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our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at anytime you need support please contact
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your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support please see the show notes for this
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episode on your app or on our website the weather conditions in tropical Far North Queensland on Sunday January 25
00:02:01
1998 were ideal for a day out on the Great Barrier Reef it was hot and sunny with blue skies and the glass-like water
00:02:10
was still and clear shortly after 8 a.m. the 26 passengers who had booked a diving expedition with the charter boat
00:02:19
company outer edge dive gathered at the marina in Port Douglas a quiet resort town located 65 kilometers from Cannes
00:02:27
the region's largest city nine were certified divers eleven were student divers and six were day-trippers all
00:02:37
were excited to experience one of the seven natural wonders of the world and explore three of the 2,900 individual
00:02:45
coral reefs that stretched over the three hundred and forty four thousand square kilometer area five crew members
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from outer edge dive were overseeing the day's activities including the businesses co-owner Jeffrey man better
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known as Jack who was acting as relieving skipper the passengers were asked to store their shoes in racks by
00:03:08
the dock to be collected upon their return and at 8:30 a.m. they bought a DMV outer edge to commence
00:03:15
their journey they visited three different dive sites throughout the day arriving at their final destination of
00:03:23
st. Crispin's reef just after 2 p.m. located 38 nautical miles off the coast on the eastern border of the Great
00:03:32
Barrier Reef st. Crispin is a popular diving and snorkeling spot it contains a spectacular abundance of marine life and
00:03:41
coral formations but with only four boat moorings it is typically quiet outer edge dived seldom visited the site as it
00:03:51
didn't offer much protection and was known for its chameleon-like quality where the calm waters could quickly give
00:03:57
way to fast-moving tides the visiting divers entered the sea at around 2:20 p.m. with the warm 29 degrees Celsius
00:04:08
water leading some to forego their wetsuits in favor of swimsuits although the water
00:04:14
was only 20 meters deep the adhiraj crew members advised the divers not to go any deeper than 12
00:04:21
meters after 40 minutes of exploring the reef the passengers were called back to
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the boat to embark on their 90-minute journey back to Port Douglas they departed st. Crispin at 3:20 p.m. with
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the crew serving food and chilled beverages to their happy and relaxed the guests the boat docked at the marina at
00:04:43
5:00 p.m. and after everyone had departed the crew discovered a dive bag and a plastic bag had been left on board
00:04:52
this wasn't unusual as passengers often left belongings behind by accident the bags were set safely aside with the
00:05:01
expectation they would soon be claimed by their rightful owners the following day of Monday January 26 a 17-year old
00:05:11
had a reg crew member was working on another tour when he came across six loose diving weights on a seabed not far
00:05:18
from Saint Crispian reef weights are worn by divers to counteract to the buoyancy of their bodies and diving
00:05:25
equipment making it easier to move around underwater and remain submerged it was odd for so many weights to be
00:05:33
lost in such a remote location but the crew member didn't think much of it and returned to the items to the company
00:05:41
co-owner jackin n called the find a bonus at 7 p.m. on Tuesday January 27 nan noticed that the bags that have been
00:05:53
left behind two days prior still hadn't been claimed he peered inside the dive bag discovering a contained a wallet
00:06:01
some papers a t-shirt and eyeglasses while the plastic bag contains more clothing the owners diving equipment
00:06:10
including snorkels wetsuits and fins were nowhere to be seen nann then checked the infantry and
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realized that two rental air tanks were also unaccounted for feeling like he had
00:06:24
quote been hit by a ton of bricks nan called another crew member and said I'm concerned that we may have left two
00:06:34
divers on the reef it looks really sus [Music] [Music] news of the concerning discovery spread
00:07:10
to other crew members prompting them to gather at the outer edge offices to discuss the matter
00:07:16
Jackie man had arranged the unclaimed contents of the diving bag on a couch and kept repeating to his staff this is
00:07:24
all very sus the wallet identified the items as belonging to an American couple 33 year-old Tom Lonnegan and his 28
00:07:34
year-old wife Eileen their shoes were still in the racks at the dock and staff recognized the clothing as having been
00:07:43
worn by the couple prior to them changing into their wetsuits dive companies were required to keep details
00:07:50
about all their passengers including the addresses of where they were staying and the Lonnegan accommodation was
00:07:57
listed as the Walkabout hostel in cannes nan called the hostel and enquired about
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the couple only to be told they hadn't been seen since leaving on that diving trip to the Great Barrier Reef two days
00:08:11
earlier Tom and Eileen met and fell in love while attending Louisiana State University in their hometown of Baton
00:08:21
Rouge they had a lot in common both were raised in Catholic families and were dedicated students they shared a love
00:08:29
for the outdoors and enjoyed spending time together hiking and camping with their families describing them as
00:08:36
inseparable in college they both joined at the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps and after graduating they
00:08:44
moved to Jefferson Texas where Tom got a job as a chemical engineer for the Air Force while Eileen began working as a
00:08:51
teacher On June 24 1988 they surprised their friends and family by eloping quietly in
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a private ceremony seven years later in 1995 they fulfilled a lifelong dream of Arlene's by volunteering as teachers for
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the United States Peace Corps they moved to the South Pacific island nation of Tuvalu where they lived without
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electricity or a telephone food and mail was delivered by Bo once every six weeks
