The couple left stranded in the Great Barrier Reef | Forensic Files

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our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at anytime you need support please contact
your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support please see the show notes for this
episode on your app or on our website the weather conditions in tropical Far North Queensland on Sunday January 25
1998 were ideal for a day out on the Great Barrier Reef it was hot and sunny with blue skies and the glass-like water
was still and clear shortly after 8 a.m. the 26 passengers who had booked a diving expedition with the charter boat
company outer edge dive gathered at the marina in Port Douglas a quiet resort town located 65 kilometers from Cannes
the region's largest city nine were certified divers eleven were student divers and six were day-trippers all
were excited to experience one of the seven natural wonders of the world and explore three of the 2,900 individual
coral reefs that stretched over the three hundred and forty four thousand square kilometer area five crew members
from outer edge dive were overseeing the day's activities including the businesses co-owner Jeffrey man better
known as Jack who was acting as relieving skipper the passengers were asked to store their shoes in racks by
the dock to be collected upon their return and at 8:30 a.m. they bought a DMV outer edge to commence
their journey they visited three different dive sites throughout the day arriving at their final destination of
st. Crispin's reef just after 2 p.m. located 38 nautical miles off the coast on the eastern border of the Great
Barrier Reef st. Crispin is a popular diving and snorkeling spot it contains a spectacular abundance of marine life and
coral formations but with only four boat moorings it is typically quiet outer edge dived seldom visited the site as it
didn't offer much protection and was known for its chameleon-like quality where the calm waters could quickly give
way to fast-moving tides the visiting divers entered the sea at around 2:20 p.m. with the warm 29 degrees Celsius
water leading some to forego their wetsuits in favor of swimsuits although the water
was only 20 meters deep the adhiraj crew members advised the divers not to go any deeper than 12
meters after 40 minutes of exploring the reef the passengers were called back to
the boat to embark on their 90-minute journey back to Port Douglas they departed st. Crispin at 3:20 p.m. with
the crew serving food and chilled beverages to their happy and relaxed the guests the boat docked at the marina at
5:00 p.m. and after everyone had departed the crew discovered a dive bag and a plastic bag had been left on board
this wasn't unusual as passengers often left belongings behind by accident the bags were set safely aside with the
expectation they would soon be claimed by their rightful owners the following day of Monday January 26 a 17-year old
had a reg crew member was working on another tour when he came across six loose diving weights on a seabed not far
from Saint Crispian reef weights are worn by divers to counteract to the buoyancy of their bodies and diving
equipment making it easier to move around underwater and remain submerged it was odd for so many weights to be
lost in such a remote location but the crew member didn't think much of it and returned to the items to the company
co-owner jackin n called the find a bonus at 7 p.m. on Tuesday January 27 nan noticed that the bags that have been
left behind two days prior still hadn't been claimed he peered inside the dive bag discovering a contained a wallet
some papers a t-shirt and eyeglasses while the plastic bag contains more clothing the owners diving equipment
including snorkels wetsuits and fins were nowhere to be seen nann then checked the infantry and
realized that two rental air tanks were also unaccounted for feeling like he had
quote been hit by a ton of bricks nan called another crew member and said I'm concerned that we may have left two
divers on the reef it looks really sus [Music] [Music] news of the concerning discovery spread
to other crew members prompting them to gather at the outer edge offices to discuss the matter
Jackie man had arranged the unclaimed contents of the diving bag on a couch and kept repeating to his staff this is
all very sus the wallet identified the items as belonging to an American couple 33 year-old Tom Lonnegan and his 28
year-old wife Eileen their shoes were still in the racks at the dock and staff recognized the clothing as having been
worn by the couple prior to them changing into their wetsuits dive companies were required to keep details
about all their passengers including the addresses of where they were staying and the Lonnegan accommodation was
listed as the Walkabout hostel in cannes nan called the hostel and enquired about
the couple only to be told they hadn't been seen since leaving on that diving trip to the Great Barrier Reef two days
earlier Tom and Eileen met and fell in love while attending Louisiana State University in their hometown of Baton
Rouge they had a lot in common both were raised in Catholic families and were dedicated students they shared a love
for the outdoors and enjoyed spending time together hiking and camping with their families describing them as
inseparable in college they both joined at the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps and after graduating they
moved to Jefferson Texas where Tom got a job as a chemical engineer for the Air Force while Eileen began working as a
teacher On June 24 1988 they surprised their friends and family by eloping quietly in
a private ceremony seven years later in 1995 they fulfilled a lifelong dream of Arlene's by volunteering as teachers for
the United States Peace Corps they moved to the South Pacific island nation of Tuvalu where they lived without
electricity or a telephone food and mail was delivered by Bo once every six weeks
and although the work and the lifestyle was challenging the couple embraced the adventure they were both passionate
scuba divers with over 80 dives each on their record and - they took to the waters whenever conditions were right
they loved to learning about coral and fish with their most unforgettable diving in Fiji in 1997 when they swam
with whales Tom wrote about the experience in his personal diary stating none of our other dives have been
comparable I just hoped now that we haven't been spoiled after completing their two-year stint in the Peace Corps
the Lonergan's planned to return to the United States and moved to Hawaii said that Tom could study marine biology they
decided to spend three months traveling around the world beforehand visiting Australia Indonesia and France stopping
at some of the world's best diving spots along the way Queensland was their first
destination and they arrived in Cairns on January 15 1998 where they checked in to the Walkabout hostel they were eager
