Suzanne Rees, 80, was part of a 60-night Coral Expeditions cruise which was all set to explore some of Australia’s most majestic sites – but she never made it back to the boat
A grandmother met a tragic end, dying alone on a secluded island after being left behind by a cruise ship.
Suzanne Rees, 80, was part of a 60-night Coral Expeditions cruise set to explore some of Australia’s most breathtaking sites. On Saturday, October 25, 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, draws divers from all over the world. That day, Suzanne, travelling alone, joined other cruise members for an organised hike along the Cook’s Look trail – the island’s highest peak. Tragically, she never returned to the boat.
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 that costs a staggering £40,000 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 missing after she didn’t turn up for dinner, some five hours after she disappeared.
Yachtie Traci Ayris and her partner Matthew, who were aboard SV Vellamo anchored near Lizard Island, had been tuning into emergency radio transmissions sent from the Coral Expeditions vessel.
“They did headcounts for snorkelers (which we heard) but not for other guests on the island, it would seem,” Traci informed the Cairns Post.
She added: “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 traveller’s disappearance was reported just before midnight, with emergency services conducting searches across land and sea throughout the night. The following day, Suzanne’s body was found on a mountain, about 50m off the hiking trail.
Eyewitness Traci told 7NEWS: “The search started around midnight with a chopper and the crew searched until 3 am.”
She continued, “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 examining the “sudden and non-suspicious death of a missing woman in her 80s”. The force declared: “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 has also released the following statement: “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 of the incident and is conducting enquiries. A multi-agency investigation will examine how and why the Australian native, who is being fondly remembered as an avid bushwalker and gardener following her death, was allegedly left behind.
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