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and although the work and the lifestyle was challenging the couple embraced the adventure they were both passionate
00:09:33
scuba divers with over 80 dives each on their record and - they took to the waters whenever conditions were right
00:09:41
they loved to learning about coral and fish with their most unforgettable diving in Fiji in 1997 when they swam
00:09:50
with whales Tom wrote about the experience in his personal diary stating none of our other dives have been
00:09:59
comparable I just hoped now that we haven't been spoiled after completing their two-year stint in the Peace Corps
00:10:09
the Lonergan's planned to return to the United States and moved to Hawaii said that Tom could study marine biology they
00:10:18
decided to spend three months traveling around the world beforehand visiting Australia Indonesia and France stopping
00:10:26
at some of the world's best diving spots along the way Queensland was their first
00:10:32
destination and they arrived in Cairns on January 15 1998 where they checked in to the Walkabout hostel they were eager
00:10:42
to go diving right away but tropical storms had stirred up the sea resulting in murky waters the Lonergan's attempted
00:10:51
one dive but were dissatisfied with the conditions and decided to extend their stay in the hope that the weather would
00:10:57
improve when the water finally cleared up they booked a trip through the outer edge
00:11:03
dive company and on the morning of Sunday January 25 they caught a bus to the Port Douglas marina for the boats
00:11:11
8:30 departure on each boat a member of staff was designated the role of dive master it was their job to maintain a
00:11:22
written log of when each diver entered and exited the water the role of dive master for the Lonnegan strip had been
00:11:30
assigned to Cathy Traverso but it wasn't unusual for crew members to swap jobs throughout the day records taken on
00:11:38
January 25 showed that at the first two dive sites Tom and Eileen had been 10 to
00:11:44
15 minutes late to return to the boat at the voyages final destination of st. Crispin they were recorded in the
00:11:53
logbook is entering the water at 2:20 p.m. around at the same time as everyone else but there was no record of them
00:12:01
returning to the boat it was the skipper's responsibility to do a final head count after each dive to keep track
00:12:09
of the number of passengers aboard but it was unclear exactly whether this had occurred this realization two days later
00:12:19
sparked immediate fears for the couple's safety after identifying Tom and Eileen's abandoned belongings on Tuesday
00:12:27
January 27 Jack and Ian notified the police at 8:15 p.m. who arrived at the outer edge officers shortly after Senior
00:12:38
Constable Steve Burgess assembled the panicked staff and told them now is not the time to protect your backsides two
00:12:47
peoples lives may depend on what you tell me honesty is the best policy regulations required that all scuba
00:12:58
divers be isolated in two different groups based on experience with a separate group for snorkelers the crew
00:13:05
recalled that Tom and Eileen had turned down an instructor and had instead requested to dive together as it
00:13:12
tene given they were experienced than competent divers they were given permission to do so unlike most of the
00:13:21
other divers who adopted to enter the warm waters of st. Crispin's reef in nothing but their swimsuits
00:13:27
the couple had chosen to wear full 5 millimeter thick wetsuits gloves and caps and tadic entered the water
00:13:34
carrying a tank containing 60 minutes of air supply when the boat prepared to leave at 3 p.m.
00:13:42
none of the crew recalled seeing anyone left behind in the water nor were any micro bubbles which are released by
00:13:49
submerged divers visible on the surface micro bubbles could typically be seen within 200 feet of the reef and the
00:13:59
Lonnegan 's weren't expected to have swam any further than that the boat was anchored only 10 feet off the reef and
00:14:06
at the end of the expedition diving instructor Carl Jason a ski had cleared the anchor himself to avoid damaging the
00:14:13
reef as far as he was aware he was the last person to exit the water that day Carl said the boat's engine had run idle
00:14:24
for 10 minutes with the exhausts clearly visible underwater even if the Lonnegan
00:14:30
had swam in the wrong direction this alone should have alerted them to return although Carl admitted they may not have
00:14:37
been able to hear the engine as the sound may have been masked by the reef police asked the crew whose
00:14:45
responsibility it was to maintain the passenger log Kathy Traverso who acted as dive master on the day of the trip
00:14:53
said it was the responsibility of diving instructor her old closer Herald agreed
00:14:59
but said Kathy also had a responsibility as she had taken the last dive for the day Kathy was unsure whether the
00:15:08
Lonnegan is returned to the boat recalling I thought I remembered somebody I didn't focus I just can't
00:15:18
remember the boats manifest recorded 26 passengers when asked if a headcount had
00:15:27
been conducted before returning to shore had rolled closer said I think someone might have done one I'm just not sure he
00:15:38
later clarified the skipper told me to count the number of passengers I told the skipper 24 just then he said to me
00:15:46
there are two people who just jumped off the boat so I counted those two people 24 plus 2
00:15:53
equals 26 after the expedition a bus had been scheduled to take the 26 visiting divers from the Port Douglas marina to
00:16:05
their various places of accommodation when Tom and Eileen failed the show the bus driver looked for them at an ice
00:16:13
cream parlor cafes and a pub but was unable to find them he dropped the remaining 24 passengers off and upon
00:16:22
returning to the bus company office informed operator Curran Anse Carnival of the situation the bus company had an
00:16:30
agreement in place where if they failed to collect a passenger the to abode operators were liable for their
00:16:37
alternative trouble costs according to Corinne she phoned outer edge and spoke to a man she couldn't identify who
00:16:45
confirmed it was okay for the bus to have departed without the Lonnegan x' as visitors to australia there would
00:16:54
have been no one else to raise the alarm when the couple failed to return to their hostel that nine
00:17:04
the United States consulate in Sydney was notified that the Lonnegan were missing who in turn broke the news to
00:17:11
Tom and Darlene's families informing them that they shouldn't get their hopes up that the couple would be found at
00:17:19