to go diving right away but tropical storms had stirred up the sea resulting in murky waters the Lonergan's attempted
one dive but were dissatisfied with the conditions and decided to extend their stay in the hope that the weather would
improve when the water finally cleared up they booked a trip through the outer edge
dive company and on the morning of Sunday January 25 they caught a bus to the Port Douglas marina for the boats
8:30 departure on each boat a member of staff was designated the role of dive master it was their job to maintain a
written log of when each diver entered and exited the water the role of dive master for the Lonnegan strip had been
assigned to Cathy Traverso but it wasn't unusual for crew members to swap jobs throughout the day records taken on
January 25 showed that at the first two dive sites Tom and Eileen had been 10 to
15 minutes late to return to the boat at the voyages final destination of st. Crispin they were recorded in the
logbook is entering the water at 2:20 p.m. around at the same time as everyone else but there was no record of them
returning to the boat it was the skipper's responsibility to do a final head count after each dive to keep track
of the number of passengers aboard but it was unclear exactly whether this had occurred this realization two days later
sparked immediate fears for the couple's safety after identifying Tom and Eileen's abandoned belongings on Tuesday
January 27 Jack and Ian notified the police at 8:15 p.m. who arrived at the outer edge officers shortly after Senior
Constable Steve Burgess assembled the panicked staff and told them now is not the time to protect your backsides two
peoples lives may depend on what you tell me honesty is the best policy regulations required that all scuba
divers be isolated in two different groups based on experience with a separate group for snorkelers the crew
recalled that Tom and Eileen had turned down an instructor and had instead requested to dive together as it
tene given they were experienced than competent divers they were given permission to do so unlike most of the
other divers who adopted to enter the warm waters of st. Crispin's reef in nothing but their swimsuits
the couple had chosen to wear full 5 millimeter thick wetsuits gloves and caps and tadic entered the water
carrying a tank containing 60 minutes of air supply when the boat prepared to leave at 3 p.m.
none of the crew recalled seeing anyone left behind in the water nor were any micro bubbles which are released by
submerged divers visible on the surface micro bubbles could typically be seen within 200 feet of the reef and the
Lonnegan 's weren't expected to have swam any further than that the boat was anchored only 10 feet off the reef and
at the end of the expedition diving instructor Carl Jason a ski had cleared the anchor himself to avoid damaging the
reef as far as he was aware he was the last person to exit the water that day Carl said the boat's engine had run idle
for 10 minutes with the exhausts clearly visible underwater even if the Lonnegan
had swam in the wrong direction this alone should have alerted them to return although Carl admitted they may not have
been able to hear the engine as the sound may have been masked by the reef police asked the crew whose
responsibility it was to maintain the passenger log Kathy Traverso who acted as dive master on the day of the trip
said it was the responsibility of diving instructor her old closer Herald agreed
but said Kathy also had a responsibility as she had taken the last dive for the day Kathy was unsure whether the
Lonnegan is returned to the boat recalling I thought I remembered somebody I didn't focus I just can't
remember the boats manifest recorded 26 passengers when asked if a headcount had
been conducted before returning to shore had rolled closer said I think someone might have done one I'm just not sure he
later clarified the skipper told me to count the number of passengers I told the skipper 24 just then he said to me
there are two people who just jumped off the boat so I counted those two people 24 plus 2
equals 26 after the expedition a bus had been scheduled to take the 26 visiting divers from the Port Douglas marina to
their various places of accommodation when Tom and Eileen failed the show the bus driver looked for them at an ice
cream parlor cafes and a pub but was unable to find them he dropped the remaining 24 passengers off and upon
returning to the bus company office informed operator Curran Anse Carnival of the situation the bus company had an
agreement in place where if they failed to collect a passenger the to abode operators were liable for their
alternative trouble costs according to Corinne she phoned outer edge and spoke to a man she couldn't identify who
confirmed it was okay for the bus to have departed without the Lonnegan x' as visitors to australia there would
have been no one else to raise the alarm when the couple failed to return to their hostel that nine
the United States consulate in Sydney was notified that the Lonnegan were missing who in turn broke the news to
Tom and Darlene's families informing them that they shouldn't get their hopes up that the couple would be found at
10:20 p.m. the national headquarters of the Australian search and rescue service
were informed and a wide scale search was organized to commence at first light due to the two-day delay in anyone
noticing Tom and Eileen's absence the search grid had to be quadrupled by 6:00 a.m. the following morning of Wednesday
January 28 the couple had been lost at sea for 63 hours 17 aeroplanes two helicopters into numerous boats man's
with police and divers commenced the search they were joined by the MV outer edge with the jack man at the helm
dozens of volunteers also assisted with private boats local charters and fishing
vessels scouting the waters Navy divers focused on the area around Saint Crispin's reef known as fish City where
another diver had last seen the couple swimming 12 meters deep 12 hours of intensive search efforts covering a vast
area of sea and sky uncovered no trace of either Tom or Eileen that same day authorities began an investigation into
why it took two days before anyone noticed the couple missing detectives were called in and the Queensland state
government launched its own urgent investigation it was difficult for investigators to establish a clear
timeline of events preceding the disappearance as records kept by outer ads were ambiguous and some appeared to
us been altered timings recorded in the crew's personal logbooks didn't align with the vessels official logged nor
with witness statements estimates as to when the MV outer edge departed st. Crispin's raiffa very
within half an hour of 3:00 p.m. and it's arrival to Port Douglas was reported as anytime between 4:30 and
5:00 p.m. the full-scale search resumed at first light on Thursday January 29 by
