Amnesia sufferer with 'Australian accent' is identified after turning to internet for help

An amnesia patient with what was thought to have been an Australian or British accent has been identified after turning to the internet and TV reporters for help.

The woman, known only as “Sam”, had been unable to recall her identity since she was found on a Southern California street earlier this year.

The woman, who speaks English and some French, wrote online that she felt a connection with Australia. She remembered eating breakfast at a seaside organic restaurant near Perth and swimming in a saltwater pool. She also said she had recollections of living in Hawaii.

WATCH: Meet amnesia sufferer "Sam"

“I just feel like there’s this thick fog over my mind, my memory, over my brain that I can’t see through,” she told KNSD-TV in San Diego this week.

After her case was publicised, family members came forward on Thursday to identify her as Ashley Menatta, 53, who moved to California several years ago. She is not Australian, but was told she had visited the country all her life on extended trips.