By . Mark Duell and Wil Longbottom . Last updated at 9:53 PM on 13th February 2012 . The decomposing body of a young woman found 30ft up an oak tree in Australia has been identified as a missing U.S. tourist who was working abroad as a live-in nanny and allegedly committed suicide. The remains of Melissa Joy Dietzel, 22, of Redlands, California, were found by a tree surgeon on January 12 in the Randwick area of Sydney, after reports of a foul smell coming from the tree. Ms Dietzel - who was identified through missing person's records, dental details and her U.S. clothing - had not been living in the tree before her death, despite reports to the contrary, police said. Discovery: The body of Melissa-Joy Dietzel, a U.S. tourist, was found 30ft up a tree in Randwick, Sydney, last month. She has just been identified . Mystery: A forensic officer gathers evidence from the tree where Ms Dietzel died. She is thought to have been dead for at least two weeks before her body was found on January 12 . The young girl travelled from the U.S. to Australia in November on a visa after finishing her studies in . elementary education at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, an . anonymous friend said. 'She was big about the outdoors so she . was stoked about being in Australia,’ the friend told the Sydney . Morning Herald. ‘She was the one that cheered everyone up and talked to . everyone.’ 'She always made me smile when I was . having a horrid day,’ another friend wrote on her Facebook page. ‘She . also gave fabulous hugs. Sometimes it's the little things that matter . the most.’ She may have been dead in the tree for . two weeks. Residents began complaining about a foul smell in the area . on January 4, but thought it was caused by a cat or possum that had died . in the area. Clothing: The young woman was found with long brown hair and a black hair clip holding a plastic flower. She was wearing an Outlaw green jumper, pictured, a No Boundaries top and Jasmine USA leggings . Discovery: Melissa Joy Dietzel's body was found in Randwick, a suburb of Sydney in New South Wales . The tree and the fence underneath it . have since been removed after they became contaminated by Ms Dietzel's . decaying body. Her death is not being treated as suspicious but instead . as a suicide. The young woman was found with long . brown hair and a black hair clip holding a plastic flower. She was . wearing an Outlaw green jumper, a No Boundaries top and Jasmine USA . leggings. 'She was big about the outdoors so she was stoked about being in Australia. She was the one that cheered everyone up' Friend of Melissa Joy Dietzel . Detectives said on finding the body . that it had decomposed so much that the fingerprints might not even be . visible. Residents were perplexed when the body was brought down . from the tree. Danyane Bowing, 35, who lived next . door to the tree, said she thought the woman may have walked through her . garden around New Year's Eve and climbed her fence into the tree. ‘I'm no expert on decomposing bodies . in summer time,’ she told the Sydney Morning Herald. ‘But when I went . out around the start of the New Year I remember thinking something . smelled dead.' Ms Dietzel, who was working as a nanny . in Sydney but let go by her host family, came from a very large family . with around eight siblings. She had been missing for more than a month . when found.
Body of California girl Melissa Joy Dietzel, 22, found in Sydney last month .
Only just identified after checks on dental and missing persons records .
She travelled from U.S. to Australia in November to become live-in nanny .
But she was let go by host family and death is 'being treated as suicide'
For .
confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a .
local Samaritans branch or see www.samaritans.org for details .
In the U.S. call the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255 .
By . Mark Duell and Wil Longbottom . Last updated at 9:53 PM on 13th February 2012 . The decomposing body of a young woman found 30ft up an oak tree in Australia has been identified as a missing U.S. tourist who was working abroad as a live-in nanny and allegedly committed suicide. The remains of Melissa Joy Dietzel, 22, of Redlands, California, were found by a tree surgeon on January 12 in the Randwick area of Sydney, after reports of a foul smell coming from the tree. Ms Dietzel - who was identified through missing person's records, dental details and her U.S. clothing - had not been living in the tree before her death, despite reports to the contrary, police said. Discovery: The body of Melissa-Joy Dietzel, a U.S. tourist, was found 30ft up a tree in Randwick, Sydney, last month. She has just been identified . Mystery: A forensic officer gathers evidence from the tree where Ms Dietzel died. She is thought to have been dead for at least two weeks before her body was found on January 12 . The young girl travelled from the U.S. to Australia in November on a visa after finishing her studies in . elementary education at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, an . anonymous friend said. 'She was big about the outdoors so she . was stoked about being in Australia,’ the friend told the Sydney . Morning Herald. ‘She was the one that cheered everyone up and talked to . everyone.’ 'She always made me smile when I was . having a horrid day,’ another friend wrote on her Facebook page. ‘She . also gave fabulous hugs. Sometimes it's the little things that matter . the most.’ She may have been dead in the tree for . two weeks. Residents began complaining about a foul smell in the area . on January 4, but thought it was caused by a cat or possum that had died . in the area. Clothing: The young woman was found with long brown hair and a black hair clip holding a plastic flower. She was wearing an Outlaw green jumper, pictured, a No Boundaries top and Jasmine USA leggings . Discovery: Melissa Joy Dietzel's body was found in Randwick, a suburb of Sydney in New South Wales . The tree and the fence underneath it . have since been removed after they became contaminated by Ms Dietzel's . decaying body. Her death is not being treated as suspicious but instead . as a suicide. The young woman was found with long . brown hair and a black hair clip holding a plastic flower. She was . wearing an Outlaw green jumper, a No Boundaries top and Jasmine USA . leggings. 'She was big about the outdoors so she was stoked about being in Australia. She was the one that cheered everyone up' Friend of Melissa Joy Dietzel . Detectives said on finding the body . that it had decomposed so much that the fingerprints might not even be . visible. Residents were perplexed when the body was brought down . from the tree. Danyane Bowing, 35, who lived next . door to the tree, said she thought the woman may have walked through her . garden around New Year's Eve and climbed her fence into the tree. ‘I'm no expert on decomposing bodies . in summer time,’ she told the Sydney Morning Herald. ‘But when I went . out around the start of the New Year I remember thinking something . smelled dead.' Ms Dietzel, who was working as a nanny . in Sydney but let go by her host family, came from a very large family . with around eight siblings. She had been missing for more than a month . when found.
live-in nanny and allegedly committed suicide. The remains of Melissa Joy Dietzel, 22, of missing person's records, dental details and her 30ft up a tree in Randwick, Sydney, last month. She has just been identified . Mystery: A travelled from the U.S. to Australia in November Joy Dietzel's body was found in Randwick, a Dietzel's . decaying body. Her death is not being treated as suspicious but instead . as a suicide. who was working as a nanny . in Sydney but let go by her host family, came from a very large family