this point news of the couple's disappearance had been picked up by media outlets in Australia and to the
United States distraught family members told reporters about the failure of the diving crew to ensure the couple had
boarded the boat with Eileen's grandfather asking it sounds pretty ridiculous don't they count heads or
check names Tom's mother Elizabeth Lonnegan stated we are devastated that it could be a mistake an accident is one
thing but if it was a failure on somebody's part to do what they should have it's even worse the families felt
helpless being so far away and unable to participate in the search Eileen's parents said all they could do was pray
with her father Johnny Haynes telling the media we don't see how God can refuse our prayers he has them in his
hands either he'll bring them back to us or he'll bring them to him himself in heaven
either way joy will be found detectives speculated that the MV outer edge had a left st. Crispin's quicker than usual in
an attempt to make up for lost time as the expedition was already running 40 minutes behind schedule outer edge
diving instructor colleges on our ski told reporters that a headcount had been taken before the boat left for sure but
the couple quote somehow fell through the system he explained further they asked specifically not to dive with the
dive master so they were diving on their own which is cool but if they didn't dive the plan then all of a sudden they
come to the surface and there's no boat there by Friday January 30 the airplane search was called off but a Queensland
emergency services helicopter remained in operation it had been four days since Tom and Eileen were reported missing and
the strong currents could have carried them far from their last known location in addition several storms hit the Coral
Sea area on the days following their disappearance a police spokesperson told the media the couple's chances of
survival were now almost non-existent that evening the air and sea search was officially called off while police and
volunteers continued to scour the coastlines on Sunday February 1 an inflatable buoyancy lifevest was discovered a Cowie
beach a crocodile-infested area roughly 65 kilometres north of where Tom and Eileen were last seen written on the
left-hand side of the vest were the words Tom Lonnegan Peace Corps Fiji police initiated a search focused around
Cowie Beach but didn't find anything else of significance exactly one week later on Sunday February 8 a scuba
diving fin marked Eileen L was recovered on the remote northern island of Indian
Head 80 kilometers north of where Tom's vest was found its Island two locations sparked hopes that the couple may have
reached land and could still be alive over the following days other items were recovered including an underwater camera
to dive tanks and a dive hood and buoyancy life vest with Eileen's name on them all items were in near-perfect
condition and to both life vests had been unbuckled indicating they had been deliberately removed around the same
time an employee of another diving - a company named Quicksilver found a green and gray women's wet suit matching
Eileen Sawyer's snacked to a pontoon scientists from the University of Queensland
- examined barnacle growth on the zipper and determined that had likely been submerged in the ocean since January 26
tear marks along the buttocks and armpit area were rumored to have been caused by
sharks but were later determined to have resulted from contact with coral considering Eileen's wetsuit wasn't
custom-made it would have caused the terrible chafing around the back of her legs and under her arms within several
hours likely delirious from prolonged exposure to the Sun experts believed she likely removed it
in a desperate attempt for comfort this act would have required her to remove her fins explaining why they had washed
up on shore without either of these items that wouldn't have taken long for Eileen to reach a point of sheer
exhaustion and dehydration and fall into unconsciousness authorities had maintained a tight-lipped approach
throughout their investigation but in late February a police spokesperson disclosed the most basic and most blunt
thing we can say is that it is quite clear that they were left behind at sea and although we cannot prove this that
they have perished the rest is quite a mystery on March 7 1998 it was announced that the outer edge dive company would
face charges for alleged breaches to Queensland's workplace health and safety legislation Eileen's parents and brother
arrived in Australia later that month and on April 1 they hold a memorial service for Tom and Eileen at st.
Crispin's reef placing two bouquets of flowers in the ocean as a minister read Bible passages aloud Eileen's brother
John Jr told the media we came to Queensland's fully realizing that we will never see Eileen and Tom again to
go to st. Crispin's was very important for us we will return home with memories of a very beautiful place where Arlene
and Tom lost their lives and of the generosity and hospitality of the people of Queensland
theories surrounding Tomlin Darlene's mysterious disappearance were abundant and on June 27 brisbin's Korea Mail
newspaper suggested that the couple may have faked their own deaths supporting this theory whether your ideal sea
conditions at the time of the dive which some felt would have made it easy for the pair to make the six kilometers swim
north to the nearest two brightly lit pontoon that was permanently moored at Agincourt reef there was also another
diving boat anchored six kilometers south of st. Crispin the fishing boat to the north and sightings of a third boat
in the area a channel marker beacon a partially submerged device used to identify safe water channels to navigate
through was also situated on the western side of st. Crispin and the northwesterly current led to a nearby
sand bank in addition the couple's decision that Don full diving gear was viewed by some that they were prepared
to navigate the ocean for an extended period of time the lack of damage to their recovered items suggests that they
may have intentionally discarded their equipment to create the illusion they had been lost at sea reports emerged
that in 1985 a man named Milton Harris who also came from the Lonergan's hometown of Baton Rouge and was a fellow
member of their church had staged his own disappearance from a ship in waters off New Zealand for the purpose of
making a fraudulent insurance claim some believed this story might have inspired
the Lonnegan to stage their own deaths but it seemed unlikely as their combined two life-insurance policies only
amounted to forty five thousand US dollars neither policy had been paid out and the
couple's bank accounts remained untouched in the weeks following their disappearance twenty-six alleged
sightings of the couple were reported across Australia none of which were deemed reliable
authorities also felt the couple would have encountered great difficulty trying to hide when their faces were plastered