10:20 p.m. the national headquarters of the Australian search and rescue service
00:17:24
were informed and a wide scale search was organized to commence at first light due to the two-day delay in anyone
00:17:33
noticing Tom and Eileen's absence the search grid had to be quadrupled by 6:00 a.m. the following morning of Wednesday
00:17:41
January 28 the couple had been lost at sea for 63 hours 17 aeroplanes two helicopters into numerous boats man's
00:17:51
with police and divers commenced the search they were joined by the MV outer edge with the jack man at the helm
00:18:00
dozens of volunteers also assisted with private boats local charters and fishing
00:18:06
vessels scouting the waters Navy divers focused on the area around Saint Crispin's reef known as fish City where
00:18:14
another diver had last seen the couple swimming 12 meters deep 12 hours of intensive search efforts covering a vast
00:18:23
area of sea and sky uncovered no trace of either Tom or Eileen that same day authorities began an investigation into
00:18:34
why it took two days before anyone noticed the couple missing detectives were called in and the Queensland state
00:18:42
government launched its own urgent investigation it was difficult for investigators to establish a clear
00:18:50
timeline of events preceding the disappearance as records kept by outer ads were ambiguous and some appeared to
00:18:58
us been altered timings recorded in the crew's personal logbooks didn't align with the vessels official logged nor
00:19:06
with witness statements estimates as to when the MV outer edge departed st. Crispin's raiffa very
00:19:14
within half an hour of 3:00 p.m. and it's arrival to Port Douglas was reported as anytime between 4:30 and
00:19:21
5:00 p.m. the full-scale search resumed at first light on Thursday January 29 by
00:19:31
this point news of the couple's disappearance had been picked up by media outlets in Australia and to the
00:19:37
United States distraught family members told reporters about the failure of the diving crew to ensure the couple had
00:19:44
boarded the boat with Eileen's grandfather asking it sounds pretty ridiculous don't they count heads or
00:19:53
check names Tom's mother Elizabeth Lonnegan stated we are devastated that it could be a mistake an accident is one
00:20:04
thing but if it was a failure on somebody's part to do what they should have it's even worse the families felt
00:20:12
helpless being so far away and unable to participate in the search Eileen's parents said all they could do was pray
00:20:20
with her father Johnny Haynes telling the media we don't see how God can refuse our prayers he has them in his
00:20:29
hands either he'll bring them back to us or he'll bring them to him himself in heaven
00:20:36
either way joy will be found detectives speculated that the MV outer edge had a left st. Crispin's quicker than usual in
00:20:47
an attempt to make up for lost time as the expedition was already running 40 minutes behind schedule outer edge
00:20:55
diving instructor colleges on our ski told reporters that a headcount had been taken before the boat left for sure but
00:21:03
the couple quote somehow fell through the system he explained further they asked specifically not to dive with the
00:21:13
dive master so they were diving on their own which is cool but if they didn't dive the plan then all of a sudden they
00:21:21
come to the surface and there's no boat there by Friday January 30 the airplane search was called off but a Queensland
00:21:33
emergency services helicopter remained in operation it had been four days since Tom and Eileen were reported missing and
00:21:41
the strong currents could have carried them far from their last known location in addition several storms hit the Coral
00:21:50
Sea area on the days following their disappearance a police spokesperson told the media the couple's chances of
00:21:59
survival were now almost non-existent that evening the air and sea search was officially called off while police and
00:22:09
volunteers continued to scour the coastlines on Sunday February 1 an inflatable buoyancy lifevest was discovered a Cowie
00:22:22
beach a crocodile-infested area roughly 65 kilometres north of where Tom and Eileen were last seen written on the
00:22:32
left-hand side of the vest were the words Tom Lonnegan Peace Corps Fiji police initiated a search focused around
00:22:43
Cowie Beach but didn't find anything else of significance exactly one week later on Sunday February 8 a scuba
00:22:54
diving fin marked Eileen L was recovered on the remote northern island of Indian
00:22:59
Head 80 kilometers north of where Tom's vest was found its Island two locations sparked hopes that the couple may have
00:23:08
reached land and could still be alive over the following days other items were recovered including an underwater camera
00:23:18
to dive tanks and a dive hood and buoyancy life vest with Eileen's name on them all items were in near-perfect
00:23:27
condition and to both life vests had been unbuckled indicating they had been deliberately removed around the same
00:23:38
time an employee of another diving - a company named Quicksilver found a green and gray women's wet suit matching
00:23:45
Eileen Sawyer's snacked to a pontoon scientists from the University of Queensland
00:23:52
- examined barnacle growth on the zipper and determined that had likely been submerged in the ocean since January 26
00:24:01
tear marks along the buttocks and armpit area were rumored to have been caused by
00:24:06
sharks but were later determined to have resulted from contact with coral considering Eileen's wetsuit wasn't
00:24:15
custom-made it would have caused the terrible chafing around the back of her legs and under her arms within several
00:24:22
hours likely delirious from prolonged exposure to the Sun experts believed she likely removed it
00:24:30
in a desperate attempt for comfort this act would have required her to remove her fins explaining why they had washed
00:24:38
up on shore without either of these items that wouldn't have taken long for Eileen to reach a point of sheer
00:24:46
exhaustion and dehydration and fall into unconsciousness authorities had maintained a tight-lipped approach
00:24:56
throughout their investigation but in late February a police spokesperson disclosed the most basic and most blunt
00:25:05
thing we can say is that it is quite clear that they were left behind at sea and although we cannot prove this that
00:25:13
they have perished the rest is quite a mystery on March 7 1998 it was announced that the outer edge dive company would
00:25:25
face charges for alleged breaches to Queensland's workplace health and safety legislation Eileen's parents and brother
00:25:33
arrived in Australia later that month and on April 1 they hold a memorial service for Tom and Eileen at st.
