Grieving Parents Visit Island Where Daughter Died

Distraught parents Todd and Angela James have traveled from Canada to K'gari, also known as Fraser Island, to collect the remains of their daughter, Piper James. The couple arrived in Brisbane on Tuesday, February 4, 2026, commencing an emotional journey to their daughter's final resting place.

The parents will attend a smoking ceremony conducted by the Butchulla traditional owners on the beach near the SS Maheno wreck. Piper James was discovered there on the morning of January 19, 2026, following an early solo swim. The Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation emphasized the ceremony's cultural significance for healing and acknowledging Piper's spirit.

A preliminary coroner's assessment, released four days after James's death, found evidence consistent with drowning and dingo bites, though the latter were deemed unlikely to be fatal. Pathology results are still pending, a process expected to take several weeks.

In response to the incident, Queensland's environment minister ordered the euthanasia of a pack of 10 dingoes. This decision has drawn strong criticism from dingo experts, who warn of an "extinction vortex" for the island's unique dingo population, which already faces challenges with low genetic diversity.

Piper's mother stated that killing the dingoes is "the last thing Piper would want." However, rangers deemed the dingoes an "unacceptable public safety risk" due to observed aggressive behavior. As of Tuesday afternoon, February 4, 2026, eight dingoes had been humanely euthanized, with the operation ongoing.

Traditional owners, who consider the dingoes, or "wongari," sacred, expressed they were not consulted on the culling decision. This incident is the latest in a series of aggressive dingo encounters on K'gari, with the first fatality since nine-year-old Clinton Gage was killed in 2001, leading to a cull of 32 dingoes.