all over national newspapers and television reports Graham Connor a member of the Port Douglas marine tours
operators Association who ran the local dive center believed the conditions were
mild enough and there was an ample amount of light remaining On January 25 to enable Tom and Eileen to reach the
pontoon nor other boats in proximity he told the aged newspaper there is no indication at this stage that they have
been killed at sea there are no bodies the equipment found has not been shredded it is almost impossible for
them to be taken by a shark there are not big sharks in the reef area where they were there are white tip reef or
black tip reef sharks they a dose of 2 meter sharks I've never heard of an attack by any of these and if there had
been one there would have been remnants of wetsuits and bodies somewhere there is absolutely nothing
graeme also said an unidentified boat had been sighted at the reef the day Tom and Eileen went missing implying it had
picked up the pair and brought them to shore unsubstantiated theories pertaining to the couple's survival were
rumored to have been started by those within the dive industry in the mid-1990s approximately 1.3 million
divers and snorkelers flocked to the Great Barrier Reef each year resulting in four million day trips to the reef
annually the dive industry provided employment to roughly 50,000 people and generated 4.3 billion dollars per annum
if it was determined the Lonergan's death was the fold of a professional dive to a company the entire industry
would be negatively impacted The Guardian newspaper claimed that Tom Colerain co-owner of adhiraj the company
at the center of the scandal was predominantly responsible for spreading the conspiracy theories in contrast case
investigators were certain Tom and Eileen were deceased lead detective sergeant Paul priest told Current Affair
show 20/20 there's far simpler and safer ways to stage your own disappearance than to get
on a boat jump in the sea have some expectation that there's going to be a flawed headcount you're going to be
missed on the diver log or you're in collaboration with the skipper and crew of that vessel or you've got a submarine
somewhere in the neighborhood it didn't take too much to realize that this wasn't a case of a staged disappearance
it's quite simply that they'd been left at sea regardless the public obsession with uncovering the truth led to bizarre
and desperate acts channel 10 reporters conducted an interview with Bob Sheen a diviner who claimed he could find
missing people as they filmed him overlooking the Queensland Coast line and making his pretty
since a car drove past the filming location with a couple inside that the news crew believed were the Lonnegan x'
they chased the vehicle down only to discover the pair were Australians other experts were certain Tom and Eileen
never left the Coral Sea the several kilometers swim to the nearest pontoon surrounding boats or channel marker
beacon would have been a far more demanding venture than skeptics assumed the pair only had five hours of daylight
remaining to make the journey in blistering 35-degree heat against strong currents that would have been pushing
them further out to sea professor roger hughes an expert in oceanography from the University of
Melbourne explained to that from a title viewpoint the Great Barrier Reef could be described as a gigantic bathtub quote
as the tide comes in it fills quickly from the open sea the ocean flows into the reef like water overflowing from a
tub on the air bovec going tired a massive volume of water empties slowly into the ocean across reefs and de niro
channels called choke points the area where the Lonnegan x' had been diving was right near one of these choke points
and the tides had already started to turn by 3:30 p.m. moving at speeds of up to one not by 7:15 p.m. it was estimated
the couple were likely carried 3 nautical miles west towards the coast with no choice but to tread water the
entire time when night descended the rising tide would have flowed to the east taking the Lonnegan x' towards the outer
wall of the reef and into open waters an article featured in The Age newspaper explained that in order for Tom and
Eileen to stay together they would have needed to wear the hold hands or use their now weightless diving belt to bind
to themselves how did they manage to survive the first night they would have been severely dehydrated and disoriented
by the following morning storms on the days following may have given them the opportunity to collect fresh water
though contrary to some reports there were indeed deadly sharks present in the area posing a lingering danger in the
months preceding the incident local fishermen reported seeing more sharks than ever in the surrounding waters off
the reef one said there are tiger sharks out there Tigers do not just rush in and
buy it they take a couple of hours to make up their mind and - that is very frightening you lose your loved one to a
tiger and do you witness it and to know you were next police had conducted a search of the
Lonergan's hostel room and found their personal Diaries in the safe along with their passports and traveler's checks
both Diaries included several entries that indicated the couple may have been going through some personal trauma with
Tom's writings noted as particularly introspective and somewhat morose compared to those of his wife
investigators withheld the diaries contents from the public but clarified that neither contained anything that
suggested that either Tom or Eileen intended to enter their lives nevertheless the press circulated a new
theory that the couple had either carried out a joint suicide or that Tom had a quote death wish and orchestrated
a murder-suicide plot at sea some believed Tom may have wanted to die alongside his wife that we told this
from her and allowed her to pass away unaware of his intentions due to their religious beliefs that those who ended
their own lives would be denied access to heaven on April 22 1998 almost three months after the Lonnegan x' went
missing police confirmed that they were extending their investigation into the couple's disappearance based on new
information that had come to light the day after Tom and Eileen vanished a boat run by the Quicksilver diving
company took a large group of Italian tourists out to the reef air diving session the skipper claimed to have
heard American accents on board which stood out against the Italian voices a head count was conducted when the vessel
returned to shore revealing three more passengers aboard than when the group departed a month later the owner of a
Port Douglas bookstore told the press that on Tuesday January 27 an American couple entered her store and purchased
six postcards and two maps of the Northern Territory unlike other American tourists who were
typically chatty this couple were timid and quiet the mail said they had been working in Fiji entered only been in
