Colleen Monfore, a 68-year-old Michigan resident and mother of two, set out on what was meant to be an idyllic seven-week diving holiday in Indonesia with her husband, Mike. However, just days into their adventure, tragedy struck during a group dive near Pulau Redang island on September 26. Monfore went missing, and two weeks later, fishermen discovered a shark stomach with human remains, approximately 113 km from where she disappeared. The remains were later confirmed to be Monfore’s through fingerprint identification, according to a family friend.
Despite the initial belief that Monfore had fallen victim to a shark attack, her close friend Rick Sass, who has been in regular contact with the family, believes a medical issue may have caused her death. “We do not believe this was a shark attack. Mike thinks she suffered some kind of medical issue in the water,” Sass told The New York Post.
Sass and his wife Kim, experienced divers who co-owned a dive shop for over 40 years, reviewed data from Mike’s diving computer and analyzed photos from the dive. According to them, Monfore was separated from her group due to rough waters but was not killed by the shark. She had likely been around 24 feet underwater with half a tank of air remaining when the incident occurred. “I’ve easily done 1,000+ dives with her. I don’t believe it was the environment or a shark that ended her life,” Kim Sass shared in a Facebook post.
Sass emphasized that shark attacks on divers are extremely rare, adding that Monfore had extensive experience diving with different species, including hammerhead, tiger, and bull sharks. “Sharks don’t just attack you. Colleen loved nature and animals, and she would never have wanted a shark to be blamed for this tragedy,” said Sass.
Indonesian authorities are conducting an investigation to determine the exact cause of Monfore’s death. Fishermen who discovered the shark said the predator was in poor health, leading them to cut it open to uncover the problem. Inside, they found human remains, believed to be Monfore’s. The precise circumstances of how her body ended up inside the shark remain unclear.
