Disappearance of Tom and Eileen Lonergan

Thomas Joseph Lonergan (born 28 December 1964)<ref>"United States Public Records, 1970-2009" (22 May 2014). Thomas J. Lonergan, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. Retrieved 14 May 2019.</ref> and Eileen Cassidy Lonergan (née Hains; born 3 March 1969)<ref>"United States Public Records, 1970-2009" (23 May 2014), Eileen C. Hains, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. Retrieved 13 May 2019.</ref> were an American couple who were abandoned in the Coral Sea off Australia's northeast coast on 25 January 1998 during a group scuba-diving trip aboard MV Outer Edge. The boat crew did not note their absences until two days later, on 27 January. While search efforts resulted in the discovery of personal effects presumed to be those of the Lonergans, the discoveries did not lead to their rescue. Neither has been found, and both are presumed dead.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The couple's disappearance and deaths resulted in "a crisis of confidence in north Queensland's dive industry" and tighter mandatory safety regulations for diving boats in Australia.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Their disappearances also served as the inspiration for the 2003 film Open Water.

Background

Thomas Joseph Lonergan and Eileen Hains, both graduates of Louisiana State University,<ref name=open/> were married in Jefferson, Texas on 24 June 1988.<ref>"Texas Marriages, 1966-2010" (6 December 2014). Thomas J. Lonergan and Eileen C. Hains, 24 June 1988; citing Jefferson, Texas, United States, certificate number 062898, Vital Statistics Unit, Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin. Retrieved 14 May 2019.</ref>

Disappearance

On January 25, 1998, the Lonergans were scuba diving with a group at St. Crispin's Reef<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> in Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The boat transporting the group to the dive site departed before the Lonergans returned from the water. None of the vessel's crew or passengers noticed that the two had not returned to the boat.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

At the time of the incident, the couple had recently completed a two-year tour of duty with the Peace Corps at Funafuti atoll in the small South Pacific island nation of Tuvalu and were repeating that work in Fiji.<ref name="open">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Investigations and trial

Template:Stack The couple were not discovered to be missing until 27 January 1998, two days after their dive when a bag containing their belongings was found onboard the boat. A massive air and sea search took place over the following three days.

In February 1998, a women's wetsuit matching Eileen Lonergan's size washed ashore in north Queensland.<ref name="open" /> Upon examination of barnacle growth on the wetsuit, it was determined it had likely been submerged in the ocean since January.<ref name="open" /> It also bore tears along the buttocks and armpit areas, presumed by examiners to have resulted from contact with coral.<ref name="open" />

Several theories regarding the couple's disappearance were suggested, including that the Lonergans might have staged their disappearance. However, their bank accounts were never touched, and their insurance policies were not claimed.<ref name="grave"/>

Excerpts from Tom Lonergan's diary were found and described a man who was looking for a "quick and peaceful" death. Eileen's writings expressed that she had chosen to stay with Tom, no matter the outcome.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, according to Eileen's parents and family, the diary entries were taken out of context.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="dying">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The family, the coroner, Noel Nunan, and the Port Douglas police claim that only the pages that would validate the suicide theory were leaked to the press, whereas the majority of the diaries remain unread except by the coroner, Port Douglas police, and the Hains family.Template:Fact

In June 1998, six months after the disappearance, more of the couple's diving gear was found washed ashore on a Port Douglas beach, approximately Template:Convert from where they were lost.<ref name=grave>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Among these items were inflatable dive jackets marked with the Lonergans' names, along with their compressed air tanks and one of Eileen's fins.<ref name=open/> Also recovered was a weathered diver's slate (a device used for communicating underwater) that reportedly read: "Monday Jan 26; 1998 08am. To anyone who can help us: We have been abandoned on A[gin]court Reef by MV Outer Edge 25 Jan 1998 3pm. Please help to rescue us before we die. Help!!!"<ref name="open" />

Eileen's father, John Hains, suspected that the couple ultimately became dehydrated and disoriented and succumbed to drowning or sharks.<ref name="dying" /> During the inquest, experts speculated that based on the state of the gear recovered, the couple had likely not experienced an animal attack but rather succumbed to delirium resulting from dehydration, which caused them to remove their diving outfits voluntarily.<ref name=open/> Without the buoyancy provided by their gear, experts testified the couple would have been unable to tread water for long and would have soon drowned.<ref name=open/>

The coroner dismissed suggestions that the Lonergans had died by suicide or faked their disappearance and formally charged Geoffrey Ian "Jack" Nairn, skipper of the dive boat, with their unlawful killing.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was later found not guilty,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but his company Outer Edge Dive was fined after pleading guilty to negligence and folded.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Queensland's government also introduced stiffer regulations, including the requirement that captains and dive masters independently confirm passenger head counts.<ref name="grave"/>

Media

The American film Open Water (2003) was inspired by the Lonergans' disappearance. The film is set in the Caribbean and involves two divers who are abandoned at sea following an incorrect headcount.<ref name="openwater2003">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

• List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea
• Open Water

External links

• Undercurrent: "Two Divers Left at Sea - Did the Headcount Fail?" .(Adobe Acrobat PDF document) at undercurrent.org
• Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) Tom and Eileen Lonergan at peacecorpsonline.org
• 13/1/2000 Diver's disappearance renews talk on safety regulations at abc.net.au
• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if:

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