00:25:40
Crispin's reef placing two bouquets of flowers in the ocean as a minister read Bible passages aloud Eileen's brother
00:25:50
John Jr told the media we came to Queensland's fully realizing that we will never see Eileen and Tom again to
00:26:00
go to st. Crispin's was very important for us we will return home with memories of a very beautiful place where Arlene
00:26:08
and Tom lost their lives and of the generosity and hospitality of the people of Queensland
00:26:19
theories surrounding Tomlin Darlene's mysterious disappearance were abundant and on June 27 brisbin's Korea Mail
00:26:27
newspaper suggested that the couple may have faked their own deaths supporting this theory whether your ideal sea
00:26:35
conditions at the time of the dive which some felt would have made it easy for the pair to make the six kilometers swim
00:26:41
north to the nearest two brightly lit pontoon that was permanently moored at Agincourt reef there was also another
00:26:48
diving boat anchored six kilometers south of st. Crispin the fishing boat to the north and sightings of a third boat
00:26:56
in the area a channel marker beacon a partially submerged device used to identify safe water channels to navigate
00:27:04
through was also situated on the western side of st. Crispin and the northwesterly current led to a nearby
00:27:11
sand bank in addition the couple's decision that Don full diving gear was viewed by some that they were prepared
00:27:20
to navigate the ocean for an extended period of time the lack of damage to their recovered items suggests that they
00:27:27
may have intentionally discarded their equipment to create the illusion they had been lost at sea reports emerged
00:27:36
that in 1985 a man named Milton Harris who also came from the Lonergan's hometown of Baton Rouge and was a fellow
00:27:45
member of their church had staged his own disappearance from a ship in waters off New Zealand for the purpose of
00:27:52
making a fraudulent insurance claim some believed this story might have inspired
00:27:58
the Lonnegan to stage their own deaths but it seemed unlikely as their combined two life-insurance policies only
00:28:05
amounted to forty five thousand US dollars neither policy had been paid out and the
00:28:12
couple's bank accounts remained untouched in the weeks following their disappearance twenty-six alleged
00:28:20
sightings of the couple were reported across Australia none of which were deemed reliable
00:28:26
authorities also felt the couple would have encountered great difficulty trying to hide when their faces were plastered
00:28:33
all over national newspapers and television reports Graham Connor a member of the Port Douglas marine tours
00:28:41
operators Association who ran the local dive center believed the conditions were
00:28:46
mild enough and there was an ample amount of light remaining On January 25 to enable Tom and Eileen to reach the
00:28:53
pontoon nor other boats in proximity he told the aged newspaper there is no indication at this stage that they have
00:29:03
been killed at sea there are no bodies the equipment found has not been shredded it is almost impossible for
00:29:10
them to be taken by a shark there are not big sharks in the reef area where they were there are white tip reef or
00:29:18
black tip reef sharks they a dose of 2 meter sharks I've never heard of an attack by any of these and if there had
00:29:26
been one there would have been remnants of wetsuits and bodies somewhere there is absolutely nothing
00:29:34
graeme also said an unidentified boat had been sighted at the reef the day Tom and Eileen went missing implying it had
00:29:42
picked up the pair and brought them to shore unsubstantiated theories pertaining to the couple's survival were
00:29:50
rumored to have been started by those within the dive industry in the mid-1990s approximately 1.3 million
00:29:59
divers and snorkelers flocked to the Great Barrier Reef each year resulting in four million day trips to the reef
00:30:05
annually the dive industry provided employment to roughly 50,000 people and generated 4.3 billion dollars per annum
00:30:15
if it was determined the Lonergan's death was the fold of a professional dive to a company the entire industry
00:30:22
would be negatively impacted The Guardian newspaper claimed that Tom Colerain co-owner of adhiraj the company
00:30:31
at the center of the scandal was predominantly responsible for spreading the conspiracy theories in contrast case
00:30:44
investigators were certain Tom and Eileen were deceased lead detective sergeant Paul priest told Current Affair
00:30:51
show 20/20 there's far simpler and safer ways to stage your own disappearance than to get
00:30:59
on a boat jump in the sea have some expectation that there's going to be a flawed headcount you're going to be
00:31:06
missed on the diver log or you're in collaboration with the skipper and crew of that vessel or you've got a submarine
00:31:12
somewhere in the neighborhood it didn't take too much to realize that this wasn't a case of a staged disappearance
00:31:20
it's quite simply that they'd been left at sea regardless the public obsession with uncovering the truth led to bizarre
00:31:31
and desperate acts channel 10 reporters conducted an interview with Bob Sheen a diviner who claimed he could find
00:31:39
missing people as they filmed him overlooking the Queensland Coast line and making his pretty
00:31:45
since a car drove past the filming location with a couple inside that the news crew believed were the Lonnegan x'
00:31:52
they chased the vehicle down only to discover the pair were Australians other experts were certain Tom and Eileen
00:32:02
never left the Coral Sea the several kilometers swim to the nearest pontoon surrounding boats or channel marker
00:32:10
beacon would have been a far more demanding venture than skeptics assumed the pair only had five hours of daylight
00:32:17
remaining to make the journey in blistering 35-degree heat against strong currents that would have been pushing
00:32:24
them further out to sea professor roger hughes an expert in oceanography from the University of
00:32:31
Melbourne explained to that from a title viewpoint the Great Barrier Reef could be described as a gigantic bathtub quote
00:32:39
as the tide comes in it fills quickly from the open sea the ocean flows into the reef like water overflowing from a
00:32:49
tub on the air bovec going tired a massive volume of water empties slowly into the ocean across reefs and de niro
00:32:58
channels called choke points the area where the Lonnegan x' had been diving was right near one of these choke points
00:33:07
and the tides had already started to turn by 3:30 p.m. moving at speeds of up to one not by 7:15 p.m. it was estimated
00:33:16
the couple were likely carried 3 nautical miles west towards the coast with no choice but to tread water the
00:33:24
entire time when night descended the rising tide would have flowed to the east taking the Lonnegan x' towards the outer
00:33:33
wall of the reef and into open waters an article featured in The Age newspaper explained that in order for Tom and
00:33:42
Eileen to stay together they would have needed to wear the hold hands or use their now weightless diving belt to bind
00:33:50
to themselves how did they manage to survive the first night they would have been severely dehydrated and disoriented
00:33:57
by the following morning storms on the days following may have given them the opportunity to collect fresh water
00:34:05
though contrary to some reports there were indeed deadly sharks present in the area posing a lingering danger in the
00:34:14
months preceding the incident local fishermen reported seeing more sharks than ever in the surrounding waters off
