A 24-year-old Queensland woman has tragically been found dead on a hiking trail in Canada.
Julia-Mary Jane was last seen on Saturday as she ventured off on a bushwalk. Her brother, Conor Lane, confirmed her passing in a Facebook post on Wednesday morning AEDT time.
They believe the death of Julia-Mary — known as JM — was the result of “an unfortunate hiking accident”, as per news.com.au.
“We have lost our beautiful baby girl,” the Facebook post read. “Please allow us 24 hours to process this sad news,” it continued.
“Thank you to the community for your rapid response and immense support.”
The sad news comes after JM’s housemate, Janet Hamilton, called out for help on social media to find her.
“I haven’t seen my young Australian housemate, JM, since Saturday afternoon and I’m wondering if anyone ran across her while hiking?” Janet wrote on Facebook.
JM was believed to be going on the Bear Lake Trail, 870km east of Vancouver.
She had been living in Canada since the start of 2023 and had been travelling through British Columbia — she was only spending a week in the Kimberley area for hiking reasons, according to housemate Janet.
“I just spoke to her family in Australia and they are all very worried. Disappearing like this is completely out of character for JM,” the post continued.
“They are normally in contact with her daily and have not heard from her since Saturday morning.”
Days before disappearing, JM posted to a local Facebook page in an attempt to tag along with other hikers for the trail.
“I am comfortable hiking solo but would prefer to go with a group to minimise bear risk of course.”
According to Royal Canadian Mounted Police Corporal John Tent who spoke to the Kimberley Bulletin, two hikers discovered JM’s body as search and rescue teams made their way up the mountain.
Her car had previously been located at Bear Lake, which she was believed to be hiking around.
The death is not being treated as suspicious.
