Her dream vacation turned into a tragedy. Colleen Monfoe, a 68-year-old seasoned diver, disappeared during a sea trip in Indonesia on September 26. Part of his body was found a few days later by a fisherman in the entrails of a shark, more than a hundred kilometers from the dive site, reports The New York Post.
The American tourist, a mother of two from Michigan, United States, was vacationing with her husband, Mike, in Indonesia. She was diving with a group around Puluau Reong Island when she was swept away by the current. After searches turned up nothing eight days later, she was declared dead.
“Colleen’s body was identifiable”
At the beginning of October, 120 kilometers away, a fisherman from East Timor caught a visibly unhealthy shark. “I thought he had swallowed plastic or a fishing net,” said the fisherman. We opened it to figure out the problem and inside were the remains of a woman,” along with her wetsuit and swimsuit.
An investigation was opened by the East Timorese authorities, who launched a call for witnesses. Authorities also contacted the Indonesian coast guard.
One of her friends, Kim Sass, believes in a message published on Facebook that the shark was not the cause of her friend’s death. “(A shark’s) stomach contains powerful acids and enzymes that quickly break down food into smaller particles,” she explains, adding that in this case, “Colleen’s body was identifiable.”
“His fingerprints (they are also identifiable) are used by the U.S. Embassy and local government as proof of death. This would not have been possible if the shark had attacked her several weeks ago,” she continues.
Advanced “medical problem”
Based on the data from the dive computer, the photos taken during the dive trip and the testimonies of the two other divers, Kim Kass believes that her friend died “as a result of a medical problem”.
“There was a downdraft where the group turned around, but it was manageable. I have done over 1000 dives with this lovely woman; she was an excellent diver. I don’t think it was the environment and certainly not a shark that killed her,” she concludes.
According to the victim’s husband, “she would have been heartbroken to know that a shark had died because of her and that her death was, once again, giving sharks a bad reputation.”
