Family says ‘failure of care and common sense’ led to mum’s death on cruise

The family of a woman who was found dead after being left behind on an island in Far North Queensland by a cruise ship has called the tragedy a “failure of care and common sense”.

Suzanne Rees, 80, was reported missing by a crew member of the Coral Adventurer to the police on Saturday after she failed to board a vessel at Lizard Island.

Search and rescue crews searched both the land and ocean for her.

Her body was recovered on Sunday and her death was not believed to be suspicious, a police spokesperson said.

Rees’ daughter, Katherine Rees, said the family was “shocked and saddened that the Coral Adventurer left Lizard Island after an organised excursion without my mum”.

“From the little we have been told, it seems that there was a failure of care and common sense,” she said in a statement.

“We understand from the police that it was a very hot day, and Mum fell ill on the hill climb. She was asked to head down, unescorted. Then the ship left, apparently without doing a passenger count. At some stage in that sequence, or shortly after, mum died, alone.”

Katherine Rees said she hoped a coronial investigation would shed more light on what happened to her mother, who enjoyed gardening and was an active member of a bushwalking group.

“I hope that the coronial inquiry will find out what the company should have done that might have saved mum’s life,” she said.

The family would not comment on whether they would take their own action against the cruise line.

Matthew and Traci live on a sailing yacht and were anchored in Watson’s Bay when the Coral Adventurer arrived.

“We watched passengers from both ships coming and going all day,” they told this masthead.

“We saw the last group leave the beach, then in the small hours there was a helicopter scanning the mountainside and following the trail. We knew that meant someone was missing, but we didn’t realise it was from the ship until we heard on the radio and saw the [ship] returning to Lizard.”

‘Once-in-a-lifetime trip’

The Coral Adventurer is operated by Coral Expeditions.

The vessel has been included in promotion for a “once-in-a-lifetime Australian Circumnavigation” carrying 112 guests for 60 days around the country, starting in October.

It promoted 48 days of guided excursion activities, an onboard program, an Island Cultural Festival in the Torres Straits, a Winemakers Lunch at Leeuwin Estate, and a charter flight to an Outback Homestead in Longreach.

Prices were advertised as starting at $54,000, with the most expensive balcony cabins priced at $86,400.

“We have expressed our heartfelt condolences to the Rees family and remain deeply sorry that this has occurred,” Coral Expeditions chief executive Mark Fifield said on Thursday.

“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.”

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) was notified of the search for Rees about 10pm on Saturday. It will now investigate why Rees was not accounted for during boarding.

“AMSA make an assessment as to whether there was any non-compliance associated with the passenger not being counted onto the ship and, if necessary, will take action to address them,” a spokesman said.

“AMSA intends to conduct enquiries on board the vessel when it arrives in Darwin. Details of timing of vessel arrival and/or AMSA’s next steps are not available at this time.”

A report will be prepared for the coroner.

Lizard Island is about 30 kilometres from the mainland near Cooktown in the Great Barrier Reef and is part of the Lizard Island Group that also includes Palfrey Island.

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