An American tourist was swallowed by a shark while on an underwater excursion with friends. The body of Colleen Monfore, a Michigan native, was found inside the stomach of the fish after being dragged out to sea by the current.
The 68-year-old woman and her six friends were in the island of Pulau Reong, where they were spending a dream vacation. On September 26, the woman was swept away by the current, and none of those present were able to save her.
Over the past weekend, a local fisherman managed to catch the shark in the vicinity of East Timor. The man noticed that the animal was behaving strangely: shortly thereafter, he was confronted with a rather gruesome scene.
“When we caught it, the shark was not behaving normally,” said the fisherman, ”I thought it had swallowed some plastic or nets. When we opened it, we found the remains of a woman.” Local authorities said they also found the remains of the wetsuit worn by the unfortunate Monfore the day the current had dragged her further and further out to sea. Currently, the investigation is still ongoing.
The 68-year-old woman was later identified by local authorities through fingerprints.
Colleen Monfore was originally from Holland, Michigan: the 68-year-old, a retiree, was in Indonesia for a 7-week vacation with her husband Mike and some friends. According to the latter, it would appear that the woman died as a result of a heart problem experienced during the fateful dive on Sept. 26.
“There was a current, but it was manageable,” wrote Kim Sass, one of Monfore’s friends, in a Facebook post, who also said that she had made over 1,000 dives with her friend. “I don’t think it was the sea or a shark that ended her life.”
“She was an amazing person,” Sass concluded, ”We called her St. Colleen. She loved nature and animals. I know she would have never wanted a shark to be blamed for this tragedy”.
