Thomas Joseph Lonergan (born 28 December 1964) and Eileen Cassidy Lonergan (née Hains; born 3 March 1969) were a married American couple who were unintentionally abandoned in the Coral Sea off Australia's northeast coast on 25 January 1998, during a group scuba diving trip on MV Outer Edge. Their absences were not noted by the boat crew until two days later on 27 January and while search efforts resulted in the discovery of personal effects presumed to be those of the Lonergans, they did not lead to their discovery. Their whereabouts are unknown, though both are presumed dead. The couple's disappearance and deaths resulted in "a crisis of confidence in north Queensland's dive industry" and resulted in tighter mandatory safety regulations for diving boats in Australia. 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, were married in Jefferson, Texas on 24 June 1988. Disappearance On 25 January 1998, the Lonergans were scuba diving with a group at St. Crispin's Reef 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 the two had not come back aboard. 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. Investigations and trial The couple were not discovered missing until two days later, on 27 January 1998, after a bag containing their belongings was found on board the dive boat. A massive air and sea search took place over the following three days. In February 1998, a women's wetsuit matching Eileen's size washed ashore in north Queensland. Upon examination of barnacle growth on the wetsuit, it was determined it had likely been submerged in the ocean since January. It also bore tears along buttock and armpit area, presumed by examiners to have resulted from coming in contact with coral. Several theories were suggested surrounding their disappearance. At the time, it was suggested that the Lonergans might have staged their disappearance. However, the Lonergans' bank accounts were never touched and their insurance policies were not claimed. Excerpts from Tom's personal diary were found portraying a man who