Police 'traumatised' after woman, 19, found dead and surrounded by dingoes

Monday, 19 January 2026 13:16

Two witnesses, her friend and police have been left traumatised by the early-morning discovery.

Police have been left "traumatised" after a 19-year-old Canadian woman was found dead and surrounded by 10 dingoes on the Queensland island of K'gari this morning.

The woman told friends and colleagues at a backpackers' hostel where she worked that she was going for a swim about 5am.

Wide Bay District Inspector Paul Algie said two men driving near Orchid Beach, north of Maheno Wreck, then saw a large pack of dingoes near an object before 6.30am.

"Upon closer inspection, they saw that it was, in fact, a female person at the scene," he told reporters this afternoon.

"It was obviously a very dramatic and horrific scene for them to uncover."

Algie confirmed the dingoes had bitten the woman's body, but could not say what the exact cause of death was.

"We simply can't confirm whether this young lady drowned or died as a result of being attacked by dingoes," he said.

"I can confirm there was markings on her body consistent with having been touched and interfered with by the dingoes."

The woman's body was transferred to mainland Queensland this afternoon and will undergo a post-mortem examination.

Police are working to get in contact with the woman's family in Canada.

The woman had been working with a friend from Canada at a backpackers' on K'gari for the past six weeks.

Algie said her friend has been left "extremely traumatised".

He added that police were also "traumatised" and that this incident would have widespread impacts on the entire community.

"They are absolutely horrified and shocked at what's occurred," he said.

"We are acutely aware of how deeply this impacts not only the community that live on K'gari, but also the many, many thousands of people that visit there each year."

Police are working with the local rangers, the Department of Environment and Science and the community to piece together what happened in the hour and a half she was gone.

K'gari locals and visitors are advised to stay away and not to interact with dingoes.

"Dingoes are wild animals, and whilst they are very culturally and significant to the local First Nations people and to the people that live on the island, they are still wild animals and need to be treated as such," Algie said.

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