Golden Gate Park slaying victim was a 23-year-old Canadian woman

San Francisco police say Audrey Carey, 23, of Quebec, Canada, was found dead in Golden Gate Park after the first day of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival on Friday, Oct. 2, 2015. San Francisco police say Audrey Carey, 23, of Quebec, Canada, was found dead in Golden Gate Park after the first day of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival on Friday, Oct. 2, 2015. Photo: Courtesy, SFPD Photo: Courtesy, SFPD Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Golden Gate Park slaying victim was a 23-year-old Canadian woman 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

The young Canadian woman found slain in Golden Gate Park following the first day of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival over the weekend was on her first solo backpacking trip that would have taken her all the way to Europe, a relative said Tuesday.

Audrey Carey, 23, of Quebec had told her family she was embarking on an adventure and decided she would go alone for the first time to the United States and eventually make her way to Europe, said Rejean Carey, her great-uncle.

“She wanted to travel. It was her first trip,” the great-uncle said in French, when reached by telephone.

He didn’t know when Carey left Canada, but said she planned to make the Western United States the first leg of her journey.

Police said her trip ended in violence in Golden Gate Park on Saturday.

A passerby discovered Carey’s body in the park near the intersection of John F. Kennedy and Chain of Lake drives and called 911, said Officer Albie Esparza, a spokesman for the San Francisco Police Department.

Officers responded and paramedics declared her dead at the scene, Esparza said. He said there was evidence of trauma to her body.

The city medical examiner conducted an autopsy and said Tuesday that Carey’s family in Canada had been notified, according to a spokesman for the agency. A cause of death was not immediately released.

Esparza said it was unclear if the woman attended the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park on Friday night. Her body was found several hours before the first act of the concert went on Saturday.

In a separate incident, a festival attendee was hit in the head and knocked unconscious by two attackers who stole her backpack, wallet and keys as she left the concert venue about 8:30 p.m. Friday, police said. But police said it was unclear if there are any connections between the robbery and the slaying of Carey.

Police are asking anyone with information on the Carey’s death to call the anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno