(K'GARI, Australia) -- A 19-year-old Canadian woman was found dead on an Australian beach surrounded by a pack of dingoes, according to police.
The cause of death remains under investigation in the "shocking" incident, according to Queensland Police.
Two passersby found the teen's body on Monday morning local time on the island of K'gari, located off the coast of Queensland, police said. There was a small pack of dingoes around her body at the time, according to Queensland Police Inspector Paul Algie, calling it a "traumatic and horrific scene."
"I can confirm there was marking on her body consistent with having been touched and interfered with by the dingoes," Algie said during a press briefing on Monday, though he noted it was too early to speculate on the cause of death, pending the autopsy report.
Algie said police are investigating all possibilities in the death.
"We simply can't confirm whether this young lady drowned or died as a result of being attacked by dingoes," he said.
The woman had been working for the past several weeks at a backpackers' hostel on K'gari, formerly known as Fraser Island, police said.
Police said she is believed to have gone for a swim alone on the beach, near a popular shipwreck, around 5 a.m. local time Monday and was found dead over an hour later.
An autopsy is expected to be conducted on Wednesday, police said.
K'gari, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a popular tourist destination. Dingoes are protected on the island as a native species.
The last fatal dingo attack on K'gari was 25 years ago, according to Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour. In that incident, a 9-year-old boy died.
"This is a shocking tragedy that has really affected our community," Seymour told the Australian network 9News amid the investigation into the 19-year-old's death.
"Dingoes are an essential part of this wilderness on K'gari, it's part of why people go there -- to escape, be part of a World Heritage wilderness," he said. "There are dangers there."