WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. - An American scientist who went missing six days ago was found dead in Greece on Monday, her German employer said.

Suzanne Eaton, 59, had been on the Greek island of Crete for a work conference and was reported missing on July 2, according to the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Germany, where she worked as a researcher and as a professor at the Biotechnology Center of the TU Dresden.

Eaton's body was found by police on Monday night, the institute said on its website. There was no immediate word on the cause of death.

"It is with enormous sadness and regret that we announce the tragic demise of our dearest friend and colleague, Suzanne Eaton," the institute said, adding that authorities are investigating. "We are deeply shocked and disturbed by this tragic event.

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"Suzanne was an outstanding and inspiring scientist, a loving spouse and mother, an athlete as well as a truly wonderful person beloved to us all. Her loss is unbearable. Our thoughts and prayers are with her husband Tony, her sons Max and Luke, and with all her family."

Eaton's disappearance made headlines and circulated on social media in recent days as family, friends, and authorities asked for help finding her. Her employer and family initially speculated that she may have gone for a run because her running shoes were not found.

According to a 2007 profile of Eaton on the American Society for Cell Biology's website, Eaton said she grew up in California before moving to Armonk at the age of 11 when IBM recruited her father, an electrical engineer.

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