The family of a grandmother who tragically passed away after being left on an island by a high-end cruise liner suspects she was instructed by a guide to return to the ship solo.
Suzanne Rees, aged 81, became separated from her party during a trek to the peak of isolated Lizard Island in the Great Barrier Reef on October 25, 2025.
She had been an active participant in a Sydney hiking club and received medical clearance before embarking on a $30,000, 60-day luxury voyage aboard the Coral Adventurer, managed by Coral Expeditions and owned by NRMA.
Despite her robust health, Suzanne began to feel unwell midway through the Lizard Island hike, which was the cruise’s inaugural stop, under scorching midday heat.
“A fellow hiker noted that my mother wasn’t feeling well—those were the words, ‘not too good’—and it seems she was advised to return to the ship,” Kate Rees, Suzanne’s daughter, recounted during an interview on 60 Minutes on Sunday.
Reports suggest that Ms. Rees was directed to navigate the challenging path back to the shore alone.
The grandmother never made it to the shoreline, but nevertheless the ship left without her.
It took an astonishing five hours for the staff aboard the Coral Adventurer to realise Ms Rees hadn’t returned to the ship. The alarm was raised when she failed to show for dinner.
Suzanne Rees (above) was in full health when she died after being left behind by a cruise ship on a remote island in the Great Barrier Reef
Ms Rees’ daughter, Kate (above), was told by another passenger that her mother was asked to hike back to the ship alone when she told a tour guide she was feeling unwell
The woman was reported missing hours after she failed to return to the Coral Adventurer (vessel pictured)
Ms Rees’s body was found 50m off the hiking trail on October 26, 2025 – the day after she disappeared. She died of heatstroke.
Kate believes the hot weather on the day of the hike should have seen staff on the cruise, which is marketed to retirees, call the walk off.
‘My mum was capable. She walked all the time. And I think what should have happened if the conditions were unacceptable, the walk should have been cancelled in the first place,’ Kate said.
‘Somebody needed to make that decision and say, ‘too hot, we’re not doing a walk’.’
Kate and other members of Ms Rees’ family have been left with many questions in the wake of her death, which they say NRMA and Coral Expeditions have not answered.
The thought of her mother’s final moments haunt Kate, she often thinks about how the 81-year-old would have felt completely abandoned while alone on the remote island.
‘We did get contact from NRMA but by then I felt like we were a loose end that needed to be tidied up,’ Kate said.
‘It would have been horrible.’
Boaties have claimed that cruise ship crew did a headcount of snorkelling passengers returning to the vessel but not those who explored Lizard Island (pictured)
Ms Rees (above) was found dead just 50m from the hiking trail the day after the boat left the island
The woman’s body was found 50m off the walking track on Lizard Island’s Cook’s Look summit. Pictured is the search
Kate has called on NRMA and Coral Expeditions, which respectively owned and operated the cruise, to answer Ms Rees’ family’s questions (pictured is investigators boarding the ship)
In a statement to 60 Minutes, Coral Expeditions described Ms Rees’ death as ‘devastating’ and said the company is ‘deeply sorry’.
‘While Coral Expeditions had comprehensive safety systems and procedures in place, we acknowledge some of these were not adequately implemented on this tragic day,’ it said.
‘Ms Rees’ death has shocked our people to the core and we will continue to co-operate fully with the ongoing investigations.
‘Coral Expeditions has introduced additional systems and procedures to further strengthen protections for our guests.’
NRMA similarly said it would ‘continue to assist the authorities to determine exactly what happened in the lead up to this tragic event’.
‘We recognise many questions remain unanswered, but we believe it is important to respect the investigation process,’ it said.