00:34:21
the reef one said there are tiger sharks out there Tigers do not just rush in and
00:34:29
buy it they take a couple of hours to make up their mind and - that is very frightening you lose your loved one to a
00:34:37
tiger and do you witness it and to know you were next police had conducted a search of the
00:34:47
Lonergan's hostel room and found their personal Diaries in the safe along with their passports and traveler's checks
00:34:54
both Diaries included several entries that indicated the couple may have been going through some personal trauma with
00:35:01
Tom's writings noted as particularly introspective and somewhat morose compared to those of his wife
00:35:09
investigators withheld the diaries contents from the public but clarified that neither contained anything that
00:35:16
suggested that either Tom or Eileen intended to enter their lives nevertheless the press circulated a new
00:35:23
theory that the couple had either carried out a joint suicide or that Tom had a quote death wish and orchestrated
00:35:31
a murder-suicide plot at sea some believed Tom may have wanted to die alongside his wife that we told this
00:35:40
from her and allowed her to pass away unaware of his intentions due to their religious beliefs that those who ended
00:35:47
their own lives would be denied access to heaven on April 22 1998 almost three months after the Lonnegan x' went
00:35:59
missing police confirmed that they were extending their investigation into the couple's disappearance based on new
00:36:06
information that had come to light the day after Tom and Eileen vanished a boat run by the Quicksilver diving
00:36:13
company took a large group of Italian tourists out to the reef air diving session the skipper claimed to have
00:36:21
heard American accents on board which stood out against the Italian voices a head count was conducted when the vessel
00:36:29
returned to shore revealing three more passengers aboard than when the group departed a month later the owner of a
00:36:38
Port Douglas bookstore told the press that on Tuesday January 27 an American couple entered her store and purchased
00:36:46
six postcards and two maps of the Northern Territory unlike other American tourists who were
00:36:53
typically chatty this couple were timid and quiet the mail said they had been working in Fiji entered only been in
00:37:01
Australia for a few days the store owner had reported the incident to police shortly after hearing
00:37:08
of the Lonnegan s disappearance but it was weeks before they took her official statement a police spokesperson stated
00:37:16
they had included her report in their investigation but believed there was a quote
00:37:22
reasonable chance she was mistaken if people are going to fake their own disappearance why would they go back to
00:37:29
the town you disappeared from and declare yourself as American from Fiji weeks later on Friday June 26 1998 two
00:37:41
fishermen were trawling a mangrove swamp near Archer point 175 kilometers north of Port Douglas when they came across a
00:37:50
whether to divers slate the device similar in appearance to a small white board was used for communicating
00:37:58
underwater at red Monday January 26 1998 8:00 a.m. to anyone who can help us we have been abandoned on Agincourt reef
00:38:13
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several months and handwriting experts concluded the message was written by Tom Lonnegan the discovery contradicted the
00:42:49
theory that Tom had carried out an act of murder-suicide with a quote in the age later stating it is not a message
00:42:58
from a man who wanted to die but a cry from a man and woman who were desperate to live by this point the police had
00:43:07
already closed the investigation and submitted the case to the coroner to conduct a formal inquiry according to
00:43:15
their report a team of nine officers at thoroughly and painstakingly investigated the case for six months
00:43:22
they concluded that Tom and Eileen Lonnegan had been left out at sea due to one satisfactory safety measures carried
00:43:29
out by the outer edge dive company the coronal link quest took place in Cannes on Monday September 7 1998 in deigned to
00:43:40
determine who was culpable for the Lonnegan fate several outer edge staff exercised their right to remain silent
00:43:49
including co-owner and skipper Jack man and two other crew members who had important roles On January 25 dive
00:43:57
master Kathy Traverso and the instructor allegedly responsible for the botched headcount
00:44:03
George Pyrrha heav it was revealed that Senior Constable Steve Burgess had taken
00:44:10
covert recordings of his initial conversations with the adhiraj crew on January 27 when the police were first
00:44:17
informed the couple were missing the recordings were played in court during which the crew members sounded panicked
00:44:25
and confused by the possibility they had left two divers at sea at one stage nan referenced the couple's
00:44:34
belongings that have been left behind on the boat saying tonight I looked in the
00:44:40
bag and thought Jesus Christ it's got a wallet and papers in it Christopher Coxon acting senior
00:44:48
inspector with the department of employment training and industrial relations spoke critically of outer
00:44:54
edges operations concluding there was enough evidence to show the company had a history of leaving dive sites without
00:45:01
conducting proper head counts in contrast Achaeans local who had participated in the January 25 diving
00:45:10
expedition gave a glowing review of the tour company stating it was the best of 40 dives he had ever been on
00:45:18
he hadn't noticed whether a headcount had been carried out at the end of the day testimony was given by Kerry Nance
00:45:27
carnaval the operator for the bus company responsible for transporting the 26 member to a group to and from the
00:45:34
Port Douglas marina on January 25 in her regional statements a police corine said she called outer edge that
00:45:43
evening explaining the Lonnegan had failed to return to the bus the men on the other line indicated it was fine for
00:45:50
the vehicle to have left without them at the time corinne denied knowing who she
00:45:57
spoke to on the phone in court she admitted this was a lie and that she had really spoken to Jack and Ian she
00:46:05
withheld his name from police at the time h-how'd of a misguided desire to protect him explaining I thought he must
00:46:14
be feeling absolutely terrible I didn't want to hurt him I knew I realized it wasn't up to me to make those judgments
00:46:25
Rada punchin a dive instructor tour operator and member of the Queensland Government's taskforce on recreational
00:46:32
diving told the court that a stranded diver would likely discard their life vests because swimming in one was
00:46:39
difficult and ineffective he explained the longer you have to swim the worse you become a wetsuit would chafe
00:46:49
particularly under the arms eventually you might think about taking the wetsuit off Carl Jason ow ski one of the crew
00:46:59
members aboard the MBR de reg also testified he had cleared Anchorage st. Crispin's on the day Tom and Eileen
00:47:07
disappeared and didn't see any sign of the pair during the ten minutes the vessel waited before departing for land
00:47:15
upon returning to the docks Carl noticed the couple's abandoned shoes in the racks but thought they must have
00:47:22
belonged to crew members who were still on the boat he described their head count process as a fallible and
00:47:29
inadequate system stating passengers are constantly moving around you they're on
00:47:36
holidays they're chatting and drinking wandering around he vaguely recalled that the miscalculated headcount On