Australia for a few days the store owner had reported the incident to police shortly after hearing
of the Lonnegan s disappearance but it was weeks before they took her official statement a police spokesperson stated
they had included her report in their investigation but believed there was a quote
reasonable chance she was mistaken if people are going to fake their own disappearance why would they go back to
the town you disappeared from and declare yourself as American from Fiji weeks later on Friday June 26 1998 two
fishermen were trawling a mangrove swamp near Archer point 175 kilometers north of Port Douglas when they came across a
whether to divers slate the device similar in appearance to a small white board was used for communicating
underwater at red Monday January 26 1998 8:00 a.m. to anyone who can help us we have been abandoned on Agincourt reef
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several months and handwriting experts concluded the message was written by Tom Lonnegan the discovery contradicted the
theory that Tom had carried out an act of murder-suicide with a quote in the age later stating it is not a message
from a man who wanted to die but a cry from a man and woman who were desperate to live by this point the police had
already closed the investigation and submitted the case to the coroner to conduct a formal inquiry according to
their report a team of nine officers at thoroughly and painstakingly investigated the case for six months
they concluded that Tom and Eileen Lonnegan had been left out at sea due to one satisfactory safety measures carried
out by the outer edge dive company the coronal link quest took place in Cannes on Monday September 7 1998 in deigned to
determine who was culpable for the Lonnegan fate several outer edge staff exercised their right to remain silent
including co-owner and skipper Jack man and two other crew members who had important roles On January 25 dive
master Kathy Traverso and the instructor allegedly responsible for the botched headcount
George Pyrrha heav it was revealed that Senior Constable Steve Burgess had taken
covert recordings of his initial conversations with the adhiraj crew on January 27 when the police were first
informed the couple were missing the recordings were played in court during which the crew members sounded panicked
and confused by the possibility they had left two divers at sea at one stage nan referenced the couple's
belongings that have been left behind on the boat saying tonight I looked in the
bag and thought Jesus Christ it's got a wallet and papers in it Christopher Coxon acting senior
inspector with the department of employment training and industrial relations spoke critically of outer
edges operations concluding there was enough evidence to show the company had a history of leaving dive sites without
conducting proper head counts in contrast Achaeans local who had participated in the January 25 diving
expedition gave a glowing review of the tour company stating it was the best of 40 dives he had ever been on
he hadn't noticed whether a headcount had been carried out at the end of the day testimony was given by Kerry Nance
carnaval the operator for the bus company responsible for transporting the 26 member to a group to and from the
Port Douglas marina on January 25 in her regional statements a police corine said she called outer edge that
evening explaining the Lonnegan had failed to return to the bus the men on the other line indicated it was fine for
the vehicle to have left without them at the time corinne denied knowing who she
spoke to on the phone in court she admitted this was a lie and that she had really spoken to Jack and Ian she
withheld his name from police at the time h-how'd of a misguided desire to protect him explaining I thought he must
be feeling absolutely terrible I didn't want to hurt him I knew I realized it wasn't up to me to make those judgments
Rada punchin a dive instructor tour operator and member of the Queensland Government's taskforce on recreational
diving told the court that a stranded diver would likely discard their life vests because swimming in one was
difficult and ineffective he explained the longer you have to swim the worse you become a wetsuit would chafe
particularly under the arms eventually you might think about taking the wetsuit off Carl Jason ow ski one of the crew
members aboard the MBR de reg also testified he had cleared Anchorage st. Crispin's on the day Tom and Eileen
disappeared and didn't see any sign of the pair during the ten minutes the vessel waited before departing for land
upon returning to the docks Carl noticed the couple's abandoned shoes in the racks but thought they must have
belonged to crew members who were still on the boat he described their head count process as a fallible and
inadequate system stating passengers are constantly moving around you they're on
holidays they're chatting and drinking wandering around he vaguely recalled that the miscalculated headcount On
January 25 was carried out by diving instructor George P Reeve that testimony provided by other witnesses questioned
whether the headcount had been carried out at all following the third day of the inquest proceedings were adjourned
to allow the coroner and other court officials to visit and swim the reef to get a sense of the conditions faced by
the Lonergan's court resumed on October 1 during which experts debated the couple's outcome based on the relatively
intact state of their recovered belongings it was deemed unlikely that Tom and Eileen were attacked by sharks
but rather voluntarily discarded their diving equipment after succumbing to delirium as a result of dehydration
without the buoyancy provided by their gear the couple would have been unable to tread water for long and would have
drowned soon after when Petty Officer Bret Daniels of the royal australian navy's elite clearance
diving division appeared in court to discuss the search efforts elder edge as legal counsel asked him if you have two
divers both working with the usual diving gear and to one of those divers wish to kill the other how would that be
achieved the heeded back-and-forth ensured between the various legal teams with the prosecution objecting to the
query on the grounds that quote Navy divers are not assassins they labelled reports that the Lonnegan had a death
wish as wild and unsubstantiated objectionable inadmissible nonsense adding that investigators had disproven
this rumor outer edges legal team pressed the matter prompting the prosecution to call the allegation
disgusting and slanderous the coroner allowed the line of questioning to continue within a limited scope Petty
Officer Brett Daniels suggested one way for a diver to kill another was to remove the breathing
valve from their mouth and to then hold them under water until they drowned over one-week 800 pages of statements
