Horrific final struggle of cruise ship passenger found dead after being left behind on remote island
The 80-year-old grandmother had been part of a 60-night Coral Expeditions cruise, which had been all set to explore some of Australia's most majestic sites
A grandmother who tragically died alone on a remote island suffered a heartbreaking after she was left behind by the cruise ship she was travelling on.
Suzanne Rees, 80, had embarked on a 60-night Coral Expeditions cruise, ready to explore some of Australia's most stunning locations.
Last Saturday, passengers of the Coral Adventurer disembarked at Lizard Island, approximately 240km from Cairns, Queensland.
The nearly deserted island, known for its coral reefs and beautiful beaches, attracts divers from around the world.
That day, Suzanne, travelling alone, joined other members of the cruise group for an organised hike along the Cook's Look trail - the highest peak on the island. Tragically, she never returned to the ship.
After falling ill, Suzanne was reportedly asked to descend the mountain alone, and while she lay unwell, the cruise ship sailed off to its next destination. This was the first stop on the Coral Adventurer's extensive tour around Australia, a holiday which costs thousands of dollars per person, reports the Mirror.
"Then the ship left, apparently without doing a passenger count. At some stage in that sequence, or shortly after, Mum died, alone," Suzanne's daughter Katherine told The Australian.
Katherine revealed that her family was "shocked and saddened" that elderly Suzanne had allegedly been left behind due to a "failure of care and common sense". It's believed that Suzanne was only reported as missing after she didn't turn up for dinner, some five hours after she disappeared.
Sailor Traci Ayris and her partner Matthew, who were on board SV Vellamo moored near Lizard Island, had been monitoring emergency radio communications from the Coral Expeditions ship.
"They did headcounts for snorkelers (which we heard) but not for other guests on the island, it would seem," Traci told the Cairns Post.
She continued: "The last people came down from the track and got into tender then the (ship) left very soon after that. There was not a lot of time between when the last passengers left the beach to when they up anchored. We even commented, 'Wow they left fast'."
The missing holidaymaker's disappearance was reported shortly before midnight, with emergency services scouring both land and sea throughout the night. The next day, Suzanne's body was recovered from a mountain, some 50m off the walking trail.
Witness Traci told 7NEWS: "The search started around midnight with a chopper and the crew searched until 3 am."
She added, "All of us on our boats in the bay were saddened by the events. It was immensely tragic that the hiker had not strayed far from the path that we ourselves had hiked the day before."
In a statement previously provided to news.com.au, Queensland Police confirmed they were probing the "sudden and non-suspicious death of a missing woman in her 80s". The force said: "The woman was reported missing to the police on 25 October, after failing to board a vessel in waters off Queensland earlier on Saturday."
Coral Expeditions CEO Mark Fifiel also released a statement, saying: "We have expressed our heartfelt condolences to the Rees family and remain deeply sorry that this has occurred. The circumstances of her tragic death are the subject of official investigations.
"We are fully cooperating with those investigations to determine the facts. For this reason, it would be inappropriate to comment further on the investigations while they are underway. We continue to provide our full support to the Rees family through this difficult time."
Meanwhile, The Guardian reports that the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has been notified about the incident and is conducting inquiries.
A multi-agency investigation will examine how and why the Australian native, who is being remembered as an enthusiastic bushwalker and gardener following her death, was allegedly left behind.
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