00:47:45
January 25 was carried out by diving instructor George P Reeve that testimony provided by other witnesses questioned
00:47:53
whether the headcount had been carried out at all following the third day of the inquest proceedings were adjourned
00:48:03
to allow the coroner and other court officials to visit and swim the reef to get a sense of the conditions faced by
00:48:09
the Lonergan's court resumed on October 1 during which experts debated the couple's outcome based on the relatively
00:48:19
intact state of their recovered belongings it was deemed unlikely that Tom and Eileen were attacked by sharks
00:48:26
but rather voluntarily discarded their diving equipment after succumbing to delirium as a result of dehydration
00:48:34
without the buoyancy provided by their gear the couple would have been unable to tread water for long and would have
00:48:41
drowned soon after when Petty Officer Bret Daniels of the royal australian navy's elite clearance
00:48:49
diving division appeared in court to discuss the search efforts elder edge as legal counsel asked him if you have two
00:48:58
divers both working with the usual diving gear and to one of those divers wish to kill the other how would that be
00:49:06
achieved the heeded back-and-forth ensured between the various legal teams with the prosecution objecting to the
00:49:14
query on the grounds that quote Navy divers are not assassins they labelled reports that the Lonnegan had a death
00:49:23
wish as wild and unsubstantiated objectionable inadmissible nonsense adding that investigators had disproven
00:49:31
this rumor outer edges legal team pressed the matter prompting the prosecution to call the allegation
00:49:39
disgusting and slanderous the coroner allowed the line of questioning to continue within a limited scope Petty
00:49:49
Officer Brett Daniels suggested one way for a diver to kill another was to remove the breathing
00:49:55
valve from their mouth and to then hold them under water until they drowned over one-week 800 pages of statements
00:50:05
and nearly 60 exhibits were presented to the court with the aged newspaper describing the inquiry as one of
00:50:12
Australia's most extraordinary courtroom dramas the prosecution concluded that the Lonnegan had died as a result of
00:50:20
outer edge and a Jack and Erin's quote slipshod a devil-may-care attitude both at sea and at Shaw
00:50:29
they said the lack of systems clarifying who was responsible for what led to a tragedy of errors and that the only
00:50:37
mystery surrounding the case was why the crew had failed to wait for the Lonnegan
00:50:41
returned the prosecution recommended jacking in face criminal charges saying he abdicated his responsibility for his
00:50:51
passengers on Friday October 9 the coroner presented his findings he called the speculation that the couple
00:51:02
was still alive had faked their own deaths or carried out a suicide wildly inaccurate and based on misleading
00:51:10
information he criticized the 51 hours that took for Jack nan to realize the Americans were missing and committed him
00:51:18
to stand trial for the manslaughter of Tom and Eileen Lonnegan by criminal negligence there were no adverse
00:51:26
findings against the remaining outer edge staff who were described by the coroner as inexperienced relief crew
00:51:34
Queensland state government also announced that nan would be facing separate charges for breaching state
00:51:41
health and workplace safety laws outside court men appeared visibly upset and proclaimed his innocence
00:51:51
Eileen's mother Cathy welcome to the end of the painful inquest telling reporters
00:51:57
we hope the government of Queensland will formulate some laws to govern the dive industry which is a dangerous
00:52:05
industry right now following the inquest a government task force was assembled to look into
00:52:15
Queensland's dive industry on November 5 a draft report found that the voluntary
00:52:21
nature of the current safety guidelines had proven problematic and called for all basic safety standards to be made
00:52:28
compulsory the proposed regulations included mandatory head counts individual log book signing upon
00:52:36
entering and leaving the water train's lookouts on all boats and the employment of more diving inspectors task force
00:52:44
chairperson cloth Bob recommended that operators who failed to comply with the new regulations be prosecuted stating
00:52:52
it's time for the dive industry to look at the fact that there needs to be something done about the deaths and the
00:52:59
incidents which have been occurring in November 1999 jaqen Ian's trial commenced in the
00:53:07
Cannes Supreme Court where he pled not guilty to charges of criminal negligence causing two counts of unlawful death if
00:53:16
found guilty he faced the possible prison term of 20 years presiding judge justice Stanley Jones wanted the jury to
00:53:24
ignore the publicity surrounding the case because much of it was irrelevant or inadmissible he clarified that it
00:53:32
wasn't a question of whether nion acted with intent to kill the line against but
00:53:37
whether he failed in his duty to keep his passengers safe outer edge crew members testified that while head counts
00:53:46
were routine no one in particular took responsibility for conducting them a transcript of an early police interview
00:53:54
with nan was read to the court in which he said I will accept full responsibility for I am the master of
00:54:02
the vessel it was my understanding that the instructor did account but it is all
00:54:08
a bit sketchy I asked to George did he count those two people and he said yes I distinctly remember saying did you get
00:54:17
those two people who jumped in the water the prosecution stated that any confusion regarding the headcount or
00:54:25
whether a couple had jumped back into the water could have been easily rectified if a crew member had simply
00:54:31
checked the dialog which would have revealed the Lonnegan x' hadn't returned Nan's defense lawyer Tony Glenn relied
00:54:40
heavily on the theory that the couple had ended their own lives or faked their own deaths Tom and Eileen were prolific
00:54:48
diarists and two used excerpts from their entries to suggest that tom was developing an increasingly bleak view of
00:54:55
life and looking for a quick and peaceful death he told the jury that tom was discontented with his future Eileen
00:55:04
had grown to hate teaching and that contrary to outward appearances the couple were unhappy in life much to the
00:55:13
pain of Tom and Eileen's families he read out excerpts from both Diaries revealing their personal and private
00:55:20
content publicly for the first time in one entry Tom was highly critical of his personality describing himself as
00:55:29
obnoxious overbearing presumptuous intrusive irrelevant to the point of insensitive self-centered and offensive
00:55:39
in another dated June 16 1997 Tom wrote that he was quote in deaths waiting room
00:55:50
appearing to address his writings directly to God or Jesus he explained like a student who's finished an exam
00:55:59
and is merely waiting to hand it in and go I feel as though my life is complete and I am ready to die however that
00:56:07
sounds to someone else it is what I feel in my heart on December 15 1997 Tom wrote about the joys of making love to
00:56:18
his wife but added a passage to that read it's clear to me now that not only does
00:56:25
life not get much worse than this that hardly in fact gets any better Eileen's writings were directed more so
00:56:35
to herself and expressed the concern for her husband's well-being she wrote you Tom have a death wish
00:56:44
