A young woman has tragically been found dead five days after disappearing from her Melbourne share house.
Kayla Steffen, 24, walked out of her Altona North home early on Saturday morning and police found her body in Altona on Thursday.
Earlier this week her family made an emotional plea for her to contact them or come home.
Kayla Steffen, 24, walked out of her Altona North home early on Saturday morning and police found her body in Altona on Thursday
Kayla’s mother Jo (centre) and sister Phoebe (left) made an emotional plea for her to return
The woman’s sister Phoebe Steffen said her sibling, an amateur artist, seemed ‘a bit distressed’ before disappearing but it was ‘nothing out of the ordinary’.
‘She’s my best friend, she’s the closest person to me and I don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t see her,’ she said in tears on Tuesday.
‘If, for whatever reason, you don’t want to come home, please just give me some sort of sign or something that you’re okay,’ she said.
Ms Steffen’s mother, Jo Deppeler, described her as funny, beautiful and caring.
‘Our daughter’s gone missing and I don’t know where she is. There’s no words to describe how that feels,’ she said earlier in the week.
In an emotional Facebook post, Jo said she was worried sick over her daughter’s disappearance and has pleaded with the public to help locate her.
Her death is not being treated as suspicious and police are preparing a report for the coroner.
Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Speaking on Wednesday morning, sister Phoebe (left) said: ‘There’s no way that she would just take off and not tell us. She would never leave us’
The woman’s mother, Jo Deppeler, described her as funny, beautiful and caring (police seen searching)
An emotional Facebook (pictured) plea has been put out by Ms Steffen’s mother Jo on Saturday