Friends of American woman eaten by shark while diving off Indonesia reveal new theory into the tragedy

Friends of an American tourist eaten by a shark while diving off the coast of Indonesia have revealed a new theory about the tragedy.

Colleen Monfore, 68, a retired mother of two from Michigan, had just begun her seven-week diving trip with her husband Mike when she went missing in the ocean near Pulau Reong Island on September 26.

Authorities say she was diving with six friends and a guide when a strong current swept her away around 9 a.m. local time. The guide was unable to pull her back into the boat.

Rescue teams searched for eight days before finally giving up on October 3 due to dangerous sea conditions and the low chance of finding her.

Then a fisherman in neighboring East Timor found human remains in the belly of a shark on Sunday.

Authorities have since been able to confirm that the remains were those of Monfore through her fingerprints, Rick Sass, a longtime friend who has been in contact with her family. told the New York Post.

But he and his wife are confident that Monfore, whom they describe as an experienced deep-sea diver, was not killed by the shark.

“We don’t believe this was a shark attack,” Sass said. “Mike thinks she had a medical problem in the water.”

He said he and his wife Kim – with whom he ran a dive shop for more than 40 years – reviewed photos of the dive, spoke at length with Mike about the incident and reviewed his dive computer data.

They now say Monfore became separated from the group when they hit rough waters, forcing them to turn around.

Monfore was probably about 25 feet deep at the time and probably only had half a tank of air left, Sass said.

“There was a downward current at the turning point, but it was manageable,” Kim wrote on Facebook, noting that she has “easily completed over 1,000 dives.”[s] with this kind woman.

“I don’t believe it was the environment and certainly not a shark that ended her life.”

Rick added that Monfore and her husband have “taken tremendous numbers of trips with us over 30 years,” including to Bali, the Philippines and Bikini Atoll.

“She knew what she was doing.”

Mike was already an avid diver when he met Colleen in high school in their native South Dakota, and she too fell in love with the ocean.

The two had two children and eventually four grandchildren, but Sass said they never stopped traveling the world and exploring the seas together.

“They were both retired and really enjoying life,” he said.

“We called her ‘Saint Colleen,’” he added. ‘She was a wonderful woman. She loved nature and animals.

“I know she would never have wanted a shark to be blamed for this tragedy.”

Sass noted that shark attacks on divers are extremely rare.

“We’ve dived with hammerhead sharks, tiger sharks and bull sharks,” he said. “You have to show them respect and be careful, but they won’t just attack you.”

Shark attacks are extremely rare in Indonesia, with only 11 unprovoked attacks since 1749, according to the latest figures. International shark attack file data, which were published earlier this year.

Before the case involving Monroe, the last reported shark attack in Indonesia occurred near Bali in July 2022, when Russian surfer Sasha Utkina was bitten by a small shark. She suffered lacerations to her foot and was treated at a local hospital.

The regions in Indonesia with the most reported shark attacks are the Riau Islands and East Nusa Tenggara, data shows.

Now, Sass said, Mike is struggling not only with Colleen’s sudden death, but also with trying to get her remains home.

‘He’s barely slept, partly because he’s on the phone with Indonesia, which is a 12-hour time difference.

“He’s answering calls in the middle of the night and talking to us during the day, and… he just can’t sleep because of this terrible thing that happened.”

Authorities in Indonesia say they are investigating the incident.