I believe this wish may very well lead you to be in the right place at the right time to get what you want I may
00:56:52
get caught in that too since we remain physically together so much of the time it's a risk I take two weeks before
00:57:02
their disappearance she explained Tom doesn't know what he wants to do with his life he thinks he is ready to die he
00:57:11
seems to want to get out while life is good I have my life and I am terrified by death a couple of nights ago Tom
00:57:21
explained to me in great detail why he feels his life is over and he is ready to die mostly he is afraid she concluded
00:57:32
a long passage with the question just as he formed his death wish to include me and I fought it off in my dreams I
00:57:40
formed my life wish to include him whose will is stronger during closing arguments the prosecution
00:57:52
concluded that it was Nan's responsibility to bring the lawn against home safely from the reef and he failed
00:57:58
to do so in response the defense told the jury there are no bodies the evidence suggests they are not dead it
00:58:09
is a question for you to decide if you have any doubt about this issue then you must acquit my client on
00:58:20
Wednesday November 24 1999 after less than 90 minutes deliberation the jury found to jack nan not guilty from the
00:58:33
dock it appeared as though an enormous burden had been lifted from his shoulders Nan's father burst into tears
00:58:40
while Eileen's parents sat motionless in summation justice Jones stated that in order to convict the jury had to be
00:58:50
convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the Lonnegan --zz were dead that nians actions were sufficient to cause their
00:58:57
death and there was sufficient recklessness or grave moral guilt on Nan's behalf deserving of punishment
00:59:05
justice Jones agreed that as the skipper men was entitled to rely on the head count conducted by his crew he dispelled
00:59:14
the possibility that the loan against disappearance was a suicide plot or an attempt to faked their own deaths as
00:59:20
they had to no transport belongings or money and couldn't be certain the boat would leave without them or the
00:59:27
headcount would be flawed justice Jones quote the absence of bodies leads to many theories
00:59:36
but it is a tragedy for mr. nan and it is a tragedy for the families of the Lonnegan 'he's following the judgment
00:59:46
jack and then approached Darlene's parents Johnny and Cathy Haynes shaking Johnny's hand he said I apologize I'm so
00:59:55
terribly sorry the journey gave him a hug and wished him luck and Cathy embraced him warm
01:00:03
nann left the court surrounded by his wife father and other supporting family members and friends outside the
01:00:12
courthouse the Hanes thanked the Australian legal system and expressed the compassion for nian Johnny later
01:00:20
told twenty20 Nan's life is never going to be the same he doesn't have to go to jail for this to change his life he's
01:00:30
got to live with this for the rest of his life he told reporters the defense attorney used those Diaries - absolutely
01:00:39
slander - absolutely destroy these two people's reputations I was disappointed in the verdict I felt like the jury
01:00:48
didn't believe that they were dead and to me that was the essence of the trial was to prove that they had died
01:00:59
Eileen's family struggled with what they called the defense team's deliberate malicious misquoting of Tom and Eileen's
01:01:06
diary entries Eileen's brother John Jr staunchly rejected the rumors surrounding his sister's disappearance
01:01:14
telling the aged I know my sister my sister is not a con artist I know she would not kill herself a former
01:01:25
colleague of the missing couple told 20/20 that the suicide Theory angered him explaining that just wasn't Tom and
01:01:34
Eileen in any way shape or form Tom's mother Elizabeth Lonnegan said these were two people who did nothing but good
01:01:46
in their lives now in death there are those who would cheapen them I will tell you what the story is they were left
01:01:55
behind that is the story they could have been picked up by a spaceship and if that happened it would still not be the
01:02:03
story the story would be that they were left behind in the first place all this talk about them wanting to disappear is
01:02:11
just a bunch of garbage the fact of this story is the somebody left them in the water and they
01:02:19
did not report it for two and a half days to prove that defense attorney Tony Glynn had cherry picked from the
01:02:28
couple's Diaries by taking certain quotes out of context that read in favor of his argument the families permitted
01:02:35
the Sunday age to publish further excerpts of the entries that had been presented in court Glynn had quoted one
01:02:43
instance where tom was self-critical but in another entry he thanked God for all
01:02:48
his opportunities to live learn and serve he expressed his gratitude for his healthy mind emotional strength and
01:02:56
well-being and referenced his profound to love for Eileen his friends and family Glyn had also spoken of Tom's
01:03:06
belief that his life wouldn't get any better yet failed to mention that the entry concluded quote the trick for now
01:03:14
is not to dwell on how long it will last but to enjoy the blessings of the day and to let them bring you closer to God
01:03:24
Glyn had read an excerpt from Eileen's diary in which she said she hated teaching and hoped to never teach again
01:03:31
but had intentionally withheld the rest of the passage it continued but teaching
01:03:39
has taught me how much I love learning I am endlessly curious I love beauty and I
01:03:46
see beauty in well most things in logical patterns in bright colors in the interconnectedness of things in creation
01:03:55
in destruction I think really that is why I love life and I love living to witness beauty I love to learn because
01:04:06
in learning I discover beauty I fear death not just because I fear the unknown but because of the beauty I will
01:04:14
never see the spider's web in the damp forest despite are the sunsets the towering
01:04:22
snow topped mountains the knowledge of how those mountains got there the moons of Jupiter and the sands of Mars
01:04:30
so much beauty to see in the universe Sunday age journalist Peter Patrick stated that by viewing the diary entries
01:04:41
in their entirety it was clear that Tom and Eileen were both highly intelligent people and that their comments on death
01:04:49
were more a reflection on life itself he described Eileen as a shrewd observer of human nature while Tom feared losing
01:04:58
the things he loved most including his wife his intellect his students and diving the outer edge dive company pled
01:05:10
guilty to negligence in a Queensland civil court and was fined $27,000 by the state's workplace Health & Safety
01:05:18
Department for failing to keep an accurate logbook the case left the jackin and financially ruined he and his
01:05:27
wife lost the boat their house and two life savings and his father lost the substantial amount of his assets to
01:05:34
legal fees in an exclusive interview with The Sunday age nan said I don't blame the Lonnegan I
01:05:44
don't blame the crew I don't blame anybody at present I'm undergoing a healing process I have a deep feeling of
01:05:53
responsibility and remorse he said he wished he could have known Tom and Eileen better as they shared his love
01:06:02
for the sea and he hoped to one day own his own boat again the Lonnegan incident
01:06:10
sparked the crisis of confidence in North Queensland's dive industry and resulted in tighter men to tree safety
01:06:17
