Portrait of a carefree teenager: Photo of smiling Ellie Soutter taken at a family wedding a month before the snowboarder was found dead on her 18th birthday will now sit on top of her coffin at funeral

Beaming as she chats with a friend, tragic Ellie Soutter looks the picture of a carefree teenager.

Ellie, a rising star of snowboarding who was found dead in the French resort of Les Gets last week, was caught on camera at the end of June as she enjoyed her father's cousin’s wedding.

On Thursday, the photograph will sit on top her coffin at her funeral before her ashes are scattered on Mont Chéry, her favourite mountain.

Ellie’s father, Tony, 53, paid tribute to her, saying: ‘From this day on, every snowflake that falls on Les Gets will have been ridden by Ellie first.’

In tribute to her ‘amazing short life’, he has pledged to create the Ellie Soutter Foundation to help young Britons become winter sports athletes like her.

Her uncle, Jeremy, said: ‘She was her bubbly, effervescent self at the wedding. She enjoyed it so much. 

'She was in great spirits and was really just the lovely Ellie that she is. You could never have anticipated this.’ 

Ellie is believed to have taken her own life on Wednesday – her 18th birthday – shortly after being selected to represent Team GB at the Junior Snowboard World Championships in New Zealand next month. 

She had been tipped to represent her country at the 2022 Wi 

Ellie Soutter, a rising star of snowboarding, was found dead in the French resort of Les Gets last week. She is pictured at her father's cousin's wedding at the end of June

Ellie Scouter (pictured) is believed to have taken her own life on her 18th birthday after being selected represent Team GB next month 

Champion snowboarder Ellie Soutter took her own life in remote woodland near her home in the French Alps after seeing friends the night before with friends

The French resort of Les Gets, where Ellie is believed to have taken her own life on Wednesday

'She wanted to be good at everything': Heartbroken uncle of Team GB snowboarder Ellie Soutter reveals she was found dead in woodland in France after killing herself on her 18th birthday

Champion snowboarder Ellie Soutter took her own life in remote woodland near her home in the French Alps on her 18th birthday. 

Police tracker dogs found her body at 11.15pm on Wednesday in Les Gets and her family plan to scatter her ashes on the teenager's favourite mountain near the ski resort.

Ellie was considered one of British snowboarding's future stars who had high hopes of competing for Team GB in the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022. 

Her uncle Jeremy Soutter told MailOnline there were 'no signs at all' that his 'chirpy' niece would consider killing herself.

But hinting at the pressure she put on herself he said: 'She wanted to be good at everything. She expected a lot of herself. There's certainly a lot of pressure from competing. The travelling is immense too. She had a very busy training schedule and generally all of that takes its toll'.

Olympians including Amy Williams led the tributes on Friday and the skeleton gold medallist said: 'Such sad tragic news to wake up to. Thoughts and prayers go to Ellie Soutter's family'.

On Friday night family and friends had been due to attend a joint party to celebrate her birthday and her 'devastated' father Tony's, which falls on Monday.

Poignantly, the same people will gather at the same venue in Les Gets to grieve and toast Ellie.

Her uncle Jeremy said: 'Everything was already in place for tonight. Ellie had been looking forward to it. At least a dozen people were coming from the UK for it.'

Police tracker dogs found her body at 11.15pm on Wednesday in Les Gets and her family plan to scatter her ashes on the teenager's favourite mountain near the ski resort

The young snowboarder was competing in European circuits and training in New Zealand but ultimately wanted to compete in the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022

British Ski and Snowboard, the UK's governing body, paid tribute to the young star and referred people to the suicide prevention charity Samaritans

Ellie and Oscar pictured in London. Oscar paid tribute to Ellie on Facebook with an image of a love heart. It is not known if the pair were dating when she died

Tony Soutter and his daughter Ellie. The pair lived in France where Ellie learned to snowboard and competed on European circuits 

Ellie Soulter Team GB Snowboarder competed at the Freeride Junior World Championship in 2018 and was selected to represent Great Britain 

Miss Soutter's mother Lorraine Denman is a body builder and former Miss UK who lives in Hove, East Sussex. It is not known if she is in France today.

Her close family is desperately seeking answers about why she wanted to kill herself.

Jeremy, CEO at Carne Global Fund Managers, said: 'Ellie grew up with her father Tony. They were incredibly close. When Tony and his wife divorced, Tony was adamant he would bring Ellie up. He has quite extraordinary parenting skills. 

She was still close to her mother but it was Tony who was her best friend. He's a broken man. He keeps going through everything. But there were just no signs at all.

'She was as bright as a button the day before. Happy, excited about life. This is the thing that's killing her father.

'And I saw her at a wedding in the UK recently and she was as chirpy as ever. You could never have anticipated this.'

Tony, who heads the French office of Midas Kitchens, last saw Ellie at 8am on Wednesday when he went to say goodbye before going to work.

He went into her bedroom to wish her happy birthday but she was fast asleep. He texted her later that morning but there was no response. When he returned home for lunch, Ellie was not there.

Jeremy said: 'He didn't think there was anything untoward that she wasn't there for lunch.

Her close family is desperately seeking answers about why she wanted to kill herself. Tony, who heads the French office of Midas Kitchens, last saw Ellie at 8am on Wednesday when he went to say goodbye before going to work in Les Gets (above)

He went into her bedroom to wish her happy birthday but she was fast asleep. He texted her later that morning but there was no response. When he returned to their home for lunch in Les Gets (above), Ellie was not there

Tonight family and friends had been due to attend a joint party to celebrate her birthday and her 'devastated' father Tony's, which falls on Monday. Poignantly, the same people will gather at the same venue in Les Gets to grieve and toast Ellie

Jeremy, CEO at Carne Global Fund Managers, said:'Ellie grew up with her father Tony. She was still close to her mother but it was Tony who was her best friend. He's a broken man'

'But by 6pm he still hadn't been able to get her on her mobile and it was her birthday. He also noted that her purse was at home. He called the police.' 

Sniffer dogs were deployed in the search. They picked up her scent at the house and police then began searching in nearby woodland.

Jeremy said: 'It was 11.15pm when they found her. There was no note, nothing. She was somewhere you can hardly access. She must have just kept walking and walking. Police struggled to get there.'

He said Tony will scatter Ellie's ashes on one of her favourite mountains in Les Gets.

Ellie moved to Les Gets in 2009. She attended the local primary school, followed by an international school and then the local college.

By 2015, her sporting commitments meant she was home schooled for the final two years of her education.

Jeremy said: 'She wasn't just sporty. She was very bright too. She got top academic results which is really something considering all the sport she was doing. 

'But Tony never pressured her. This was not some parent's dream. This was coming from her. She loved the sport and Tony supported her in any way he could. Financially, emotionally.

'The outpouring of affection and grief has been overwhelming. There's no way she understood what she meant to so many people.

'There are so many ifs and buts. Too many to contemplate. Until Wednesday we were just a family like any other other, believing something like this happens to other people not us.' 

On the podium: Ellie won medals at the Freeride Junior Tour where she finished in third place. She had a rocky start to the year

Miss Soutter, 18, was pictured around the world looking happy with friends and fellow athletes. Her father announced she died on her 18th birthday

Ellie Soutter was competing for her country internationally and was tipped to be a future Olympian in the Winter Games 

The teenager said on Instagram she was returning to the UK on June 29 for a family wedding with her father. The teenager was often pictured with friends

Ellie Soutter, 18, was tipped to be a future Olympian after dedicating eight years to snowboarding. The teenager's ultimate goal was to qualify for the Winter Olympics