KEY POINTS:
The body of a New Zealand woman found outside Moscow was badly decomposed and had a rope around the neck, according to a media report.
Associated Press reported today that Pamela Crane's body was discovered about 50km north of Moscow on June 3.
The grisly discovery was made near the famous religious centre of Sergeyev-Posad which Mrs Crane had been visiting.
Mrs Crane, 72, from Auckland, moved to New Zealand 30 years ago but was travelling on a British passport. She had joined an Intrepid Tour in Beijing on May 4 and travelled by train to Moscow.
The tour ended on May 29, the last day she was seen, and she was reported missing on June 10.
Mrs Crane's brother, Terry Stretton, of Howick, Auckland, said last night that the family was waiting to hear if the body had been formally identified.
Detective Sergeant Liam Clinton, head of New Zealand's missing persons unit, said yesterday that Mrs Crane was found dead and that the "details aren't too nice".
Mrs Crane's son Jonathan, a builder, from New Plymouth was preparing to travel to Russia to search for his mother when the news of her death came through.
He and his wife Catherine were last night too distraught to talk to the media.
"We have family in New Zealand in an horrendous state of grief, we're very conscious of that," said Mr Clinton.
A formal identification was waiting for dental records to reach Moscow.
After completing the tour Mrs Crane was intending to travel to Sergeyev-Posad to tour a monastery.
She had intended to return to her hotel to get her luggage and catch a train to St Petersburg.
British High Commission staff found Mrs Crane's bags were still at her hotel, the Izmailovo Vega Hotel.
Intrepid Tours Newmarket retail manager Vance Haywood said several staff had talked to Mrs Crane while she was organising her trip.
They were in shock after hearing of her death.
Mrs Crane's son had been due to pick her up from the airport in Auckland but found she was not on the flight.
- NZPA
