A formal investigation is underway after the body of Australian woman Shanae Brooke Edwards, 31, was discovered in woodlands in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Edwards had been missing since she went hiking in Mtatsminda Park on the afternoon of July 30.
“As a result of several hours of intensive search and investigative activities, the officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs found the female body on the slope of Mtatsminda,” an official statement noted.
Originally from Melbourne, Edwards had been living in Georgia and teaching English for two years as well as travelling the world since 2016.
Around an hour after Ms Edwards left her home late last a month, a friend who lives in California received a distressing phone call from her.
“At 4:32pm a friend who is in California received a call from her while she was being attacked and screamed for help,” the statement from the ministry suggested.
“She was heard saying ‘please let me go, ok… just let me go’.”
When her body was recovered, police quickly concluded the case was homicide. Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri said the Ministry of Internal Affairs and police were “doing their best to find the murderer” who they believed to be a Georgian national – although he was not yet in custody.
An official from the Australian Embassy in Turkey has since travelled to Tbilisi “to liaise with Georgian authorities”, a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said.
Tributes for a “kind and giving adventurer” who “made the world a better place”
Tributes across Edwards’ social media pages have flowed overnight, with friends remembering a “kind and giving adventurer” who “made the world a better place”.
“Shanae was brave and strong and stood up for people, she stood up for what is right and good and fair. She didn’t do it from behind a keyboard or on the steps of parliament houses, she just did it,” friend Ben Sortta posted.
While another friend Sarah Richards honoured her friend, posting, “Shanae was always up for an adventure, so kindhearted to those around her, full of laughter and a shining light”.
“I am still in shock & sadness over the loss of such an intelligent, articulate, compassionate, brave, beautiful young soul with so much left to offer the world,” posted another.
Edwards volunteered with various causes in Melbourne, including working with homeless people and shelters as well as being a passionate animal lover, rescuing stray cats in Australia and Europe.
“The Australian government offers its deepest condolences to the family of an Australian woman whose death is being investigated by authorities in Tbilisi, Georgia”, a DFAT statement read.