Missing New Zealand nurse ruled dead

A New Zealand nurse who disappeared from Sydney in 1980 is dead and probably met with foul play, a coroner has ruled.

New South Wales deputy state coroner Paul MacMahon said the death of Marion Sandford, 23, was a tragedy.

"The evidence ... is overwhelming that Marion is in fact dead," he said when he delivered his open finding at an inquest.

"Marion died on or about January 29, 1980." However, Coroner MacMahon said he could not make a formal finding about where or how she died.