The parents of a Canadian woman found dead on a remote Australian island say they are struggling to make sense of the loss as authorities investigate whether she drowned or was attacked by dingoes.
Piper James, 19, was discovered early Monday morning on a beach at K’gari, a World Heritage sand island off Queensland, near the Maheno shipwreck.
The Police said that her body was found surrounded by a pack of dingoes, which led to an investigation into the circumstances of her death.
A post-mortem examination began this week, with the Queensland Coroner tasked with determining whether the young man died after entering the ocean, from injuries caused by wild animals, or from another cause.
Officials said more forensic tests will be needed before a conclusion can be reached.
For her family, the wait is agonizing. “Our hearts are broken as we share the tragic loss of our beautiful daughter Piper,” Todd James said on social media.
“We will always remember her infectious laugh and her kind spirit. I admired her strength and determination to follow her dreams.”
He said his daughter was happy to travel to Australia and cherished the friendships she had formed along the way.
The young woman had been living and working on K’gari, formerly known as Fraser Island, for six weeks, employed as a housekeeper at a backpacker campsite along with a close friend from her hometown in British Columbia.
Queensland police said the friend had been left “deeply traumatised” by the incident.
According to investigators, Piper was last seen alive around 5am on Monday when she told people at the hostel that she planned to go to the beach. Her body was found by two men driving along the eastern shore of the island.
Her mother, Angela James, told Canadian media that she had spoken to her daughter shortly before she went out that morning.
“She was so special. She was so precious. She was so empathetic. Always worried about other people,” she said. The Canadian Press.
Her daughter was enjoying her time in Australia and loved K’gari, she said.
“She was very adventurous. She loved motocross. She loved camping, she loved swimming, and she loved surfing. She wanted to learn to surf,” she added.
Talk to the Australian Broadcasting Corporationthe mother said: “When I didn’t hear from her, I didn’t think anything of her. I knew she didn’t have a phone. That morning I borrowed her girlfriend’s phone to go down to the beach and they didn’t find her girlfriend’s phone.”
She added: “Once I heard that Piper was not well, I don’t remember very clearly after that. I just remember falling to the ground and just screaming and going through shock.”
Before traveling abroad, the young woman had spent two summers working with British Columbia’s wildfire services, something her father said she was immensely proud of.
Friends and family shared images of her rafting, snowboarding, dirt biking and firefighting, reflecting what her parents described as a fearless approach to life.
Her grandmother, Penny Vanaltine Marshall, also paid tribute. Her grandson, she said, had “a spirit of joy and unbridled courage”.
Piper James was found dead surrounded by dingoes on K’gari, Australia (Todd James/Facebook)
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said during a press conference on Wednesday: “We have to acknowledge that a young woman, in the prime of her life, has lost her life. Nineteen years old, doing what she loves, on a trip of a lifetime – and not going home to her family is really hard”.
He confirmed that the autopsy was a critical next step.
A spokesperson for the Queensland Coroners Court said that an investigation is underway and that the young man’s family was being kept informed.
“After the autopsy, further scientific tests will be required,” the spokesman said.
“These further results and establishing the cause of death may take some time.”
The island has only about 150 permanent residents but attracts about 400,000 tourists a year.