BERLIN (AP) — Police have recovered a woman's body on the Greek island of Crete they think belonged to an American scientist who was reported missing while attending a conference.

Suzanne Eaton, a 59-year-old molecular biologist at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, was last seen July 2. Colleagues at the conference said they believed Eaton had gone for a run near the port of Chania.

Police say the body found Monday was in a cave near the port. Homicide detectives from Athens were traveling to Crete to lead an investigation.

While the body hasn't been identified, the German institute on Tuesday expressed "enormous sadness and regret" over Eaton's death.

It said the biologist from Oakland, California "was an outstanding and inspiring scientist, a loving spouse and mother, an athlete, as well as a truly wonderful person beloved to us all."