Madalyn Davis: Tributes to Diamond Bay cliff fall victim
The British model who fell to her death from an eastern suburbs clifftop famous for selfies had declared that she was “super excited for her future abroad” just a month ago.
Wentworth Courier
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Tributes have been paid to a young woman who died near Diamond Bay — in Sydney’s east — on Sunday after falling from the clifftop. Friends and family remembered her as ‘beautiful person’.
The British model who fell to her death from an eastern suburbs clifftop famous for selfies had declared that she was “super excited for her future abroad” just a month ago.
Madalyn Davis, a 21-year-old model and Instagram influencer, was in a small group seen climbing over the barrier fence at Diamond Bay Reserve at Vaucluse just before 6.30am yesterday.
It is understood they had been at a party nearby and went to the cliffs to watch the sunrise.
One resident noticed the group returned with one missing.
“Eight people went down and only seven came up,” the resident said. “We don’t know what happened … people just climb over the cliffs at Diamond Bay. It’s very scary.”
The reserve is notoriously dangerous and wildly popular among tourists who often climb over safety barriers in pursuit of the perfect clifftop selfie. A 27-year-old woman fell to her death in August, from a different section of the clifftop to where police believe UK ex-pat Ms Davis fell.
Police have not confirmed what caused Ms Davis to fall. Frantic friends tried to contact Ms Davis, from Lincoln in the British East Midlands, as police searched for and retrieved her body from the water below the cliffs on Sunday.
“Anyone seen Madalyn Davis not been able to get hold of her please get in touch if you were out with her last night x,” Rebecca Sara Smith wrote on social media.
Then came tributes to Ms Davis as police confirmed a body had been retrieved.
“Beautiful inside as well as outside” one friend said.
“You were an incredibly beautiful model and talented artist giving so much colour to the world,” wrote another.
From her home town, friend Jessica Wray wrote: “I really don’t know how to process this. Now you are gone I will never ever forget the times we shared together, the giggle fits we had in town. I will forever miss you angel.”
Ms Davis had travelled through Thailand and Bali before reaching Sydney a few weeks ago.
“Can’t believe I’ve been travelling for a whole month now! Not looked back at my old life once,” she wrote on Instagram, where she has 14,600 followers.
Police were patrolling the reserve yesterday when they found two South American tourists who had also climbed over the barrier to sit on the cliffs.
They said they didn’t realise they were not allowed to be down there because the signs were so small. “We couldn’t see the signs. We told the police that. They are too small,” one of the men from Chile said.
Waverley Mayor Paula Masselos said: “We will be working with the police as they conduct their inquiries over the coming days to review how this tragic incident occurred over the weekend, and whether any other additional measures can be undertaken to improve the safety of the area.”