Top U.S. molecular biologist, 59, vanishes while out for a daily run on Greek island

A top American scientist has disappeared without a trace on the Greek island of Crete after going for a run.

Suzanne Eaton, 59, a molecular biologist at the Max Planck Institute in Dresden, Germany, disappeared Tuesday while attending a conference at the Orthodox Academy of Crete near the northwestern town of Chania.

Police and firefighters, joined by local volunteers, on Friday searched an area near the village of Kolymbari outside Chania. 

The expanded search will include specially trained dogs as well as equipment necessary for searching at sea, her friends, family and colleagues said in a Facebook post on Sunday. 

Suzanne Eaton, 59, a well-respected American molecular biologist, went missing on Tuesday on the Greek island of Crete

Police, firefighters and local volunteers scoured the area on Friday. The search is expanding with dogs and equipment to search at sea, Dr. Eaton's family said Sunday

Police, firefighters and local volunteers scoured the area on Friday. The search is expanding with dogs and equipment to search at sea, Dr. Eaton’s family said Sunday

Missing scientist Dr. Eaton is a senior research group leader at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics

Her family said she goes on daily 30-minute runs on rough trails and roads

Missing scientist Dr. Eaton is a senior research group leader at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics. Her family said she goes on daily 30-minute runs on rough trails and roads. She is a senior black belt in Taw Kwon Do

The post says Dr. Eaton was last seen playing the piano, and is believed to have gone for a run between 3 and 5 p.m., despite the high temperature of 88 degrees. 

‘She changed out of her orange dress after that because we found the dress in her room,’ Callie Broaddus, niece of the missing scientist, told CrimeOnline.

Her running shoes were missing from her room, but all of her other belongings – including her passport, wallet, phone, cash – were still there, according to the post.

‘Due to the rough terrain and extreme heat, we believe the most likely possibility is that Suzanne may have either become overheated and looked for shade or that she may have fallen,’ her loved-ones wrote. 

They said that she runs 30 minutes every day, and had gone for a run at the same time the previous day along a northeastern route. 

It’s unknown which direction the scientist ran on the day she vanished. 

She had plans to attend a 6 p.m. meeting that evening, which she never attended.  

The site asks for donations to fund the expanded search mission for Dr. Eaton, and urges ‘as many volunteers as possible to help check ravines, trail edges, and under brush and shady areas’ on the island. 

Dr. Eaton went missing on the Greek Island of Crete, where she was attending a conference at the Orthodox Academy of Crete near the northwestern town of Chania

Dr. Eaton went missing on the Greek Island of Crete, where she was attending a conference at the Orthodox Academy of Crete near the northwestern town of Chania

Greek rescuers posted that 'intensive investigations are underway in the area of Kolymbari' to find the missing scientist. The post includes the public alert issued by Greek authorities

Greek rescuers posted that ‘intensive investigations are underway in the area of Kolymbari’ to find the missing scientist. The post includes the public alert issued by Greek authorities

This photo shows the Hellenic Rescue Team Heraklion examining a map of the area where Dr. Eaton went missing

This photo shows the Hellenic Rescue Team Heraklion examining a map of the area where Dr. Eaton went missing

‘She will typically run on trails and roads, especially somewhere with steep edges,’ Broaddus told CrimeOnline.

‘Her family, including sister, brother-in-law, and niece and nephew, are all in Crete searching high and low,’ the Facebook post says. 

She is the ‘beloved mother of two sons’, and wife of well-known British scientist Dr. Anthony Hyman, 57. 

Drones, ships and planes have been scouring the seas and coastline near Chania. 

Rescue teams and local volunteers have been joined by Dr. Eaton's husband and two sons in the search

Rescue teams and local volunteers have been joined by Dr. Eaton’s husband and two sons in the search

The expanded search mission will include 'specially trained dogs for land and special equipment for the sea'

The expanded search mission will include ‘specially trained dogs for land and special equipment for the sea’

This photo shows the Orthodox Academy of Crete where Dr. Eaton was attending a conference. She was last seen playing the piano, and is believed to have gone for a run between 3 and 5 p.m. on Tuesday

This photo shows the Orthodox Academy of Crete where Dr. Eaton was attending a conference. She was last seen playing the piano, and is believed to have gone for a run between 3 and 5 p.m. on Tuesday

The Greek authorities have issued a public alert for her disappearance and the US Embassy in Athens has also been informed. 

Dr. Eaton is described as 5-feet-6.5-inches tall, with brown hair and brown eyes.

She is a senior research group leader at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, and Professor at the Dresden Technical University. 

Her employer released a statement that said called her a leading scientist in molecular biology and a strong athlete, including a senior black belt in Taw Kwon Do. 

‘If anyone can find her way out of a difficult situation it is Suzanne,’ the statement said. 

She is a US citizen who has lived and worked in Dresden, Germany for the past 25 years. 

According to family, she spent much of her childhood in Armonk, New York, and in California. 

She attended Brown University and earned her PhD from UCLA studying immunoglobulin gene transcription. 

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