Cyprus Police Searching For Diplomat Find Body

Police in Cyprus searching for a missing U.S. diplomat found a body in a remote mountain area.

Police in Cyprus searching for a missing U.S. diplomat found a body in a remote mountain area on Monday morning, police said.

They said it was early to confirm the identity of the body, which was discovered northwest of the capital Nicosia. Police have been looking for U.S. embassy defence attache Thomas Mooney for the past four days. He had disappeared on June 28.

The U.S. embassy made no immediate comment, but cancelled a reception for U.S. independence scheduled on Monday evening.

Police chief Iacovos Papacostas told Reuters the body was found about 100 to 200 metres from a car matching that belonging to Mooney. A farmer found the car and the body on a dirt track and alerted authorities, he said.

"Police are on the scene. We cannot say at this moment 100 percent that we are sure it is him," Papacostas said.

Mooney, 45, who has the rank of lieutenant-colonel, was on his second tour of duty in Cyprus within the past five years.