linacre College) and graduated with a Masters in Physics from Durham University (University College) in 2007
Dr Christopher works as a researcher with the European University Cyprus in Nicosia.
She works to ‘develop our understanding on the evolution of galaxies, by fitting models to data collected from telescopes and satellites,’ according to an online profile.
Dr Christopher had spoken of a desire to begin teaching astronomy, visiting schools across Cyprus to inspire the next generation.
She also launched the Cyprus Girls Can campaign to get women and girls, of all ages and abilities involved in sport, a campaign that was shortlisted for the EU Sport Award.
Her online profile says: ‘Asides from studying the beautiful Universe we live in, she loves running. In fact, she doesn’t think she could survive without running!
‘She started running thanks to her Sports Teacher at Secondary School in Nicosia when she was 12. It changed her life.
Her 38-year-old partner, who was on holiday with her, called police around 12.40pm to report her missing after she failed to return and he could not get through to her phone
‘Natalie has many wonderful memories of representing the track teams both at Durham University and the University of Oxford during her studies, in the 100m, 200m and 100m hurdles.
‘A highlight was representing Oxford in the Varsity matches against Cambridge.’
A Foreign Office spokesman said: ‘We are assisting the family of a British woman reported missing in Ikaria, and are in contact with the Greek authorities who are conducting the search for her.’
Last month an American scientist called Suzanne Eaton was raped and murdered in Crete, which a local man has confessed to.
