‘Our hearts are shattered’: Family of Canadian who died on Australian beach mourn daughter

A young Canadian tourist who was found dead on a Queensland, Australia, beach earlier this week has been identified as Piper James.

Her family told CTV News that James had been backpacking through Australia with her close friend for a five-month trip, which began on Oct. 27.

She had spent a year after graduating to save up for “this trip of a lifetime.”

Her family, based in Campbell River, B.C., said they learnt of the tragedy from James’ friend’s mother.

Todd James, Piper’s father, wrote a tribute to her on Facebook Tuesday saying: “Our hearts are shattered as we share the tragic loss of our beautiful daughter, Piper.”

He adds that she was proud of her work with the BC Wildfire Service.

She had dreams of eventually getting her pilot’s license and was passionate about aviation, just like her father.

The 19-year-old’s body was found at about 6:30 a.m. local time on Monday, surrounded by a “large pack of dingoes,” Wide Bay District Insp. Paul Algie said in a press conference that day.

The scene was “traumatic and horrific,” Algie said.

Authorities have not yet confirmed Piper’s name but verified her age and citizenship.

Global Affairs Canada confirmed to CTV News that it “is aware of the death of a Canadian citizen in Australia,” and is offering consular services to James’ family.

James had told people at approximately 5 a.m. that she was headed for a swim at the beach. Authorities confirmed that the evidence shows she was alone. She had been working on the island with a Canadian friend for the past six weeks.

Algie said her friend is “very traumatized” and helped police contact James’ family in Canada.

“At this stage, it’s too early to speculate on cause of death. We simply can’t confirm whether this young lady drowned or died as a result of being attacked by dingoes,” the inspector said.

Her family said Australian officials told them there were three possible scenarios: She went for a swim in the ocean and was swept in by the waves; the dingoes pushed her into the water and she drowned; or, it was a dingo attack.

Brianna Falk, a close friend to James, told The Canadian Press that the pair met through their high school English class in Campbell River three years ago. Falk said she remembered James as someone who loved life, being in nature and was always down to talk.

“We had so many plans and she was so young,” Falk said.

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

A post-mortem is scheduled to be conducted on Wednesday when more details are said to be shared by police.

James’ parents are set to travel to Australia to bring her body back home to Canada.

With files from CTV News’ Kristen Yu