The 80-year-old from Australia who was found dead on a remote island after having one cruise ship she forgot her, she identified herself and her daughter’s testimony is shocking.
New South Wales native Susan Rees will be remembered as a keen hiker and gardener after her death on Australia’s Lizard Island on Saturday (25/10/2025). She died on the remote island in North Queensland, on the first stop of a 60-day cruise around Australia, with a ticket worth $80,000.
Kathryn Rees, the 80-year-old’s daughter, said that her mother felt unwell during an organized hike on the mountain at Lizard Island and was asked to get off the mountain unaccompanied.
“Then the ship left, apparently without counting passengers. At some stage in that sequence, or shortly after, mum died, alone,” he told The Australian newspaper. She said her family were “shocked and saddened” that their grandmother had allegedly been left behind due to “negligence and a lack of common sense”.
It is even recalled that the 80-year-old woman was not reported as missing until 6 p.m. on Saturday nightwhen she didn’t arrive for dinner, five hours after she allegedly left.
The lifeless body of Mrs. Rees was found on Sunday, 50 meters away from the hiking trail leading to Lizard Island’s highest peak, Cook’s Look. Her death came just a day after the Coral Adventurer set sail from Cairns on Friday afternoon.
Witnesses such as sailor Tracy Iris and her partner Matthew, who were on the SV Vellamo moored near Lizard Island, they were listening to the emergency broadcasts sent by the Coral Expeditions ship.
“They did count the snorkelers (we heard) but not the other visitors to the island it seems,” Ms Ayris told the Cairns Post.
“The last people came down from the path and got into the boat, and the (ship) he left very soon after that.
It wasn’t long from the time the last passengers left the beach to the time they pulled up anchor. Even we commented: “Wow, they went fast.”
Vessel Finder indicated that the cruise ship sailed back to Lizard Island at approximately 9 p.m. on Saturday and arrived at about 2 A.M. on Sunday.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has launched an investigation into the circumstances of her death.