regulations for diving boats throughout Australia strict regulations were introduced by the queensland government
01:06:24
with all captains and dive masters required to independently confirm each headcount despite the new regulations an
01:06:34
inspection of 59 dive companies was carried out by the Queensland Health and Safety Department in 2002 resulting in
01:06:42
76 notice is being issued for failure to conduct proper head counts or lookouts or to
01:06:48
keep adequate dialogues in 2003 a low-budget film said to be inspired by the Lonnegan story titled open water was
01:06:59
released grossing more than 1 million dollars in its opening weekend it received mostly positive reviews from
01:07:08
film critics but its release was unwelcome in Cannes where locals were still unwilling to discuss the case
01:07:15
people were concerned that the film would harm the local diving and tourism industry as had happened with the
01:07:22
release of Steven Spielberg's 1975 classic shark attack movie Jaws a dive industry spokesperson recalled jaws was
01:07:33
a shocker for our industry I was working at a dive place in Brisbane at the time
01:07:38
and - the phone's literally stopped ringing jacking in expressed his disappointment about the film saying the
01:07:49
reality of it is that the thing creates emotional turmoil for all of the people involved it's incredibly unsettling and
01:07:57
stressful for myself and my children and for us that's a terrible thing that opened water has been made this is
01:08:04
really very bad for the industry as a whole dive Queensland spokesperson Cole McKenzie told
01:08:12
reporters that the industry found the film confronting on many levels quote I felt horrified for me it was an eye
01:08:22
opener this can happen and has happened and the Lonnegan are not the only ones we have left out there
01:08:34
Tom and Darlene weren't the first thought last to be left behind while visiting the Great Barrier Reef in 1993
01:08:43
16 year-old Victoria Brown was left near Green Island 28 kilometres east of Cannes and subsequently drowned in
01:08:53
January of 2000 80 year-old American tourist Ursula Margaret Clutton was snorkeling
01:09:00
on the reef during a tour with the Quicksilver diving company when a headcount of 300 passengers came up
01:09:06
short the Australian search and rescue team covered an area of 625 nautical miles
01:09:13
looking for Ursula but it was called off three days later when there was no sign
01:09:18
of her in 2003 Queensland's scuba diving industry received another blow when 26 year old
01:09:27
American newlywed Tina Watson died on her honeymoon while diving the young gal shipwreck site in the Great Barrier Reef
01:09:35
rather than the dive company being at fault Tina's husband gave Watson was initially charged with her murder
01:09:42
and later pled guilty to manslaughter detailed further in episode 51 of case file in September 2005 two British
01:09:53
tourists became separated from their dive group after being caught by a powerful current between two reefs the
01:10:01
dive instructors only noticed their absence when a headcount was conducted at the end of the trip planes and boats
01:10:08
were called in and the dehydrated and sunburnt pair were discovered six hours later having drifted nine kilometers
01:10:15
from where they first entered the water no indication of misconduct was found in
01:10:21
either of these cases in 2008 a couple became separated from their diving group after strong winds and waves forced them
01:10:32
to drift 200 meters from their boat the group immediately noticed they were missing and searched the reef for three
01:10:40
hours before night fell and forced them to return to shore the couple tied themselves together with rope from a
01:10:48
marker buoy and were rescued at 8:40 the following morning after 19 hours lost at
01:10:54
sea in June 2011 an American tourist was snorkeling on the reef when he lifted his head out of the water only to
01:11:04
discover that his tour boat had to left without him panicked he was able to swim
01:11:09
to another boat for help a staff member was fired for failing to get the snorkel
01:11:15
as signature to confirm he had returned to the vessel before it left the area the Lonnegan case was also referenced in
01:11:25
the open world survival video game stranded deep by Australian studio bean team games the story follows a plane
01:11:34
crash survivor marooned in the Pacific Ocean and his efforts to return to civilization a diving slate bearing the
01:11:43
desperate handwritten request for help by Tom Lonnegan can be found in game lying on a beach when placed in the
01:11:51
players inventory the item is described as Awesome despite an inquiry and trial ruling
01:12:03
otherwise theories still prevail that the Lonnegan is either ended their own lives or faked their own deaths Tom and
01:12:11
Eileen's families vehemently reject these claims and maintain their belief that the couple's tragic death was due
01:12:18
to the abject failure of the outer edge crew Eileen's father Johnny Haynes does not hold any hard feelings against the
01:12:27
former dive company accepting that it was an accident his biggest regret is that no trace of Tom and Eileen's bodies
01:12:35
were found telling the Guardian newspaper it leaves a big holding you to lose your kid
01:12:42
that's part of your life I wish they had found them so we had something I suppose
01:12:50
we have the Great Barrier Reef they're part of that in the early 2000s Eileen's younger brother John Haynes jr.
01:13:00
published a detailed essay online reflecting on the case he described Tom and Eileen as warm
01:13:08
client hearted people who had once welcomed him into their home and a very difficult time in his life and helped
01:13:15
guide him on a path to success John said anyone who thought otherwise should quote have their head examined
01:13:23
explaining Tom and Eileen were at a point in their lives that most people don't reach until they are 65 they
01:13:32
weren't wealthy but they didn't want or need more than scuba gear and a place to
01:13:36
sleep they could have settled down in Hawaii and spent the next 30 years working just enough to support their
01:13:43
diving and being happier than some millionaires I've met two Elaine and Tom their life was just beginning their
01:13:52
plans were coming to fruition John urged people not to focus on the tragedy of their deaths instead saying
01:14:02
it would be better to remember Thomas and Eileen Lonnegan not only as people who devoted themselves to making the
01:14:09
world a better place for others but as two divers who lived and died doing what they loved in the company of the ones
01:14:17
they loved in what would be Tom's final diary entry he wrote I am reminded daily
01:14:27
of my debt to my beautiful faithful devoted wife Eileen with whom God has blessed me as we depart from one life
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and to begin the usually difficult transition into the next I feel obligated to verbally express my deep
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rooted commitment to her from my innermost heart I make this pledge of devotion to Eileen he then dedicates a
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short prayer to his wife before writing because of the immense wealth of pleasure she has given me since we met
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as well as all the discomfort and anguish which she has relieved I give in return the entry ends there abruptly and
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remains incomplete with Tom never revealing what exactly he planned to give our lane in return for her love
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[Music] you