Photo: Vincent Pommeyrol / Moment / Getty Images
The remains of a 68-year-old South Dakota woman who went missing while on a diving trip in Indonesia were found in the stomach of a shark.
Colleen Monfore was diving with friends near Pulau Reong island off the coast of Indonesia's Southwest Maluku Regency on September 26 when she disappeared under the water.
Ten days later, a fisherman found a shark in distress off the coast of Timor-Leste, about 70 miles from where Monfore vanished, and killed it. When he cut open the shark, he found what appeared to be the remains of Monfore and her wetsuit.
Because her remains were identifiable, Monfore's friends believed she suffered a medical emergency while underwater and died long before the shark ate her.
"We do not believe this was a shark attack. [Mike Monfore] thinks she suffered some kind of medical issue in the water," Rick Sass told The New York Post.
"There was a down current at the turnaround site, but it was manageable," Rick's wife, Kim Sass, wrote in a Facebook post. "I've easily done 1000+ dive[s] with this gracious woman … I don't believe it was the environment and certainly not a shark that ended her life."
According to Fox News, if the shark had attacked her shortly after she went missing, the stomach acids would have dissolved her body and wetsuit.
"Colleen's body was identifiable. Her fingerprints (again identifiable) are being used by our US Embassy and the local government for proof of death," Sass noted in her Facebook post. "This would not be possible if the shark had attacked her weeks ago."
Authorities in Indonesia are investigating the circumstances of Monfore's death.