On September 26, 2024, Colleen Monfore, a 68-year-old retired mother of two from Holland, Michigan, disappeared during a diving trip near Pulau Reong Island, Indonesia. Monfore was swept away by strong currents while diving with friends, and despite the guide’s efforts to rescue her, she was lost to the ocean.
An eight-day search for Monfore yielded no results. However, on October 6, a fisherman in Timor-Leste, roughly 70 miles from Monfore’s last known location, caught a shark he believed had ingested either debris or a fishing net. Upon dissecting the shark, the fisherman found human remains along with fragments of a black wetsuit and bathing suit within the shark’s stomach. The fisherman recalled the incident: “The shark was caught but it was not in normal health. I thought it had swallowed plastic or a fishing net.”
According to Rick Sass, a close friend of Monfore’s who has been in touch with the family during this challenging period, authorities managed to identify Monfore through her fingerprints.
In a statement on social media, Kim Sass, Rick’s wife, revealed that although there was a down current at the turnaround site, it was not unmanageable. Having completed over a thousand dives with Monfore, she did not attribute her friend’s death to either the conditions or a shark attack.
Rick Sass, who, along with his wife, has run a dive shop for over 40 years, mentioned that Monfore was an experienced diver, having joined them on multiple trips over the past 30 years to destinations such as Bali, the Philippines, and Bikini Atoll. Monfore’s husband, Mike, suspects that she may have experienced a health problem while in the water and died long before the shark ate her.
The Sasses, after reviewing dive photos, discussing the incident with Mike Monfore, and examining data from his dive computer, believe that turbulent waters caused the group to turn back, resulting in Monfore’s separation from the group. They do not believe a shark attack was the cause of death. At the time of her disappearance, Monfore was approximately 24 feet below the surface and had about half a tank of air left.
Rick Sass reported that Mike Monfore is grappling with his wife’s death and the difficulties of repatriating her remains. The 12-hour time difference with Indonesia has compounded his sleeplessness as he fields calls throughout the night and spends his days speaking with friends.
The Indonesian authorities have confirmed that an investigation into the incident is ongoing.
