The remains of a US scuba diver who went missing during a boat-dive in a remote part of Indonesia appear to have been found in a shark’s stomach – but her husband and friends dispute that it was the animal that caused her death, and say she would have been horrified for a shark to get the blame.
Colleen Monfore, 68, was separated from the rest of a group of seven divers by strong currents while at a depth of about 7m off Pulau Reong, a small island near Wetar in the Alor Archipelago, on 26 September.
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The group had turned in response to a change in current direction and the presence of a downcurrent, at which point she was thought still to have had half a tank of air remaining.
The dive-guide was unable to reach Monfore to help her back to their boat, and her disappearance prompted an eight-day search of the area.
On 6 October a fisherman in Timor-Leste, some 120km south of Reong and outside Indonesian territory, reported killing a shark that he claimed appeared to have been in distress, and finding parts of a woman’s body in its stomach, along with remnants of a wetsuit and swimsuit.
The Timor-Leste authorities liaised with the Indonesian Sea & Coast Guard, but while indications from family and friends are that the body has been identified as Monfore’s, that has yet to be officially confirmed.
Putting the record straight
Monfore, a mother of two, had been on a seven-week holiday dive-tour with her husband Mike. Old friends from Michigan Rick & Kim Sass, who for many years before their retirement had owned a dive-centre, say that Mike Monfore had contacted them following his wife’s death in an effort to put the record straight about her fate.
They have described her as a very experienced diver, and say that the currents on the dive had been considered manageable and that she had most probably died as the result of an unspecified medical issue. While It was possible that a shark had consumed her body after death, it was highly unlikely to have attacked her or caused her to die. Shark attacks are rare in the area.
“Sharks have a stomach that is adapted for rapid digestion,” stated Kim Sass on social media. “The stomach contains strong acids and enzymes that break down the food quickly into smaller particles.
“Colleen’s body was identifiable. Her fingerprints (again identifiable) are being used by our US embassy and the local government for proof of death. This would not be possible if the shark had attacked her weeks ago.”
Sass says that she had carried out at least a thousand dives with Monfore and that she was an excellent diver. Mike Monfore’s dive-computer data, photos taken on the dive and statements from the other divers and dive-guide together suggested that her friend had died as the result of a medical issue.
“I don’t believe it was the environment and certainly not a shark that ended her life,” she says. “Colleen’s husband said she would have been heartsick to know a shark died because of her – and that her death is giving sharks, once again, a bad name.”
Also on Divernet: ALOR UNTO ITSELF, ALOR AQUAMEN
