The Strathcona Standard

2026-01-23: Preliminary autopsy results suggest Campbell River’s Piper James died from drowning on a remote Australian beach earlier this week. However, the role of the island’s aggressive dingo population in her death remains unknown.

According to the Brisbane Times, a preliminary coroner’s report says drowning appears to be the main cause of death, not the injuries she suffered from the wild dogs. 

Australian police have offered three scenarios for the order of events leading to the death of James, whose body was found approximately 90 minutes after going for an early-morning swim in the ocean. They say she could have drowned before dingoes came across her remains; dingoes attacked her and killed her; or she was chased into the water by the animals and drowned. 

The autopsy results rule out the animals as the cause of death, although a more thorough investigation under way will determine if she drowned and was found by dingoes, or if she was attacked before drowning. The results will be available in a few weeks, they say.

James, a 19-year-old woman from Campbell River who was travelling in Australia, was found dead on the shores of the island of K’Gari earlier this week. James worked for the BC Wildfire Service for two years, saving up for her trip to Australia, backpacking with a friend. 

“She loved and was proud of her work at BC Wildfire Services. Piper would work hard so she could play hard,” said her father Todd James in a heartfelt tribute on Facebook. “So many are going to miss you, my precious little baby girl. Maybe gone, but how can we ever forget you?”

On the morning of Jan. 17 James spoke with her family, letting them know she was going for an early morning swim. That’s the last time they spoke. 

Early on the morning of January 19, two men driving an SUV on the island’s beaches found her body, surrounded by dingoes. 

James’ mother Angela told the Times Colonist that Piper was adventurous, and loved the outdoors. She was involved in motocross in Campbell River and had been hoping to learn how to surf in Australia. 

James’ death has sparked a discussion in Australia about the island’s dingo population, which locals say is becoming more aggressive as the island becomes more popular as a tourism destination.