and nearly 60 exhibits were presented to the court with the aged newspaper describing the inquiry as one of
Australia's most extraordinary courtroom dramas the prosecution concluded that the Lonnegan had died as a result of
outer edge and a Jack and Erin's quote slipshod a devil-may-care attitude both at sea and at Shaw
they said the lack of systems clarifying who was responsible for what led to a tragedy of errors and that the only
mystery surrounding the case was why the crew had failed to wait for the Lonnegan
returned the prosecution recommended jacking in face criminal charges saying he abdicated his responsibility for his
passengers on Friday October 9 the coroner presented his findings he called the speculation that the couple
was still alive had faked their own deaths or carried out a suicide wildly inaccurate and based on misleading
information he criticized the 51 hours that took for Jack nan to realize the Americans were missing and committed him
to stand trial for the manslaughter of Tom and Eileen Lonnegan by criminal negligence there were no adverse
findings against the remaining outer edge staff who were described by the coroner as inexperienced relief crew
Queensland state government also announced that nan would be facing separate charges for breaching state
health and workplace safety laws outside court men appeared visibly upset and proclaimed his innocence
Eileen's mother Cathy welcome to the end of the painful inquest telling reporters
we hope the government of Queensland will formulate some laws to govern the dive industry which is a dangerous
industry right now following the inquest a government task force was assembled to look into
Queensland's dive industry on November 5 a draft report found that the voluntary
nature of the current safety guidelines had proven problematic and called for all basic safety standards to be made
compulsory the proposed regulations included mandatory head counts individual log book signing upon
entering and leaving the water train's lookouts on all boats and the employment of more diving inspectors task force
chairperson cloth Bob recommended that operators who failed to comply with the new regulations be prosecuted stating
it's time for the dive industry to look at the fact that there needs to be something done about the deaths and the
incidents which have been occurring in November 1999 jaqen Ian's trial commenced in the
Cannes Supreme Court where he pled not guilty to charges of criminal negligence causing two counts of unlawful death if
found guilty he faced the possible prison term of 20 years presiding judge justice Stanley Jones wanted the jury to
ignore the publicity surrounding the case because much of it was irrelevant or inadmissible he clarified that it
wasn't a question of whether nion acted with intent to kill the line against but
whether he failed in his duty to keep his passengers safe outer edge crew members testified that while head counts
were routine no one in particular took responsibility for conducting them a transcript of an early police interview
with nan was read to the court in which he said I will accept full responsibility for I am the master of
the vessel it was my understanding that the instructor did account but it is all
a bit sketchy I asked to George did he count those two people and he said yes I distinctly remember saying did you get
those two people who jumped in the water the prosecution stated that any confusion regarding the headcount or
whether a couple had jumped back into the water could have been easily rectified if a crew member had simply
checked the dialog which would have revealed the Lonnegan x' hadn't returned Nan's defense lawyer Tony Glenn relied
heavily on the theory that the couple had ended their own lives or faked their own deaths Tom and Eileen were prolific
diarists and two used excerpts from their entries to suggest that tom was developing an increasingly bleak view of
life and looking for a quick and peaceful death he told the jury that tom was discontented with his future Eileen
had grown to hate teaching and that contrary to outward appearances the couple were unhappy in life much to the
pain of Tom and Eileen's families he read out excerpts from both Diaries revealing their personal and private
content publicly for the first time in one entry Tom was highly critical of his personality describing himself as
obnoxious overbearing presumptuous intrusive irrelevant to the point of insensitive self-centered and offensive
in another dated June 16 1997 Tom wrote that he was quote in deaths waiting room
appearing to address his writings directly to God or Jesus he explained like a student who's finished an exam
and is merely waiting to hand it in and go I feel as though my life is complete and I am ready to die however that
sounds to someone else it is what I feel in my heart on December 15 1997 Tom wrote about the joys of making love to
his wife but added a passage to that read it's clear to me now that not only does
life not get much worse than this that hardly in fact gets any better Eileen's writings were directed more so
to herself and expressed the concern for her husband's well-being she wrote you Tom have a death wish
I believe this wish may very well lead you to be in the right place at the right time to get what you want I may
get caught in that too since we remain physically together so much of the time it's a risk I take two weeks before
their disappearance she explained Tom doesn't know what he wants to do with his life he thinks he is ready to die he
seems to want to get out while life is good I have my life and I am terrified by death a couple of nights ago Tom
explained to me in great detail why he feels his life is over and he is ready to die mostly he is afraid she concluded
a long passage with the question just as he formed his death wish to include me and I fought it off in my dreams I
formed my life wish to include him whose will is stronger during closing arguments the prosecution
concluded that it was Nan's responsibility to bring the lawn against home safely from the reef and he failed
to do so in response the defense told the jury there are no bodies the evidence suggests they are not dead it
is a question for you to decide if you have any doubt about this issue then you must acquit my client on
Wednesday November 24 1999 after less than 90 minutes deliberation the jury found to jack nan not guilty from the
dock it appeared as though an enormous burden had been lifted from his shoulders Nan's father burst into tears
while Eileen's parents sat motionless in summation justice Jones stated that in order to convict the jury had to be
convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the Lonnegan --zz were dead that nians actions were sufficient to cause their
death and there was sufficient recklessness or grave moral guilt on Nan's behalf deserving of punishment
justice Jones agreed that as the skipper men was entitled to rely on the head count conducted by his crew he dispelled
