A murder investigation has been launched by Queensland police after the body of 24-year-old Toyah Cordingley was found on Wangetti Beach, about 40km north of Cairns, on Monday.
Cordingley, a pharmacy worker, went missing on Sunday. She was last seen walking her dog along the beach around 2pm.
Queensland police detective senior sergeant Ed Kinbacher told media on Monday that her body was found on Monday morning, 800 metres from her car.
"[Her body] was just between the foreshore and the bushland," he said.
"This is not a highly frequented area. People notice each other at Wangetti Beach."
While there are currently no suspects, the circumstances of Cordingley's death "clearly indicate" there was third-party involvement, said Kinbacher.
"If we're dealing with a potentially sexually-motivated murder, which common sensibly this may well be, we may well be dealing with a male."
Cordingley had previously worked at Port Douglas councillor Michael Kerr's Paws and Claws animal shelter. The shelter posted a tribute to her on its Facebook on Monday afternoon, calling her a "beautiful young soul".
Police are urging anyone who was in the Wangetti area on Monday from 2pm until sundown to make contact.
"No young woman should go to the beach to walk their dog and [have] this unfold for them," said Kinbacher.
CORRECTION
Detective Ed Kinbacher is a senior sergeant with Queensland police. An earlier version of this story misstated his title.