The daughter of an elderly woman who died on a remote Australian island after being left behind by her cruise ship has accused the operator of “failure of care and common sense”.
Eighty-year-old Suzanne Rees was taking part in a 60-day cruise around Australia and was on the second day of the trip when she disembarked along with some other passengers at Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef to hike up the island’s highest peak.
Her daughter, Katherine Rees, has since tried to piece together the sequence of events on Saturday on the cruise ship Coral Adventurer.
Rees reportedly became unwell during the trek.
“From the little we have been told, it seems that there was a failure of care and common sense,” she said.
“We understand from the police that it was a very hot day, and Mum felt 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 said the family was “shocked and saddened that the Coral Adventurer left Lizard Island after an organised excursion without my mum, Suzanne”.
When the Coral Adventurer departed the island later that afternoon, no one on board appeared to realise that Rees had not returned. Her body was discovered the following day during an aerial and ground search coordinated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) and Queensland police.
In a statement, the safety authority said: “Amsa will 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.
“Amsa offers its condolences to the family and loved ones of the person who has passed. Our thoughts are with them during this difficult time.”
An 81-year-old woman has died on Lizard Island in far north Queensland after the cruise ship she was travelling on left without her. #cruise #stranded #desertisland #lizardisland #fnq pic.twitter.com/UVRcVhBw8F
— 7NEWS Australia (@7NewsAustralia) October 28, 2025
The daughter described her mother as an “active 80-year-old” who enjoyed gardening and bushwalking.
Satellite tracking data indicated that the ship initially sailed away from Lizard Island before turning back later that night. Authorities were notified of the missing passenger around 9pm local time on Saturday, prompting a search that concluded early Sunday when Rees’s body was found on the island.
Coral Expeditions’ chief executive, Mark Fifield, said: “We are working closely with Queensland Police and other authorities to support their investigation. We are unable to comment further while this process is underway.”
Ms Rees has called for a coronial inquiry into her mother’s death. “I hope that the coronial inquiry will find out what the company should have done that might have saved Mum’s life.”
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