A “very traumatic and horrific scene” unfolded in Australia where two men discovered the body of a teenage Canadian citizen surrounded by a pack of dingoes.
Police in Queensland responded to a report of an unresponsive woman spotted on a K’gari beach around 6:35 a.m., according to authorities.
She was pronounced dead a short time later. Local media identified the victim as 19-year-old Piper James on Tuesday.
Officials believe the James went for a swim about 90 minutes before her body was found. Law enforcement told ABC News Australia they couldn’t immediately confirm her cause death, but suspect she either drown or “died as a result of being attacked by dingoes.”
Two men driving along the beach told authorities they observed roughly ten wild dogs around her corpse.
“It was obviously a very traumatic and horrific scene for them to uncover,” according to Queensland Police Insp. Paul Algie.
Queensland authorities told reporters that the victim had spent the past six weeks working at a backpacker’s hostel with a friend who was also from Canada. Dingoes are reportedly known to attack humans in the area.
Police said there were “markings on [the victim’s] body consistent with being touched and interfered with by the dingoes.”
The Australian Museum says dingoes are the continent’s largest mammal carnivore. Their teeth are larger than those of a domestic dog.
Canadian authorities told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation they were aware of the investigation into the woman’s death in Australia.