'Our hearts are shattered,' says father of Canadian found dead on Australia beach
CBC
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.
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.
"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.
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