The Canadian tourist who was found dead on a beach in Australia Monday morning has been identified as 19-year-old Piper James from Campbell River, B.C.
“Our hearts are shattered as we share the tragic loss of our beautiful daughter, Piper,” her father Todd James wrote on Facebook Tuesday.
“We will always remember her infectious laugh and her kind spirit. I admired her strength and determination to go after her dreams.”
Police were called to the beach on K’gari, formerly called Fraser Island, at 6:35 a.m. local time on Monday, according to a news release. The woman had reportedly told friends she was going for a swim around 5 a.m.
In a news conference, Queensland Police Insp. Paul Algie of Wide Bay Burnett District said two men found her body on the beach surrounded by “approximately 10 dingoes” and called the police. She was confirmed dead shortly after police arrived.
He added that police were unable to confirm whether James drowned, or died from being attacked by the dingoes. But he also said James had markings on her body “consistent with being touched and interfered with by the dingoes.”
Dingoes are protected on K’gari as a native species, according to the Queensland government Parks and Forests website. In December, Queensland’s Parks and Forests posted an alert to its website warning of “heightened dingo activity” along K’gari Eastern Beach. The alert applies until the end of January.
On Tuesday, Queensland Parks and Forests announced on its website it was closing two campsites in the area until Feb. 28 due to “heightened risk of a habituated dingo pack.”
CBC News has attempted to reach out to James’s parents.
‘My heart just kind of dropped’
James’s grandmother Penny Vanalstine Marshall also posted a tribute on Facebook on Tuesday, calling her “the most happy, spirited girl.”
“Words cannot express how deeply she will be cherished forever! She had a spirit of unbridled joy and courage,” Marshall wrote. “She was a beacon of strength and fearless adventure.”
Marshall asked people to keep the whole family in their prayers.
WATCH | Australian journalist reports on Canadian’s death:
The death of a 19-year-old Canadian woman on an Australian island is triggering questions. Rachel Baxter, a journalist for 7News in Australia, explains.
“She was gorgeous. I definitely looked up to her,” said Brianna Falk, 19, a close high school friend.
Falk told CBC News she started messaging James and a mutual friend she was travelling with once she heard that a Canadian had been killed in K’gari. But neither was responding. Then, mutual friends start calling Falk to see what she knew.
“My heart kind of dropped,” Falk said. “I just keep watching the news over and over again.”
Falk remembers her friend as a “character,” someone she spent summers with at the lake, and an avid motocross rider who had recently bought a new bike to fix up with her dad. She graduated from Carihi Secondary School in 2024.
“She was never afraid to tell people what she thought,” Falk said.
She added that she wants people to remember James for the person she was, and not just a statistic in a tragedy.
“Piper was worth more than just five minutes of talking about something awful that happened.”
‘RIP my baby’
Todd James, Piper’s father, wrote on Facebook that his daughter worked at B.C. Wildfire Service, and “worked hard so she could play hard.”
Photos posted on Facebook show James in a firefighter uniform. CBC News has reached out to B.C. Wildfire Service for comment.
Her father said he loved following her Australia trip, and hearing about the bonds and friendships she was developing.
“So many are going to miss you, my precious little baby girl,” he wrote.
“Maybe gone, but how can we ever forget you? The pain … RIP my baby.”
A post-mortem is scheduled for Wednesday, at which point officials hope to have more answers, Queensland police have said.
Global Affairs Canada confirmed Monday it was aware of the death of a Canadian citizen in Australia, and said Canadian officials are providing consular assistance to the family.
“We extend our condolences to the family and loved ones,” a spokesperson told CBC News.
