Friends speak after Aussie mum dies inside charity clothes bin

Mikki O'Shea, 43, was discovered two days ago. Photo / Supplied

Mates of a "creative and vibrant" Australian mother-of-three found dead inside a charity bin on the Gold Coast have claimed her family have still not been told the "whole story".

Mikki O'Shea, 43, became stuck in one of the bins behind Stockland Burleigh Heads Shopping Centre before her body was discovered two days ago.

Her body was discovered by a woman donating clothes at 7am on Monday.

Queensland Police are not treating her death as suspicious, instead describing it as a case of misadventure.

Mikki O'Shea, 43, was discovered two days ago. Photo / Supplied

They say initial reports suggested O'Shea was trying to grab something from the bin when the lid came down and trapped her. Early investigations indicate her neck became stuck in the bin.

Friends set up a GoFundMe page on Tuesday to cover the cost of her funeral and support her family.

"Mikki was a vibrant, creative, and just all around amazing person who was a devoted single mother to her three kids," the crowd-funding page reads.

"She was the most generous person someone could ever meet. She was such a joyful woman who always lived life vicariously.

Police are not treating the death with suspicion. Photo / News Corp

"The family of Mikki is going through a very difficult time as this was a horrible accident that no one could've expected. The family has still not been told the whole story."

Another woman who previously worked with O'Shea said together they had "shared the good and the bad, and the ups and the downs" of life.

"I feel privileged to have been your friend for so long," she wrote.

"I love [you] mate and am heartbroken to lose you."

Paramedics were called to the scene but O'Shea was dead when they arrived.

A large police presence, including multiple police cars, remained at the scene for several hours on Monday morning.

However, detectives quickly ruled out foul play.

"It is what we class as a death by misadventure," Superintendent Rhys Wildman told reporters today.

The woman's body was discovered at Stockland shopping centre, Burleigh Heads. Photo / News Corp

"It appears as though a 43-year-old woman has attempted to attain or remove some items from those charity bins.

"She has unfortunately appeared to have been caught in the door mechanism while she was attempting to retrieve some of those items and has unfortunately passed away.

"These bins are designed for a one-way mechanism, they are designed for people to place items in," he said.

"They are not play items those bins, obviously there is a risk as unfortunately we found out."

Police investigating the scene found the woman's green ute parked just next to the bin.

Her car was full of items she was planning on donating to charity, including a children's teddy bear and piles of clothes and shoes.

A teddy bear on the floor well among bags of clothes of a green Toyota ute, which was found parked at the crime scene. Photo / News Corp

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services firefighters spent yesterday morning cutting open the side of the bin.

A report will be prepared for the coroner.

A similar tragedy happened in 2015 in Sydney when a man died while trying to shelter from the rain in an inner Sydney charity bin.

A passerby made the discovery at Rosebery in November of that year after they spotted the 38-year-old man's body dangling out of the charity bin while driving past.

It is believed the man may have been attempting to access the charity bin when he became stuck and sustained fatal injuries.