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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Joseph Wilkes

Amelia Bambridge's body to be flown back to UK 'to lay her beautiful soul to rest'

The family of Brit backpacker Amelia Bambridge have vowed to bring her body back to England to "lay her beautiful soul to rest and to remember the wonderful life she lived."

Amelia, 21, from Worthing, West Sussex, was last seen on the Cambodian island of Koh Rong late on October 23.

Today her family confirmed their worst fears as sister Sharon Shultes wrote an emotional tribute to her on the family's fundraising page.

She said: "I have had the most horrific confirmation that my sister Amelia Bambridge was found and she is no longer with us.

"It breaks my heart to let all my close family and friends know the horrendous outcome that we didn't want.

Amelia Bambridge was last seen at a party at 3am (Facebook)
Amelia was a 'beautiful soul' (PA)

"Now we have to get our Amelia back home to England so we can lay her beautiful soul to rest and to remember the wonderful life she lived.

"Thank you for all the support we've had, please continue to do all you can so we can get all our family home with Amelia safely."

Miss Bambridge was reported missing after she failed to check out of her hotel on time, and staff at Police Beach, a private venue on the island, found her purple rucksack with her purse, phone and bank cards inside the following morning.

Last footage of Amelia at the beach party (BBC)

She was last seen at a party on Police Beach, a nightspot popular with tourists on the island of Koh Rong, around 3am last Thursday.

Amelia's disappearance sparked a huge search operation, with police, soldiers and divers combing the area to find her.

The family's fundraising page on Facebook has raised nearly £17,000 to date. 

Cambodia's Deputy Navy Commander Tea Sokha said the body had been spotted by a fisherman, who notified authorities.

He said it was identified by the clothing and tattoos, which matched photos of the woman taken on the night she disappeared.

The body was taken to Sihanoukville Referral Hospital in Cambodia's main coastal city, Sihanoukville.

Amelia's handbag was found on the beach (Facebook)
The cause of Amelia's death has not yet been determined (PA)

Mr Sokha said forensic experts would confirm the identification and examine the body for the cause of death.

Amelia's brother Harry Bambridge was forced to identify Amelia's remains after having spent a week hoping he would find her alive.

Harry posted on Facebook today: "I’ve just seen her and I can confirm it’s my little sister Amelia.

Harry had flown out to join in the search (Facebook)
Photo issued by the Lucie Blackman Trust (LBT) of missing British backpacker Amelia Bambridge (PA)

"I'm so sorry to all her friends and family there’s nothing more I wanted then to bring her back alive and I really f***ing tried."

He continued: "And I’m sorry to you Amelia Bambridge, the round is on me when we meet again in heaven."

Family members flew from the UK to join the search for their loved-one and were with the authorities when they found the body floating amid some rocks, police said.

Her sister Georgie said Amelia was sensible and organised (Facebook)
The 21-year-old was travelling alone on a year out (Facebook)

Mr Sokha said: “So far we do not know the cause of death. It is too early to conclude whether she died from drowning or another reason."

The police chief for Preah Sihanouk province, the area where the 21-year-old was last seen, previously said he believed she has drowned.

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