Canadian found dead on Australian beach likely died of drowning, autopsy finds

A Canadian backpacker, who was found dead on an Australian beach and surrounded by a pack of dingoes earlier this week, likely died of drowning, an autopsy has found.

Piper James, 19, had “physical evidence consistent with drowning” and “injuries consistent with dingo bites”, a spokesperson for the Coroners Court of Queensland told BBC news.

“Pre-mortem dingo bite marks” were unlikely to have caused her “immediate death”, the spokesperson added. The autopsy was part of a preliminary assessment, and establishing her exact cause of death could take several weeks.

Piper’s body was found on a beach on K’Gari, an island off the eastern state of Queensland on Monday.

In a statement to the BBC, the coroner also said there were “extensive post-mortem dingo bite marks” and that no evidence anyone else was involved.

Piper’s father, Todd James told Australia’s 9News that the family felt relieved, as the autopsy results meant her body could be released back to her family in Canada.

Her mother Angela told Global News that her daughter had always dreamed of travelling and had saved money for this trip after she graduated high school.

Both parents had concerns about her travelling at her age, but Piper was determined.

The teenager had been working at a backpacker’s hostel for the past six weeks, and told friends she was going for a 05:00 morning swim on Monday, Australian media reported.

Her body was found around 06:30 local time (20:30 GMT on Sunday).

She was found near the Maheno shipwreck, which was washed ashore in 1935 and is now a popular tourist landmark.

The area is known for its population of dingoes, a wild species of native dog that is protected in Queensland national parks.

About 200 dingoes live on World Heritage-listed K’Gari, according to the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.