US Nanny Found Dead 30ft Up Oak Tree In Oz

A young woman whose body was found decomposing 30ft up in a tree in Australia has finally been identified.

The bizarre and distressing discovery was made by a Sydney council worker on January 12 after neighbours reported a foul smell coming from the large oak.

The remains of US citizen Melissa Joy Dietzel, 22, have only just been identified after a lengthy investigation.

It is thought her body had been hidden amongst the branches and leaves of the ivy-covered tree for up to a fortnight.

It has not yet been revealed how Ms Dietzel died, but police are not treating her death as suspicious - rather as a tragic suicide.

She had been on a working visa and was employed as a live-in nanny, although she had recently been let go by the family she worked for on the city's north shore, the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) said.

She was originally from Redlands, California but travelled to Sydney last October or November.

An anonymous friend told the paper: "She was big about the outdoors so she was stoked about being (in Australia). She went to the national parks a lot. She was the one that cheered everyone up and talked to everyone.

"Everybody remembers her for her hugs. Her laugh was infectious. She had a laugh that made everybody laugh - and you would forget about your problems."

She had reportedly been missing for a month when her body was discovered in the Randwick area of eastern Sydney.

Her body had decomposed to such an extent forensics officers were unable to take fingerprints - and local people had not seen anyone climbing the tree or acting strangely.

In the end, police used dental records, missing persons' information and clothes labels to identify Ms Dietzel.

She was wearing a plastic hair clip, a green hooded jumper and an American brand of black leggings.

The tree has now been taken down as a mystery that had perplexed local residents was brought to a distressing end.

Many, like 35-year-old Danyane Bowing, thought it was a cat or possum which had died in the tree.

She told the SMH at the time: "I'm no expert on decomposing bodies in the summertime but when I went out around the start of the New Year I remember thinking something smelled dead."

Police confirmed Ms Dietzel was neither living in the tree nor was she homeless. Next of kin in the US have been informed of her death.