Couple left to die in shark-infested waters – their diary entries are chilling

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cently completed a two-year stint with the U.S. Peace Corps in Fiji – were on an extended trip through the South Pacific.

The Louisiana couple – experienced scuba divers – had stopped in Queensland, Australia, joining 24 other passengers aboard the MV Outer Edge, a charter dive boat that took them to St. Crispin’s Reef, a stunning section of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef that’s known for its vibrant marine life.

‘Shark City’

After completing two 40-minute dives, they prepared for a third descent at a site fittingly nicknamed Fish City – a spot teeming with aquatic activity.

Local fisherman Mick Bird, who was nearby that day, later revealed that shark activity in the area was unusually high. “Every time we threw a line, we’d pull in a shark,” he said. “They should rename that place Shark City,” Bird said, per the Daily Mail.

Last time seen alive

Meanwhile Bryan Brogdan, a British charter guest who dove alongside the Lonergans during the final dive, recalled admiring a giant clam embedded in the reef with the couple, bathed in sunlight piercing through the water.

Brogdan eventually returned to the boat, but Tom and Eileen remained below – staying longer than the dive crew had advised.

He was the last known person to see them alive.

Inaccurate count

Around 3:00 p.m., when all divers were expected back aboard, former skipper Geoffrey “Jack” Nairn asked crew member George Pyrohiw to conduct a headcount. It was a routine but critical safety protocol – and one that required absolute accuracy.

Tom and Eileen Lonergan were abandoned in shark waters by their diving boat. Credit: Shutterstock

According to Pyrohiw, there should have been 26 people on board. But during the count, two passengers jumped back into the water to take final photos, creating confusion. Pyrohiw claimed he only counted 24, but when he reported it, he said Nairn responded: “And two in the water makes 26.”

That assumption, later disputed by Nairn, would prove to be a catastrophic miscalculation – those two last-minute swimmers were mistakenly counted twice.

What followed was a chain of oversights that compounded the tragedy.

Missing divers unnoticed

When the Outer Edge docked in Port Douglas later that afternoon and passengers began disembarking, two dive bags were still on board – untouched. Rather than raising alarms, the crew moved them aside, assuming their owners would call once they noticed them missing.

A routine inventory also revealed two missing air tanks and two weight belts, yet again, no one questioned it.

Meanwhile, Norm Stigant, the driver assigned to return passengers to their hotels, noticed that Tom and Eileen never showed up for their shuttle. He repoContinue reading…

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