On January 25, 1998, American tourists Tom and Eileen Lonergan boarded a dive boat in Queensland for a day out exploring the Great Barrier Reef.
The married couple from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, had stopped off in Australia on their way home from Fiji and Tuvalu, where they had been serving in the Peace Corps for three years.
Eileen, 28, was an experienced scuba diver, and had encouraged Tom, 34, to take up the hobby as well.
They were excited to dive the world's largest coral reef system.
Two days later, on January 27, a bag containing the passports and belongings of Tom and Eileen was found on the dive boat.
48 hours after the couple went missing, a wide scale air and sea search was quickly organised, with everyone from Navy to civilians taking part.
But the couple - who would have been faced with the Queensland summer heat, no fresh water, and the depths and dangers of the open ocean - were never found. »
