Canadian teenager Piper James’s official cause of death has been ruled as drowning by a dingo.
The 19-year-old was found at about 6:30 a.m. on January 19 on Kugari (Fraser Island) Beach, near the campsite where she had lived and worked for about a week before her death.
Her body was surrounded by a flock of about 10 dingoes, eight of which were euthanized.
Taylor Stricker and Piper James worked hard to raise funds for their dream of backpacking the Australian coast. (Provided by: Marjorie Stricker)
A Queensland Coroner’s Court spokesperson said Ms James died of drowning with multiple injuries sustained as a result of or as a result of a dingo attack.
A spokesperson said: “The investigation into Piper’s death is ongoing and we are unable to provide any further information at this time.”
Angela and Todd James are calling on the state government to step up warnings about the dangers of dingoes during peak season on Kgari Island. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Olly Wykeham)
Her mother, Angela James, told ABC on Thursday that she couldn’t help but think about how scared her daughter must have been.
“I’m heartbroken that we couldn’t save her,” Angela James said.
“It breaks my heart to think that she was screaming for me,” said her father, Todd James.
“It’s hard to imagine what our baby went through.”
Angela and Todd James ride the waves at the Piper James Smoking Ceremony on Kugari Island. (ABC Wide Bay: James Taylor)
Last month, her parents and friends visited the beach where she died.
They have since called for an inquiry into the policies governing the sharing of information by rangers about the dangers of dingo attacks.
The verdict came after a six-week investigation into the circumstances surrounding James’ death.
Piper James monument at Kgari. (ABC Wide Bay: Olivia Nunes-Malek)
Angela James previously told the ABC that her daughter regularly went for early morning swims during the week they lived on the World Heritage-listed island.
“She loved starting her day by watching the sun rise by the sea, because she felt so free there,” she said.
“She said it was the most wonderful thing.”
The last reported fatal dingo attack on the island was in 2001, when nine-year-old Clinton Gage was killed by a dingo after tripping and falling near a campsite.
To drive prey into the sea, general hunting strategy Used by the dingo on Kugali Island.
In 2023, a woman jogging along a beach in Kgari was chased into the waves by four dingoes.
The woman suffered multiple bite wounds to her limbs and torso during the attack.