‘Our hearts are shattered:’ Campbell River family grieves for 19-year-old who died on Australian beach

Piper James was found on a beach on K’gari surrounded by a pack of dingoes. The cause of death has not yet been determined.

The parents of a B.C. teenager found dead on an Australian beach said Piper James loved life and planned to return home after her trip to train to become a pilot.

But James’s decision to take a morning swim on a beach on K’gari, formerly known as Fraser Island, off the Queensland coast on Monday cut short a young life full of plans and purpose.

“Piper loved the sunrises and her morning starts,” said dad Todd James. “We’ve talked about it — never to go swimming by herself. So far into her trip, she hasn’t let her guard down. Unfortunately, I think she did let her guard down this time.” Queensland police said a 19-year-old woman’s body was found on a stretch of beach near the Maheno shipwreck, a popular tourist attraction on K’gari, at around 6:35 a.m. on Monday local time.

Insp. Paul Algie said the woman was found by two men driving past the area who saw about 10 dingoes — wild dogs — surrounding what they thought was an object. Upon closer investigation, they saw it was a woman.

“I can confirm that the dingoes had physically been in contact with the body,” said Algie, the Australia Broadcasting Corporation reported. “There (were) markings on her body consistent with having been touched and interfered with by the dingoes.”

The cause of death hasn’t yet been determined. Until an autopsy is conducted, they will not know whether James drowned or died in a dingo attack, said Todd James.

Police haven’t identified the woman, but Australian media identified her as James. Family and friends have confirmed the death, remembering James as a kind soul who loved nature and the outdoors and wanted to pursue her dreams.

Todd James said the family moved from Ontario to B.C. in 2021, and live in Campbell River, where his daughter quickly grew to love the mountains and lakes. She was into off-road dirt biking and loved surfing at Tofino.

Before her last year of high school, she participated in a training program offered by the B.C. Wildfire Service, then joined the firefighting service again last summer after she graduated from school.

“She loved it,” said James. “She worked hard, saved her money all summer, and at the end of the season, decided to do a five-month trip to Australia.”

He admitted he was nervous about his then-18-year-old daughter venturing so far from home. She laughed and told him, “You don’t have a choice anymore, dad, because I’m 18 and you can’t stop me.”

In October, Piper and her friend left for Australia .

Todd said he and his daughter talked every day on the phone as she shared her latest adventures, including skydiving and visiting K’gari, the world’s largest sand island and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

During their stay in K’gari, the staff of the hostel they were staying at offered them a job. The women agreed to stay and work for six weeks before continuing on their travels. They were about 1½ weeks into the gig when James died.

Todd said he and his wife, Angela, received news of their daughter’s death from her friend’s mother, who didn’t want them to get a knock on the door from the RCMP.

They had loved seeing their daughter grow up from a child to a beautiful young woman, he said.

“I saw so much of that growth through her work,” he said, talking through tears as he described Piper James’s growth into a responsible, disciplined young woman with a good work ethic.

Father and daughter shared a love of motocross and street biking. She planned to return to B.C. after her Australia trip, work one more summer, then start working toward getting her licence to be a pilot, like her dad.

Now the James family is grieving the loss of their only child.

“We’re just numb. We’re in shock. … We never felt anything like this before,” said James.

“Our hearts are shattered,” he wrote on social media. “We will always remember her infectious laugh and her kind spirit. I admired her strength and determination to go after her dreams.”

The family is waiting for the autopsy to be completed, and hope to bring James’s body back to Canada soon after.

A spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada told Postmedia News that it’s aware of the death of a Canadian citizen in Australia.

“We extend our condolences to the family and loved ones,” the spokesperson said. “Canadian officials are providing consular assistance to the family.”

Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour called the death a “massive tragedy,” 9 News Australia reported.

Police continued to investigate the scene on Tuesday as park rangers closed campgrounds in the area near the spot where the body was found. Rangers have also increased patrols.

“Dingoes are an important part of this wilderness on K’gari. It’s part of why people go there — to escape and be part of a wilderness … and there are dangers there,” said Seymour, speaking on the Australian morning news show Today.

“This is a very unusual situation to have a body on the beach and not know if she drowned or if she was attacked by a pack of dingoes. We have seen an escalation of aggressive dingo activity over the last four or five years. It’s been 25 years since there was a fatal attack.”

About 200 dingoes roam free on K’gari. The last confirmed dingo attack in Australia was in 2001 when a nine-year-old boy was mauled and killed by dingoes on K’gari.