When Suzanne Rees, an adventurous 80-year-old grandmother from Sydney, set sail on the luxury Coral Adventurer cruise, she was likely expecting the trip of a lifetime—a 60-day circumnavigation of Australia, with the Great Barrier Reef’s Lizard Island as her first stop. Instead, her journey ended in tragedy, sparking investigations and raising uncomfortable questions about safety protocols on high-end cruises in Australia’s remote waters.
According to The Guardian and The Australian, Rees’s fate was sealed on Saturday, November 1, 2025, during an organized group hike to Lizard Island’s Cook’s Look summit. The day was sweltering, and Rees, feeling unwell, was asked by staff to head back down the mountain on her own. “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,” her daughter, Katherine Rees, recounted in a statement quoted by The Guardian.
What happened next has left both the Rees family and the broader public in shock. The Coral Adventurer, a vessel operated by NRMA’s Coral Expeditions and carrying 112 passengers, departed Lizard Island at 3:40pm—without Suzanne Rees. It took five hours before anyone noticed her absence, only when she failed to arrive for dinner. That’s when the alarm was raised and a frantic search-and-rescue operation began, involving land and sea teams, helicopters, and local police.
By the time the search teams found her body the next day, it was too late. Rees was discovered about 50 meters off the hiking trail leading to the Cook’s Look summit, a spot known for its challenging terrain and historical significance—British explorer Captain James Cook is believed to have first climbed it in 1770. The Lizard Island website even warns: “It covers four kilometres and at times is very steep so we recommend medium to high fitness and agility to safely undertake this hike.”
The circumstances of Rees’s death have prompted an outpouring of grief and anger from her family. Katherine Rees accused Coral Expeditions of a “failure of care and common sense,” telling The Guardian, “We are shocked and saddened that the Coral Adventurer left Lizard Island after an organised excursion without my Mum.” She added, “I hope a coroner’s inquiry will find out what the company should have done that might have saved Mum’s life.”
Coral Expeditions, for its part, has expressed condolences and pledged cooperation with all investigations. Mark Fifield, the company’s chief executive, said in a statement reported by The Australian and The New Indian Express: “We have expressed our heartfelt condolences to the Rees family and remain deeply sorry that this has occurred. We continue to provide our full support to the Rees family through this difficult time.” He emphasized that the company is working closely with Queensland Police, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), and other authorities. “We are unable to comment further while this process is underway,” he noted.
The incident has triggered multiple official investigations. Queensland Police have classified Rees’s death as “non-suspicious” and referred the matter to the state coroner for a full inquiry. Meanwhile, AMSA has stepped in, issuing a notice to the master of the Coral Adventurer prohibiting any new passengers from boarding. According to AMSA’s statement, staff will meet the vessel when it docks in Darwin. The safety authority is specifically investigating why Rees was not accounted for during the boarding process at Lizard Island, a critical question given the ship’s failure to conduct a passenger headcount before departure.
The fallout from the tragedy has been swift. Coral Expeditions cancelled the remainder of the 60-day voyage, citing both the “tragic passing of Suzanne Rees and previous mechanical issues.” Passengers and crew were informed on Wednesday, with the company promising full refunds and arranging chartered flights to return everyone home. “It was increasingly apparent, given the circumstances of the last week, that we could not deliver on this promise,” Fifield explained, referencing the company’s commitment to “delivering high-quality experiences to our guests.”
For many, the tragedy on Lizard Island has revived memories of a notorious incident from 1998, when American couple Tom and Eileen Lonergan were accidentally abandoned at sea during a group scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef. The tour boat crew didn’t realize they were missing until two days later; the Lonergans’ bodies were never found. That incident led to sweeping changes in Australia’s tourism safety regulations, especially around headcounts and passenger tracking. The Rees case, however, suggests that even with such regulations in place, lapses can still occur—with devastating consequences.
Eyewitnesses have added further detail to the timeline. Traci Ayris, a yachtie anchored near Lizard Island, told the Cairns Post that while she heard headcounts for snorkellers, there didn’t appear to be any for passengers hiking on the island. “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,’” Ayris recalled.
Adding to the family’s distress was the lack of timely communication. The first contact from Coral Expeditions reportedly came six hours after Rees’s body was found. “The Coral team has been in contact with the woman’s family, and we will continue to offer support to them through this difficult process,” Fifield said, as reported by Daily Mail Australia.
Lizard Island, a remote and pristine destination 90 kilometers northeast of Cooktown, is popular with divers, snorkellers, and hikers for its natural beauty and isolation. But that same remoteness can quickly turn perilous when things go wrong. Cook’s Look, the summit Rees attempted to climb, is renowned for its steep and challenging ascent—a fact not lost on the island’s official guides, who advise early-morning hikes to avoid the heat and stress of the day.
As authorities continue their investigations, families of cruise passengers and the wider tourism industry are left grappling with uncomfortable questions. How could a passenger simply be left behind? Why wasn’t a headcount conducted before departure? And what further safeguards are needed to prevent such tragedies from happening again?
For now, the tragic loss of Suzanne Rees stands as a sobering reminder of the risks that can lurk behind even the most luxurious adventures, and the vital importance of vigilance, care, and communication in the world of remote tourism.
