Father’s tribute to B.C. teen Piper James, found dead in Australia circled by dingoes

Photo: Contributed
Piper James, the 19-year-old Canadian found dead in Australia, surrounded by dingoes.

The father of Canadian teenager Piper James, who was found dead surrounded by a pack of dingoes on an Australian beach this week, said her family is “shattered” by her loss.

“We will always remember her infectious laugh and her kind spirit. I admired her strength and determination to go after her dreams,” Todd James said on social media about his 19-year-old daughter, who was from Campbell River, B.C.

He said she had an infectious laugh and kind spirit, and was proud of her work for the BC Wildfire Service, sharing photos of her riding motorcycles, fighting a fire, in a helicopter, and carrying a backpack with a friend who media reports say was with her in Australia.

“She was glad I was on board for her trip to Australia,” Todd James wrote on Tuesday, joking that she said he couldn’t stop her anyway because she had turned 18.

“Mostly, I loved hearing about and seeing the bonds and friendships she was developing as she grew into her beautiful self.”

Penny Vanalstine said in a social media post that Piper James, her granddaughter, had “a spirit of unbridled joy and courage,” and was “kind to everyone she met.”

Police in the Australian state of Queensland have declined to identify the Canadian victim but say her body was found Monday morning on a beach on K’gari, also known as Fraser Island, and had been “interfered with” by a pack of about 10 dingoes.

The result of a post-mortem examination of the remains to determine the cause of death was expected by Wednesday.

Police Insp. Paul Algie said the woman’s body was found north of the Maheno shipwreck, a landmark on the island’s eastern side, and initial information suggested she may have gone for an early-morning swim.

Brianna Falk was in disbelief when she learned the victim was the girl she sat beside during a high school English class just three years ago.

“My heart dropped,” Falk said Tuesday in an interview with The Canadian Press from Campbell River.

“You never think that it is going to be somebody that you know, let alone one of your closest friends.”

Falk said she was working her day job at a car dealership when she started seeing early news reports and feared the worst. Her fears were confirmed when she spoke with a mutual friend who learned of James’s death through her family.

Her first reaction — anger.

“She was a good person. She never did wrong by anybody,” Falk said.

“She was just a good friend.”

The RCMP have confirmed the woman was a Canadian citizen and directed all questions to Australian authorities. Global Affairs Canada said officials are providing consular assistance to the family.

Algie said the woman had been working on K’gari for the last six weeks and was travelling with a fellow Canadian, who he described as “extremely traumatized.”

He said the autopsy will confirm how she died and whether the dingoes played a role.

“We simply can’t confirm whether this young lady drowned or died as a result of being attacked by dingoes,” Algie said.

Two men were driving an SUV along the beach when they saw around 10 dingoes near the body, Algie said.

“It was obviously a very traumatic and horrific scene for them to uncover,” Algie told reporters.

K’gari, a World Heritage Area described as the world’s largest sand island, is known for its population of wild dingoes. The Queensland government warns visitors to be “dingo safe.” Ranger patrols have increased since the attack.

There has been a series of dingo attacks on the island, including the fatal mauling of a nine-year-old in 2001 and an incident in 2023 when a jogger on the beach was chased into the surf and attacked.

Australia’s most notorious dingo attack was the death of two-month-old Azaria Chamberlain in central Australia in 1980.

The incident inspired the 1988 film Evil Angels, starring Meryl Streep as the infant’s mother who was wrongfully convicted of murder before being exonerated thanks to the discovery of Azaria’s jacket near a dingo’s lair in 1986.

Falk said she and Piper James bonded through a high school English class three years ago. James, she said, was someone who loved life, enjoyed being in nature and was always down to talk.

“She was very real,” she said. “There was never any confusion as to whether she liked you or not. She would definitely tell you to your face.”

Among her many hobbies, Falk said James was into swimming, skiing and snowboarding — something they planned on doing at nearby Mount Washington someday.

Then about six months ago, in what Falk said was a “pretty spur of the moment plan,” James and their friend Taylor decided to travel to Australia.

“They mentioned that they didn’t really have a plan, and it was very nice and free-spirited,” Falk said. “They were having a blast.”

One memory that sticks out for Falk is when they were nearing high school graduation. During a “grad skip day” where the seniors ditched class for the beach, she watched a socially anxious James come out of her shell.

“I just remember her getting there and just being so uncomfortable and one by one, I remember almost every single one of those popular people coming up to her, saying how much they admired her,” she said.

“When we went home that night, she was like, ‘Wow, you know what? They’re a lot nicer than I thought they were.'”

Falk said she hasn’t stopped crying since learning of James’s death, and is eager to connect with those who knew her to reminisce.

“I really did love Piper and I’m gonna miss her a lot,” she said.

Todd James said his daughter “would work hard so she could play hard.”

“So many are going to miss you, my precious little baby girl. Maybe gone, but how can we ever forget you?”

Photo: The Canadian Press
In this aerial image made from video, a dingo walks on beach on K’gari, formerly known as Fraser Island, Australia, Monday, July 17, 2023.