American Tourist Missing in Maluku, Body Later Found in Shark’s Stomach
A 68-year-old American tourist, Colleen Monfore, died while diving in the waters of Maluku, Indonesia.
The incident began when Monfore and her husband, Mike, visited Maluku for a vacation. Monfore was on a seven-week diving tour when she suddenly disappeared on the 26th of September while diving with a group around Reong Island, located between northern East Timor and the coast of Southwest Maluku Regency.
Two weeks later, fishermen in Timor Leste caught a shark more than 112 kilometres from where Monfore disappeared. Upon cutting open the animal, they found human body parts in its stomach, which were later confirmed to belong to Monfore. Authorities identified her using fingerprint analysis.
Despite the harrowing discovery, family friend Rick Sass believes Monfore did not die as a result of being attacked by the shark.
“We do not believe this was a shark attack. Mike [the deceased’s husband] thinks she suffered some kind of medical issue in the water,” Sass told the press on Tuesday, 8th October.
Sass also noted that, in his experience, shark attacks on divers are extremely rare.
“And sharks don’t behave that way. We’ve dived with hammerheads, tiger sharks, and bull sharks. You need to respect them and be cautious, but they won’t just attack you,” he explained.
The head of the Alor Regency Marine and Fisheries Service, Muhammad Saleh Goro, confirmed the discovery of a woman’s body in the stomach of a shark by fishermen in the Liquica District, Timor Leste. He also revealed that the investigation into the victim’s identity was conducted by the Indonesian Embassy and authorities in Timor Leste. As of the publication of this article, Monfore’s official cause of death has yet to be confirmed.
“The victim’s family has provided information about the clothes she was wearing, which has been submitted to the Indonesian Embassy in Timor Leste,” added Goro.
According to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File, there were only 69 confirmed unprovoked shark bites worldwide last year. Of those, 94% involved snorkelers, waders, and surfers, while the remaining cases were categorised as “other.”
Source: indonesiaexpat.id
