DILI, Oct 12 — The remains of Carol Colleen Monfore, a 68-year-old United States citizen, were discovered inside a shark’s stomach in Timor-Leste, 10 days after she went missing while diving near South-west Maluku, according to a report by Jakarta Post.
Timor-Leste fishermen found human remains inside the shark on Sunday, and they were later identified as Monfore’s. A video showing the body parts went viral on social media.
Muhamad Arafah, the head of the Ambon office of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), confirmed the discovery on Wednesday.
“Yes, Monfore’s body has indeed been found, but it is no longer intact, only in the form of body parts in the shark’s stomach,” Arafah said, as reported by detik.com.
Monfore had been diving with her husband and friends on September 26 near Reong Island in South-west Maluku regency, which shares a sea border with Timor-Leste.
Sec. Insp. Giovani BM Toffy, the Wetar Police subprecinct chief, said strong underwater currents likely swept her away.
“The dive was carried out when sea conditions were bad as a result of strong underwater currents, so it is suspected that the current swept away the victim,” said Giovani, as quoted by kompas.com.
The search for Monfore lasted five days before it was called off.
Her remains were found around 112 kilometres from where she disappeared, and authorities identified her through fingerprints.
Her husband, who has been struggling with the time difference while coordinating with Indonesian authorities, expressed his wish to bring her remains home.
Family friend Rick Sass said, “He barely slept at all, partly because he was calling Indonesia, which has a 12-hour time difference.”
Monfore had been on a trip to Banda Island with other divers and decided to stop at Reong Island for a dive session.