the possibility that the loan against disappearance was a suicide plot or an attempt to faked their own deaths as
they had to no transport belongings or money and couldn't be certain the boat would leave without them or the
headcount would be flawed justice Jones quote the absence of bodies leads to many theories
but it is a tragedy for mr. nan and it is a tragedy for the families of the Lonnegan 'he's following the judgment
jack and then approached Darlene's parents Johnny and Cathy Haynes shaking Johnny's hand he said I apologize I'm so
terribly sorry the journey gave him a hug and wished him luck and Cathy embraced him warm
nann left the court surrounded by his wife father and other supporting family members and friends outside the
courthouse the Hanes thanked the Australian legal system and expressed the compassion for nian Johnny later
told twenty20 Nan's life is never going to be the same he doesn't have to go to jail for this to change his life he's
got to live with this for the rest of his life he told reporters the defense attorney used those Diaries - absolutely
slander - absolutely destroy these two people's reputations I was disappointed in the verdict I felt like the jury
didn't believe that they were dead and to me that was the essence of the trial was to prove that they had died
Eileen's family struggled with what they called the defense team's deliberate malicious misquoting of Tom and Eileen's
diary entries Eileen's brother John Jr staunchly rejected the rumors surrounding his sister's disappearance
telling the aged I know my sister my sister is not a con artist I know she would not kill herself a former
colleague of the missing couple told 20/20 that the suicide Theory angered him explaining that just wasn't Tom and
Eileen in any way shape or form Tom's mother Elizabeth Lonnegan said these were two people who did nothing but good
in their lives now in death there are those who would cheapen them I will tell you what the story is they were left
behind that is the story they could have been picked up by a spaceship and if that happened it would still not be the
story the story would be that they were left behind in the first place all this talk about them wanting to disappear is
just a bunch of garbage the fact of this story is the somebody left them in the water and they
did not report it for two and a half days to prove that defense attorney Tony Glynn had cherry picked from the
couple's Diaries by taking certain quotes out of context that read in favor of his argument the families permitted
the Sunday age to publish further excerpts of the entries that had been presented in court Glynn had quoted one
instance where tom was self-critical but in another entry he thanked God for all
his opportunities to live learn and serve he expressed his gratitude for his healthy mind emotional strength and
well-being and referenced his profound to love for Eileen his friends and family Glyn had also spoken of Tom's
belief that his life wouldn't get any better yet failed to mention that the entry concluded quote the trick for now
is not to dwell on how long it will last but to enjoy the blessings of the day and to let them bring you closer to God
Glyn had read an excerpt from Eileen's diary in which she said she hated teaching and hoped to never teach again
but had intentionally withheld the rest of the passage it continued but teaching
has taught me how much I love learning I am endlessly curious I love beauty and I
see beauty in well most things in logical patterns in bright colors in the interconnectedness of things in creation
in destruction I think really that is why I love life and I love living to witness beauty I love to learn because
in learning I discover beauty I fear death not just because I fear the unknown but because of the beauty I will
never see the spider's web in the damp forest despite are the sunsets the towering
snow topped mountains the knowledge of how those mountains got there the moons of Jupiter and the sands of Mars
so much beauty to see in the universe Sunday age journalist Peter Patrick stated that by viewing the diary entries
in their entirety it was clear that Tom and Eileen were both highly intelligent people and that their comments on death
were more a reflection on life itself he described Eileen as a shrewd observer of human nature while Tom feared losing
the things he loved most including his wife his intellect his students and diving the outer edge dive company pled
guilty to negligence in a Queensland civil court and was fined $27,000 by the state's workplace Health & Safety
Department for failing to keep an accurate logbook the case left the jackin and financially ruined he and his
wife lost the boat their house and two life savings and his father lost the substantial amount of his assets to
legal fees in an exclusive interview with The Sunday age nan said I don't blame the Lonnegan I
don't blame the crew I don't blame anybody at present I'm undergoing a healing process I have a deep feeling of
responsibility and remorse he said he wished he could have known Tom and Eileen better as they shared his love
for the sea and he hoped to one day own his own boat again the Lonnegan incident
sparked the crisis of confidence in North Queensland's dive industry and resulted in tighter men to tree safety
regulations for diving boats throughout Australia strict regulations were introduced by the queensland government
with all captains and dive masters required to independently confirm each headcount despite the new regulations an
inspection of 59 dive companies was carried out by the Queensland Health and Safety Department in 2002 resulting in
76 notice is being issued for failure to conduct proper head counts or lookouts or to
keep adequate dialogues in 2003 a low-budget film said to be inspired by the Lonnegan story titled open water was
released grossing more than 1 million dollars in its opening weekend it received mostly positive reviews from
film critics but its release was unwelcome in Cannes where locals were still unwilling to discuss the case
people were concerned that the film would harm the local diving and tourism industry as had happened with the
release of Steven Spielberg's 1975 classic shark attack movie Jaws a dive industry spokesperson recalled jaws was
a shocker for our industry I was working at a dive place in Brisbane at the time
and - the phone's literally stopped ringing jacking in expressed his disappointment about the film saying the
reality of it is that the thing creates emotional turmoil for all of the people involved it's incredibly unsettling and
stressful for myself and my children and for us that's a terrible thing that opened water has been made this is
really very bad for the industry as a whole dive Queensland spokesperson Cole McKenzie told
reporters that the industry found the film confronting on many levels quote I felt horrified for me it was an eye
