B.C. teen who died in Australia eulogized as ‘curious, bold and alive to world’

By Canadian Press on February 28, 2026.

VICTORIA — The family and friends of Canadian teenager Piper James who died in Australia last month remembered her as “curious, bold and alive to the world” during a celebration of life held Saturday in Campbell River, B.C. on Vancouver Island.

The 19-year-old was working on K’gari, formerly known as Fraser Island, when she went for an early morning swim on Jan. 19. Her body was found a short time later surrounded by a pack of dingoes near a popular tourist site, the SS Maheno wreck.

Piper’s parents delivered the eulogy during a service held at Campbell River Baptist Church and mother Angela James says that the ache of missing her “doodlebug” and “sweet, sweet girl” is something that she carries with her every day.

Angela James says some moments are quiet, other moments take her breath away, but “woven through the pain,” is the gratitude of having been Piper’s mother, as she stood next to her husband, both visibly fighting to hold back tears.

Piper James rode motocross bikes and her father, Todd James, says that Piper took him and his wife on the ride of their lives, as he thanked his daughter for her love and for being their daughter.

Todd James says he has been taught to never say goodbye, ending his part of the eulogy, with a simple “’til we meet again.'”

An autopsy uncovered evidence of “pre-mortem” dingo bites but said drowning was the most likely cause of Piper’s death.