A 19-year-old woman has been found dead on Australia’s Queensland coast, surrounded by a pack of dingoes. The grim discovery was made by two men at 6:35 am on a beach on K’gari (previously known as Fraser Island), on 19 January 2026, about an hour and a half after the woman, a Canadian backpacker, had told friends she was going for a swim.
Police were unable to confirm the cause of the woman’s death ahead of an autopsy due on 21 January. They told reporters it was unclear if the woman had drowned or been attacked, but that her body bore signs “consistent with being touched and interfered with by the dingoes.” They also speculated whether some of the victim’s wounds were defensive.
Dingoes are a protected native species on K’gari and hold cultural value for First Peoples. There are several campaign groups dedicated to saving and appreciating dingoes on the island, where Queensland Wide Bay Burnett District Police Inspector Paul Algie said the Canadian visitor had been working at a backpacker’s hostel for the past six weeks. Despite the creatures’ popularity, Algie warned: “They are still wild animals and need to be treated as such.”
Likewise, officials from Queensland Parks and Forests warned in December 2025 of “heightened dingo activity” on K’gari’s Eastern Beach, extending the alert until the end of January 2026. “Dingoes have been ripping tents, stealing food or property, damaging property, and approaching people,” the website says.
ABC News reported over 130 “threatening or high-risk incidents” between humans and wild dingoes reported on K’gari in the first half of 2023 alone. One involved a young woman jogger who was bitten and forced into the water. A year ago, a three-year-old boy was bitten.
Footage posted by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science on social media urges tourists to “take ‘dingo-safe’ measures after a number of attacks.” The video clip shows a dingo approach a group of beachgoers before biting a young woman on the bottom as she sunbathes.
MEDIA RELEASE
— Queensland Environment (@QldEnvironment) August 17, 2022
Video of a dominance-testing wongari (dingo) with tourists on K’gari (Fraser Island) has shown the correct way to react to prevent an escalation in behaviour. Be #dingosafe – read the safety info
More info here https://t.co/2puuqK1y62 pic.twitter.com/6TqJQgavwF
Dingo-safe behaviours include keeping children within arm’s reach, carrying a stick to help keep the animals at a safe distance, and disposing properly of waste to avoid attracting the creatures to scraps of food. If a dingo is nearby, it is important to avoid running as it can “trigger their hunting instincts,” the parks officials said, adding that it is illegal to feed or interact with dingoes.
Canadian officials are providing consular assistance to the deceased Canadian’s relatives, and a Global Affairs Canada spokesperson has extended condolences to her family and loved ones.