opener this can happen and has happened and the Lonnegan are not the only ones we have left out there
Tom and Darlene weren't the first thought last to be left behind while visiting the Great Barrier Reef in 1993
16 year-old Victoria Brown was left near Green Island 28 kilometres east of Cannes and subsequently drowned in
January of 2000 80 year-old American tourist Ursula Margaret Clutton was snorkeling
on the reef during a tour with the Quicksilver diving company when a headcount of 300 passengers came up
short the Australian search and rescue team covered an area of 625 nautical miles
looking for Ursula but it was called off three days later when there was no sign
of her in 2003 Queensland's scuba diving industry received another blow when 26 year old
American newlywed Tina Watson died on her honeymoon while diving the young gal shipwreck site in the Great Barrier Reef
rather than the dive company being at fault Tina's husband gave Watson was initially charged with her murder
and later pled guilty to manslaughter detailed further in episode 51 of case file in September 2005 two British
tourists became separated from their dive group after being caught by a powerful current between two reefs the
dive instructors only noticed their absence when a headcount was conducted at the end of the trip planes and boats
were called in and the dehydrated and sunburnt pair were discovered six hours later having drifted nine kilometers
from where they first entered the water no indication of misconduct was found in
either of these cases in 2008 a couple became separated from their diving group after strong winds and waves forced them
to drift 200 meters from their boat the group immediately noticed they were missing and searched the reef for three
hours before night fell and forced them to return to shore the couple tied themselves together with rope from a
marker buoy and were rescued at 8:40 the following morning after 19 hours lost at
sea in June 2011 an American tourist was snorkeling on the reef when he lifted his head out of the water only to
discover that his tour boat had to left without him panicked he was able to swim
to another boat for help a staff member was fired for failing to get the snorkel
as signature to confirm he had returned to the vessel before it left the area the Lonnegan case was also referenced in
the open world survival video game stranded deep by Australian studio bean team games the story follows a plane
crash survivor marooned in the Pacific Ocean and his efforts to return to civilization a diving slate bearing the
desperate handwritten request for help by Tom Lonnegan can be found in game lying on a beach when placed in the
players inventory the item is described as Awesome despite an inquiry and trial ruling
otherwise theories still prevail that the Lonnegan is either ended their own lives or faked their own deaths Tom and
Eileen's families vehemently reject these claims and maintain their belief that the couple's tragic death was due
to the abject failure of the outer edge crew Eileen's father Johnny Haynes does not hold any hard feelings against the
former dive company accepting that it was an accident his biggest regret is that no trace of Tom and Eileen's bodies
were found telling the Guardian newspaper it leaves a big holding you to lose your kid
that's part of your life I wish they had found them so we had something I suppose
we have the Great Barrier Reef they're part of that in the early 2000s Eileen's younger brother John Haynes jr.
published a detailed essay online reflecting on the case he described Tom and Eileen as warm
client hearted people who had once welcomed him into their home and a very difficult time in his life and helped
guide him on a path to success John said anyone who thought otherwise should quote have their head examined
explaining Tom and Eileen were at a point in their lives that most people don't reach until they are 65 they
weren't wealthy but they didn't want or need more than scuba gear and a place to
sleep they could have settled down in Hawaii and spent the next 30 years working just enough to support their
diving and being happier than some millionaires I've met two Elaine and Tom their life was just beginning their
plans were coming to fruition John urged people not to focus on the tragedy of their deaths instead saying
it would be better to remember Thomas and Eileen Lonnegan not only as people who devoted themselves to making the
world a better place for others but as two divers who lived and died doing what they loved in the company of the ones
they loved in what would be Tom's final diary entry he wrote I am reminded daily
of my debt to my beautiful faithful devoted wife Eileen with whom God has blessed me as we depart from one life
and to begin the usually difficult transition into the next I feel obligated to verbally express my deep
rooted commitment to her from my innermost heart I make this pledge of devotion to Eileen he then dedicates a
short prayer to his wife before writing because of the immense wealth of pleasure she has given me since we met
as well as all the discomfort and anguish which she has relieved I give in return the entry ends there abruptly and
remains incomplete with Tom never revealing what exactly he planned to give our lane in return for her love
[Music] you

Case 133: Tom & Eileen Lonergan

The weather conditions in tropical Far North Queensland on Sunday, January 25, 1998, were ideal for a day out on The Great Barrier Reef. It was hot and sunny with blue skies, and the glass-like water was still and clear...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research – Erin Munro Writing – Milly Raso and Elsha McGill Creative direction – Milly Raso Production, scoring – Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn

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For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-133-tom-eileen-lonergan

Brief Summary

Tom and Eileen Lonnegan disappeared while diving; negligence led to their tragic fate and a legal battle for accountability.

Key points

Diving Expedition Begins. Passengers embark on a diving trip to explore the Great Barrier Reef.
Missing Divers Alert. Concerns grow as two divers fail to return from their dive.
Search Efforts Intensify. A wide-scale search is launched for the missing couple.
Hope Amidst Despair. Family members express their feelings as the search continues.
Mysterious Disappearance. The couple's disappearance sparked numerous theories, including the possibility they faked their deaths.
The Disturbing Message. A message found in the water reveals the couple's desperate plea for help.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I'm concerned that we may have left two divers on the reef.

A crew member realizes the gravity of the situation.

6:28WatchDec 7, 2019

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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