Recent BYU grad found dead in tree in Australia after nanny job ended

PROVO — Police have identified a body found 30 feet up a tree in Randwick, Australia, as that of a recent Brigham Young University graduate, the Daily Mail reported.

Melissa Joy Dietzel, 22, moved to Sydney in October or November for a job as a live-in nanny. Reports indicated she had been let go as a nanny. Some reports said she had been living in the tree, the Mail reported.

Though Dietzel's body was found Jan. 12, Maroubra police only recently discovered her identity through dental records, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Detectives were able to identify her through her America-branded clothing and missing person records.

An Austalian news service reported the death is not being treated as suspicious, but "as a tragic suicide."

Dietzel's Facebook listed her hometown as Redlands, Calif., and Carrie Jenkins, spokeswoman for BYU, confirmed Dietzel graduated in April 2011 with a degree in elementary education. Her family has been notified and had said she was missing for more than a month when her body was found, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Sydney papers quoted a friend who remembered Dietzel as a person who cheered up everyone she talked to and was known for her hugs.

"She was the one that cheered everyone up and talked to everyone," the anonymous friend told the Sydney Morning Herald. "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."

EMAIL: tackerman@desnews.com