The death of Suzanne Rees is undisputedly a tragedy. But now the Australian government and the woman’s family are asking whether the cruise ship company that abandoned her on a deserted island is at fault.

The 80-year-old Sydney woman treated herself to a cruise around Australia aboard the Coral Adventurer. When the ship anchored off Lizard Island, she decided to join the hiking expedition. During the hike, she told staff the heat was making her feel ill. That’s when the crew might have made its first mistake.

Rees’ daughter says, “We understand from the police that it was a very hot day, and Mum felt ill on the hill climb. She was asked to head down, unescorted.”

Rees never made it back to the Coral Adventurer. That’s when the crew possibly made its second major mistake. “Then the ship left, apparently without doing a passenger count. At some stage in that sequence, or shortly after, Mum died, alone.”

During dinner, the crew finally realized the boat was missing a passenger. Five hours after the ship left the island, the crew reported Suzanne Rees missing. The next morning, the Coral Adventurer returned to Lizard Island.

The cruise ship’s search for Suzanne Rees

A search helicopter spotted Suzanne Rees’ body 55 yards from the hiking trail. The Associated Press reports the woman appeared to have fallen down a steep slope or cliff. Police called it a “non-suspicious death.” Rees’ daughter hopes a coroner’s inquiry will “find out what the company should have done that might have saved Mum’s life.” She says, “From the little we have been told, it seems that there was a failure of care and common sense.”

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority is investigating why Rees wasn’t accounted for. The country’s tourism safety regulations were already tightened after a different ship abandoned an American couple at sea during a group scuba dive in 1998.

Coral Expeditions’ CEO says, “We have expressed our heartfelt condolences to the Rees family and remain deeply sorry that this has occurred.”