Police in Australia are investigating the death of a 19-year-old woman who was found unresponsive on a beach on Queensland’s K’gari island, formerly known as Fraser Island, on Monday morning.The woman has been identified as Canadian national Piper James, according to 9News Australia. Authorities said she was discovered on a stretch of beach north of the Maheno shipwreck at around 6.35 am local time after two men driving along the shoreline noticed a pack of wild dogs surrounding what they initially believed was an object.“Upon closer inspection, they realised it was a female person,” Wide Bay District Inspector Paul Algie said, describing the scene as “dramatic and horrific.” The woman was pronounced dead a short time later.According to the police, James went for an early-morning swim at around 5 am and was found nearly 90 minutes later. She had been living on K’gari for about six weeks with a friend and was working at a backpackers’ hostel at the time, 9News Australia reported.Inspector Algie said the body showed injuries “consistent with having been touched and interfered with by dingoes,” Australia’s native wild dogs, but stressed that the exact cause of death has not yet been determined. “We simply can’t confirm whether this young lady drowned or died as a result of being attacked by dingoes,” Algie said.A post-mortem examination has been scheduled in mainland Queensland to establish the cause of death. The investigation is being conducted with assistance from wildlife and environmental authorities.Officials have increased patrols in the area and reiterated warnings to visitors to avoid close contact with dingoes, which are protected but remain wild animals.If confirmed as a dingo-related fatality, the incident would be the first such death in Australia in more than 25 years, according to local media.Earlier in 2023, a 23-year-old woman narrowly survived a dingo attack on the island after a pack of the animals mauled her while she was jogging. Police said the dingoes drove her into the surf before a passing tourist intervened and fought them off, saving her life.In a separate incident in 2023, two Australian women were fined about USD 1,500 for taking selfies and recording videos while posing with dingoes on the island, authorities said.
