An uncle of the 24-year-old Irish student who was one of the 15 people killed in last week's fire at the Palace Backpackers' Hostel in Childers, Australia, said yesterday that the victim's family was struggling to come to terms with her death.
Mr John Doherty, a Derry estate agent, also said that two letters from his niece, Ms Julie O'Keeffe, from Bray, Co Wicklow, were delivered to her mother Mrs Eileen O'Keeffe and to friends within the last two days.
Ms O'Keeffe, who graduated with a degree in marketing from Waterford Institute of Technology, travelled to Australia last January and initially stayed with her brother David, who works as a computer analyst in Sydney.
"Like so many other young people, Julie wanted to travel, so she took a year out and went to Australia," said Mr Doherty.
"This time of the year is the fruit and vegetable picking season in Australia and as Julie wanted to go backpacking with friends, she took a job on a farm to make some money. The day before the fire she phoned her mother to say that her back was aching from picking tomatoes.
"Unfortunately soon after that call, she perished in the hostel fire. Julie was always keeping in touch and a letter from her arrived with her mother a few days ago and another arrived with friends in Limerick yesterday.
"Julie's mother got a phone call on the morning of the fire to say that Julie was missing from the hostel and that her passport had been found in the reception area.
"We know Julie was the type of person who would have contacted her family if she had got out of the building and although her body has not yet been formally identified, we have no doubt she is there. "Her brother David who lives in Australia, was the last member of the family to know his sister had perished in the fire. He had gone off for the weekend with friends and it took us some time to contact him. It was a terrible shock for us to have to tell him that Julie had died in the fire.
"All of us are totally devastated. It's like nothing we've ever experienced before. Our children just don't know how to handle it.
"The Australian government has been very good. The Archbishop of Brisbane has been in touch with us as have various religious orders and the Irish Association in Brisbane.
"I will always remember Julie as a fun-loving person who wherever she went would light up the room and was great company. She was the one who kept the humour going. She was always laughing. She loved Australia and was hoping to extend her visa there for a few years.
"She will be very sadly missed because she was one of those friendly smiling faces and it was a terrible way for her to have to die", said Mr Doherty.
Meanwhile, Australian police yesterday removed the last two bodies from the hostel.
All 15 bodies have been placed in a refrigerated container outside the hostel and will be moved to a forensic laboratory in Brisbane for post-mortem examinations.
Police acting chief superintendent Ken Benjamin said arson suspect Mr Robert Long was reported to have been seen in farmland near Childers.
Police dogs and helicopters were being used to search bushland for further signs of the 37-year-old itinerant fruit-picker.
"The sighting was from a local person, who knew Long, knew his face and identified him - so we are optimistic," a police spokesman said. Coroner Michael Halliday said identification of the bodies would be difficult and may involve dental records and the use of DNA. Police have said they were investigating a suicide note believed to be from Mr Long, which was left at the Federal Hotel in Childers before the fire.