Over the next two days, the MV Outer Edge chartered two more dive trips to St. Crispin’s Reef with a fresh group of tourists who were unaware that two people had been missing.
Finally, noticing that the two unclaimed dive bags were still sitting on his deck, the skipper decided to open them.
Aware that something had gone wrong, Nairn called for help.
No sign of the couple
Within hours, a massive air and sea rescue effort was underway.
For the next three days, Navy aircraft, helicopters, police, and civilian boats scoured the vast expanse of the Coral Sea, desperately searching for the Lonergans.
But despite the scale of the operation, there was no sign of the missing divers – only empty water and a growing sense of dread.
Belongings recovered in water
Ten days after the pair had vanished, the first grim clues began to surface. Tom’s buoyancy compensator, with his name clearly labeled on the pocket, was discovered floating in the ocean – 50 miles north of St. Crispin’s Reef.
Not long after, a green and grey wetsuit, believed to belong to Eileen, washed ashore. The buttocks area had jagged rips, which authorities suspected may have been caused by a shark bite. Her buoyancy vest, dive hood, fins, and air tank were eventually recovered as well, scattered along the Queensland coastline.
‘Ready to die’
As investigators dug deeper into the disappearance of Tom and Eileen, they uncovered something that added a disturbing new layer to the mystery. Hidden inside the couple’s hostel room in Cairns, Queensland, were their personal diaries – revealing entries that shocked authorities.
In a journal entry written six months before the trip, Tom penned a chilling reflection: “I feel as though my life is complete and I’m ready to die. As far as I can tell, from here my life can only get worse. It has peaked and it’s all downhill from here until my funeral.”Continue reading…
