Police probe mystery death on Qld island
Mystery surrounds the discovery of a woman’s body near a pack of dingoes in a “horrific scene” that has traumatised an island community.
The body of the 19-year-old Canadian backpacker was found on a beach on K’gari (formerly Fraser Island) in Queensland on Monday morning.
There were markings on the woman’s body that indicated she had been “interfered with” by dingoes.
But police would not speculate on the cause of death, saying the body was found about 90 minutes after the woman went for an early morning swim near the Maheno shipwreck.
Police were called to the beach near popular tourist spot the SS Maheno about 6.35am, after reports a woman had been found unresponsive.
Two men were driving up the beach when they saw about 10 dingoes “near an object” on the beach, Inspector Paul Algie said.
Upon closer inspection they made a grisly discovery.
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“It was obviously a very traumatic and horrific scene for them to uncover,” Algie said.
“I can confirm there was markings on her body consistent with having been touched and interfered with by the dingoes.”
Police said it was too early to speculate on the woman’s cause of death.
“We simply can’t confirm whether this young lady drowned or died as a result of being attacked by dingoes,” Algie said.
“We do acknowledge that there is a large amount of community interest in this story and we will endeavour to provide further details when the post-mortem is conducted.”
The woman had arrived at the beach about 5am for a morning swim.
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Detectives are trying to piece together what happened in the 90 minutes before her body was found.
An autopsy will be completed on Wednesday.
The woman had been swimming near the Maheno wreck on K’gari’s eastern coastline. Photo: AAP
The woman had been working with a friend from Canada at a backpackers on the island for about six weeks.
“She’s obviously extremely traumatised … and has helped police make contact with [the victim’s] family over in Canada via the Royal Canadian Mounted Police,” Algie said.
The local community has been left reeling from the tragedy.
“Police on K’gari are locals … they are absolutely horrified and shocked at what’s occurred — this is an incident that impacts everybody heavily,” Algie said.
He warned against going near dingoes.
“K’gari is a wilderness area. Dingoes are wild animals … and need to be treated as such,” he said.
“I implore all people that visit K’gari, which is a beautiful place, that you do not go near dingoes.”
About 200 dingoes roam free on K’gari. They are a protected native species at the national park.
