British tourist visiting Greece mauled to death by stray dogs

Shortly before she was attacked, a retired professor from Oxford University called her family on her cell phone to tell them she was in danger.

The woman, who was staying at a guest house near the Greek town of Maroneia called her family back home in Britain on Thursday to say she was injured. She has not been identified.

Officials believe the tourist was mauled to death by stray dogs.

After her call to family, her cell phone lost service. Alarmed, her family called police.

The 64-year-old victim was found dead Satursday. Marks on her body suggest she had been attacked by animals in the northern region of Rhodope.

The woman had apparently been attacked after returning from a visit to the Mesimvria archaeological site near Petrota Beach by foot.

After she alerted her mother and brother about the dog attack, they called local authorities in Greece to try to get help finding the woman, according to ERT Television.

The woman’s family then called the British Embassy in Greece, who liaised with police to launch a search.

When the search began, the woman had last been seen by swimmers on Thursday afternoon.

Her body was found by police and firefighters at 10.45am local time on Saturday.

It was taken via ambulance to the General Hospital of Komotini, where an autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said:

We are in contact with Greek Police in relation to a British woman missing in northern Greece since Thursday.

We are also providing consular assistance to her family.”

The woman’s family is believed to be traveling to Greece following the horrific incident.

There are more than a million stray dogs in Greece after many were abandoned by their owners following the financial crisis.

Locals in the area said the path she had been walking on was commonly used but that it passed near farms where guard dogs were deployed. It is possible, said a source, that she had been attacked by a territorial guard dog protecting a local farm.

h/t: New Zealand Herald

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