Canadian backpacker Piper James’ body was discovered on the Queensland, Australia island of K'gari on the morning of Jan. 19
Credit: Piper James/Instagram
NEED TO KNOW
- A cause of death has been confirmed for 19-year-old Piper James, who was found dead on a beach in Australia, surrounded by a pack of wild dogs
- The Canadian backpacker’s body was discovered on the Queensland island of K’gari on the morning of Jan. 19
- It’s now been confirmed that James died from drowning after being attacked by dingoes, per the BBC. Dingoes are a wild dog native to Australia
An official cause of death has been confirmed for a 19-year-old Canadian backpacker who was found dead on a beach in Australia, surrounded by a pack of wild dogs.
Piper James’ body was discovered on the Queensland island of K'gari on Monday, Jan. 19 at around 6:30 a.m. local time, near a campsite where she lived and worked for around a week before her tragic death, per the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
Her body was found surrounded by a pack of around 10 dingoes — a wild dog native to Australia — the outlet noted, adding that eight of the wild animals had since been euthanized.
It’s now been confirmed that James died from drowning after being attacked by dingoes, per ABC and the BBC.
Credit: Ingrid_Hendriksen/Getty
The Coroners Court of Queensland said on Friday, March 6, "Piper died as a result of drowning in the setting of multiple injuries, due to, or as a consequence of a dingo attack," the BBC reported.
"The investigation into Piper's death is ongoing, and no further information can be provided at this time," a Coroners Court spokesperson added, according to the ABC.
The Coroners Court of Queensland didn’t immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information.
"It breaks my heart we couldn't be there to save her,” James’ mother, Angela James, told the ABC of the findings.
Her dad, Todd James, also said to the outlet, "It hurts my heart to think she was screaming for me."
"It's hard to imagine what our baby went through," he added.
Around 200 dingoes live on K'gari, the BBC reported. The animals are protected as a native species by law.
The latest information comes after authorities shared new insight into James' death with PEOPLE back in January.
A preliminary autopsy for the late teenager revealed “evidence consistent with drowning and injuries consistent with dingo bites,” a spokesperson for the Coroners Court of Queensland confirmed to PEOPLE.
“Pre-mortem dingo bite marks are not likely to have caused immediate death,” the spokesperson said, adding, “There are extensive post-mortem dingo bite marks.”
There was no evidence to support that another person was involved in the young woman’s death, the spokesperson told PEOPLE at the time.
Credit: Getty
James had served as a firefighter in British Columbia and was an avid adventure seeker, her family previously said. The trip to Australia was supposed to be a fun-filled backpacking trip.
“We pushed her towards Australia thinking it would be one of the safer places to go," James’ mom, Angela, told the ABC in January.
Angela also previously told the outlet that her daughter would regularly go for an early morning swim.
"She just loved to start her day in the ocean watching the sun come up, because she just felt so free there," she told the ABC. "She said it was the most amazing thing."
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The last known person to be fatally attacked by dingoes on the island was a 9-year-old boy in 2001, after he tripped and fell near a campsite, the ABC reported.
The outlet noted that chasing prey into the ocean is a common hunting strategy for the wild dogs on the island.
Back in 2023, a 23-year-old woman was chased into the water by four dingoes, while she was jogging along the beach. She suffered bites to her limbs and torso, before a bystander came to her rescue and helped her out of the ocean, the ABC previously stated.
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