Elderly British woman gone missing in Greece found 'mauled to death' by pack of dogs

An elderly British woman's body was found in Greece suggesting she was "mauled to death" by a pack of dogs. The body had several bite marks, police said on Saturday (23 September).

The 64-year-old tourist was reported missing since Thursday after a visit to the Mesimvria archaeological site near Petrota Beach.

The woman was last seen at 4.30pm local time (2.30pm BST) on Thursday by swimmers, but her body was found by police and firefighters at 10.45am local time the next day. A search was initiated after the woman's family in the UK alerted local authorities in Greece.

The woman had reportedly called her family the day she went missing and told them that she was attacked by a pack of stray dogs.

The woman's identity was not known, but the UK Foreign Office said they were in contact with her family.

"We are in contact with Greek Police in relation to a British woman missing in northern Greece since Thursday," a UK Foreign Office spokesperson confirmed to Daily Mail's MailOnline. "We are also providing consular assistance to her family."

Media reports suggested that there are nearly one million stray dogs across Greece, a popular tourist destination in Europe. It was not immediately clear what caused the stray dogs to attack the elderly woman, who was staying at a guest house in Maroneia town.