Police Probe Death of Woman Found Surrounded by Dingoes

A backpacker's pre-dawn swim off Australia's K'gari island has ended in tragedy and a police investigation into a possible dingo attack. Queensland police say the body of a 19-year-old Canadian woman was discovered on a beach on K'gari (formerly Fraser Island) early Monday, surrounded by at least a dozen dingoes, per News.com.au. The woman had been living and working at a backpackers' hostel on the island for about six weeks with a friend, according to Wide Bay District Inspector Paul Algie. She went to the beach alone around 5am and was discovered dead about an hour later by two men driving along the shore.

Queensland's government often urges tourists to walk in groups or carry a stick to prevent negative interactions with wild dingoes, the Independent reports. Algie confirmed the dingoes had "touched and interfered" with the body, which suffered significant wounds, but "we simply can't confirm whether this young lady drowned or died as a result of being attacked by dingoes," he said, per News.com.au, adding it may take a post-mortem to confirm "the actual cause of death." Police have asked any witnesses to come forward while acknowledging much public pressure to get to the bottom of what happened, per the Guardian.