A family’s tragic loss is being targeted by online trolls after the death of 19-year-old Canadian backpacker Piper James on an isolated beach in Australia, where she was found surrounded by dingoes. Disturbingly, many are making the same offensive joke.
Piper was on what was supposed to be a “trip of a lifetime” when she was attacked by wild dogs, known to form packs of up to a dozen and weighing around 50 pounds each. Her body was discovered on January 19 at Seventy-Five Mile Beach, situated about 245 miles north of Brisbane.
Her family reported that she had left the campsite early in the morning to swim and never came back. An autopsy later indicated that she likely drowned.
Initial reports revealed her body was located among a group of dingoes and had sustained several injuries. Following this, trolls on social media horrifically drew comparisons to the notorious 1980 Azaria Chamberlain case, where the phrase “A dingo ate my baby!” became infamous, partly due to its mention in a Seinfeld episode.
The mother of James’ companion, Taylor, condemned the cruel mockery, stating how social media can share both positive and negative aspects of life. She also expressed feeling touched by the support they received but found it painful to see the harsh comments surfacing alongside that support.
While human attacks from dingoes are quite rare, they do occur. Notably, the last confirmed fatality from a dingo attack was a young boy, killed on the same island where Piper lost her life, 25 years ago.
Following speculation about the role of the dingoes in Piper’s death, a coroner confirmed that drowning was likely the cause. Preliminary examinations suggested that the bite marks on her body were probably inflicted after her death.
A spokesperson for the Queensland coroner’s office clarified that while there were post-mortem dingo bite marks present, these were unlikely to have caused her immediate death. It was noted that no other individuals were involved in the incident.
