Cruise passenger, 80, found dead after being abandoned on Great Barrier Reef island

An investigation is underway after an 80-year-old cruise passenger was found dead on Lizard Island in the Great Barrier Reef, a day after she was left behind by her cruise ship. 

What we know:

Suzanne Rees, a resident of Sydney, was on the second day of a cruise circumnavigating Australia when she disembarked the "Coral Adventurer" at Lizard Island last Saturday for an organized hike.

Rees was first noticed missing when she did not appear in the ship's dining room for dinner. She was found dead on the island by a search helicopter crew the following day, about 55 yards off the hiking trail.

The ship left the resort island about five hours before reporting her missing late on Saturday.

The newspaper "The Australian" reported that she appeared to have fallen from a cliff or slope.

The cruise ship returned to Lizard Island early Sunday morning.

What they're saying:

The passenger's daughter, Katherine Rees, who also lives in Sydney, publicly criticized the cruise operator.

"We are shocked and saddened that the ‘Coral Adventurer’ left Lizard Island after an organised excursion without my mum," Katherine Rees said in a statement.

"From the little we have been told, it seems that there was a failure of care and common sense. We understand from the police that it was a very hot day, and mum felt ill on the hill climb. She was asked to head down, unescorted. Then the ship left, apparently without doing a passenger count. At some stage in that sequence, or shortly after, mum died, alone," the daughter added.

Katherine Rees also stated she hoped a coroner’s inquiry would "find out what the company should have done that might have saved mum’s life."

Mark Fifield, chief executive of Coral Expeditions, issued a statement expressing condolences and affirming cooperation.

"We have expressed our heartfelt condolences to the Rees family and remain deeply sorry that this has occurred," Fifield said in a statement.

"We continue to provide our full support to the Rees family through this difficult time," he added, noting that it would be inappropriate to comment further while official investigations are underway.

What's next:

The death has been referred for investigation to the coroner's court, with police classifying it as a "non-suspicious death."

Additionally, the tragedy is being investigated by two regulatory bodies.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, a safety regulator, is looking into why Rees may not have been accounted for when passengers were boarding at Lizard Island.

A workplace safety watchdog is also investigating the incident.

The backstory:

The incident has drawn comparisons to a similar tragedy that put Australia’s Great Barrier Reef tourism safety standards under intense scrutiny in 1998. 

That year, American couple Tom and Eileen Lonergan were abandoned at sea during a group scuba dive. The tour boat crew did not realize they were missing until two days later, and the Lonergans’ bodies were never found.