Diver’s Body Found Inside Shark, Friends Say Don’t Blame the Shark

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A 68-year-old woman named Colleen Monfore recently died on a diving trip in Indonesia. Monfore was an experienced diver, but she got swept away from her group and her boat. Despite all the group’s efforts, they couldn’t retrieve Monfore. Even an eight-day search effort proved fruitless. Many miles away, a fisherman in Timor-Leste captured a shark in distress. He cut the shark open and found the diver’s body inside. It’s a gruesome and disturbing story, and Monfore’s friends have taken to social media to make the case that this wasn’t a shark attack. So, what happened?

Yesterday, Kim Sass shared a post on her personal Facebook profile explaining the situation and suggesting Monfore died from a medical issue long before the shark consumed her body. “Media is saying it was a shark attack,” Sass wrote. “Evidence says this is false.”

Sass makes some excellent points, including the fact that had the shark attacked and eaten Monfore, her body would have been far less recognizable this far out from the event. On a personal level, Sass says her friend would have been “heartsick” to know that her death is “giving sharks, once again, a bad name.”

Read Sass’s full explanation of why she says this diver’s death wasn’t a shark attack here:

If you can stomach it, see photos of the shark that had the diver’s body inside here.

Our condolences to this woman’s family and friends who feel so passionately about preserving their loved one’s reputation and that of the animals Monfore respected.