Coroner Rules Dingo Attack Caused Canadian Tourist's Drowning

A Queensland coroner has ruled that a 19-year-old Canadian tourist died from drowning as a result of injuries sustained in a dingo attack on the island of K'gari in January.

Piper James, from Vancouver Island in British Columbia, was found dead on a beach near the Maheno Wreck on the World Heritage-listed island, formerly known as Fraser Island, on January 19. The teenager had left her campsite around 5 a.m. for an early morning swim and was discovered about an hour later, surrounded by a pack of approximately 10 dingoes. An autopsy revealed premortem bite wounds consistent with the attack, along with water in her lungs, confirming drowning as the primary cause of death.

In a statement released Friday, a spokesperson for the Coroners Court of Queensland said, "Piper died as a result of drowning in the setting of multiple injuries, due to, or as a consequence of a dingo attack." The court noted that the findings were determined by a Queensland Health forensic pathologist and accepted by the investigating coroner. The probe into the incident remains ongoing, with no additional details released at this time.

James had been traveling along Australia's east coast on a five-month...