Family left with unanswered questions after Suzanne Rees’ death on Lizard Island
The daughter of a woman whose dream cruise ended in tragedy has shared the pain of going unanswered.
In October last year, 81-year-old NSW grandmother and retired accountant Suzanne Rees embarked on a luxury road trip from Cairns to Perth in Australia’s top flight.
The first stop on the Coral Adventurers trip was Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef, where Ms Rees joined a guided walking tour on 25 October.
But the experienced hiker was left behind and was found dead the next morning.
Ms Rees’s daughter Kate Rees and son-in-law Andrew Cowie raised questions about how the tragedy could have happened during an appearance on 60 Minutes on Sunday night.
The two said that the Coral Adventurer did not tell them why he was left behind or when the staff first noticed it.
On the show, Kate Rees shared the last message her mother sent her on the $30,000 cruise.
“He sent me a text that morning with a photo of the deck and said, ‘I arrived at Lizard Island, went for a walk and went swimming in the afternoon,'” he said.
“We had no reason to think it wouldn’t be a great experience. We had no reason to think anything bad would happen.”
Ms Rees said she received few details of how her mother arrived to be alone on Lizard Island, but understood she had been sent back to the ship by one of the hiking party’s guides.
“Someone out for a walk mentioned that my mom wasn’t feeling well. Or ‘not so well,’ I guess,” he said.
“And apparently he was told to get back on the boat.”
60 Minutes reported that the trekking party returned to the Coral Adventurer and the ship departed for its next destination at 3:35 p.m.
According to the schedule, it took the cruise ship five hours to return after realizing Ms Rees was not on board.
A search party was dispatched at 10.30pm and a rescue helicopter was dispatched from Cairns, but the search was canceled when the Coral Adventurer arrived at 3.30am, 60 Minutes reported.
Miss Rees was found dead the next day, 50 meters from the road.
Speaking on the programme, Fern Trent, who once guided walks on the Coral Adventurer, said it was established practice to radio the ship if someone had a problem.
Ms Trent said she believed it was “shocking” to leave a sick guest and find her own way.
“It’s shocking that you didn’t radio this. And I think what’s most shocking is that you missed the number of people,” he said.
In a statement to the programme, Coral Expeditions said Ms Rees’ death was devastating.
“We are deeply sorry to Ms Rees’ family for their loss and the pain and suffering caused by her death.
“Although Coral Expeditions has comprehensive safety systems and procedures in place, we acknowledge that some of these were not adequately implemented on this tragic day.
“Ms Rees’ death has left our community deeply shaken and we will continue to co-operate fully with any ongoing investigations.
“Coral Expeditions has implemented additional systems and procedures to further strengthen protections for our guests.”
Ms Rees said she believed the march should be canceled if conditions were unacceptable.
“Someone had to make that decision and say ‘it’s too hot, we’re not going for a walk.'”
