KATHMANDU: Police suspected that a body found in Syangja district of Nepal was of a French national who was missing in the western region of Nepal, around Pokhara.

The French news agency AFP reported quoting DSP Bir Bahadur Pulami that police, however, were awaiting autopsy report to confirm her identity.

Earlier, it was reported that Mélanie Guérin (around 35) was last seen on August 7 at a point along the Siddhartha Highway, which connects Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, to Nepal’s tourism capital, Pokhara.

Her belongings including passport, identity card and clothes were found at a point along the Highway in Syangja district. Her phone, however, was missing and police were searching for it to locate her along with the help of sniffer dogs.

But, on Thursday, police officers found a decomposed body at a point around 153 kilometres west of Kathmandu after locals alerted the police of a foul smell in the area, according to the report.

The body has been taken to Kathmandu for postmortem.