Inside final moments of missing Australian woman found dead in Canada

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Corporal James Grandy has revealed what happened in the hiker’s final moments, as her family travel to Canada.

A 24-year-old Queenslander was found dead after vanishing for days in Canadian bear country. Picture: Facebook

The family of a young Australian hiker will travel to Canada after her body was found in bear country by hikers.

Queensland woman Julia-Mary Lane, known as JM, was last seen setting off on a bushwalk on Saturday afternoon.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Corporal James Grandy said on Wednesday afternoon he believes the family will be travelling over to Canada in the wake of the news.

It is understood the 24-year-old was alone and travelling on steep terrain in the moments before she died.

Julia-Mary Lane’s brother confirmed she was found dead. Picture: Supplied

“The death appears to have been accidental. She likely lost her footing near the steep cliff,” Mr Grandy said.

It appears Ms Lane had attempted to find other hikers to take the journey with her in order to avoid trouble but ultimately chose to make the journey alone.

Just days before her disappearance, she had posted on a local Facebook page asking to join others taking the same trail.

“Hi all, I’m visiting from Canmore for a few days and would love to join any moderate to challenging hikes anyone has planned,” she said.

“I am comfortable hiking solo but would prefer to go with a group to minimise bear risk, of course.”

She posted this on a local Facebook group just days before going missing.

Commenters on the post were quick to warn the Australian woman that there were issues with road conditions on a number of trails.

It’s unknown whether Ms Lane attempted to travel on these roads, however she did acknowledge the comments and said she would “check those out” before deciding which route to take.

The 24-year-old’s brother Conor Lane confirmed she was found dead on Wednesday morning describing what happened as “an unfortunate hiking accident”.

“We have lost our beautiful baby girl,” he wrote in a post to Facebook on Wednesday morning (AEST).

“Please allow us 24 hours to process this sad news.”

“Thank you to the community for your rapid response and immense support.”

Her Canadian housemate also shared a tribute to her friend on social media, thanking those who had spread the word about her disappearance.

Ms Lane was an experienced hiker. Picture: Facebook

“I feel honoured to have spent time with her this past week, as she was a joy to be around,” Janet Hamilton said.

“A truly beautiful soul.”

Ms Lane set off for a walk on the Bear Lake Trail near the town of Kimberley, 870km east of Vancouver, but did not return home.

Ms Hamilton initially raised the alarm, contacting Ms Lane’s family and posting on social media, sparking the mass search.

“I haven’t seen my young Australian housemate, JM, since Saturday afternoon and I’m wondering if anyone ran across her while hiking?” she said on Facebook.

“I just spoke to her family in Australia and they are all very worried. Disappearing like this is completely out of character for JM.”

“They are normally in contact with her daily and have not heard from her since Saturday morning.”

Ms Lane tracked herself while hiking and her brother shared this from a walk the day before she disappeared.

Her car has been found by police at the lake she was hiking around.

After the young Queenslanders body was found, she thanked the local community for rallying together to help the search effort.

“Thank you everyone in this wonderful community for all your help and support over the past two days in the search for Julia-Mary,” she said.

“I feel honoured to have spent time with her this past week, as she was a joy to be around. A truly beautiful soul.”

Two hikers discovered Ms Lane’s body while search and rescue teams made their way up the mountain, RCMP Corporal John Tent told the Kimberley Bulletin.

The Coroner is investigating and said the death is not being treated as suspicious.

The 24-year-old is originally from Queensland.

Ms Hamilton said Ms Lane had left the home they shared in her Ford Escape, which police have since found.

Her brother confirmed her car was found at Bear Lake before her body was found.

“Please reach out and let me know if you have seen her or have any info about where she might be or was planning on going,” he said on social media.

The 24-year-old Brisbane local had been living in Canada since the start of the year, and had been travelling through British Columbia.

According to Ms Hamilton, Ms Lane was only spending a week in the Kimberley area to go hiking.