BEIRUT, Lebanon — A female British Embassy worker has been found strangled near a highway outside Beirut, a Lebanese security official said on Sunday.

The British Foreign Ministry provided a statement by the family of the woman, Rebecca Dykes, but gave no details of the circumstances of her death.

“We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca,” the family said. “We are doing all we can to understand what happened.”

Britain’s ambassador to Lebanon, Hugo Shorter, said on Twitter, “The whole embassy is deeply shocked, saddened by this news.”