The daughter of a woman who was left behind by a cruise ship on a remote island and later died has accused the operator of a 'failure of care and common sense'. The body of Suzanne Rees, 80, was found by rescue workers on Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef on Sunday. The day before, she had been hiking on the island with her fellow passengers but was not on the ship when it left hours later. Katherine Rees said she was 'shocked and saddened' that the Coral Adventurer left 'without my mum', whom she described as healthy, active, a keen gardener, and bushwalker. 'From the little we have been told, it seems that there was a failure of care and common sense,' she said on Thursday. It's understood that Suzanne Rees, from New South Wales, was on the first stop of a 60-day cruise around Australia, which had left Cairns earlier that week. Passengers, who pay tens of thousands of dollars to join the cruise, were transported to the exclusive island for a day trip with the option of hiking or snorkelling. Suzanne joined a group hike to the island's highest peak, Cook's Look, but broke away from the others as she needed to rest. 'We understand from the police that it was a very hot day, and mum fell ill on the hill climb.' Katherine said. 'She was asked to head down, unescorted. Then the ship left, apparently without doing a passenger count.' Katherine expressed hopes for a coronial inquiry to determine what could have been done to save her mother's life. The incident is under investigation by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa). A search party was alerted about Suzanne being missing but efforts were halted until the next day when a helicopter found her body. The cruise company expressed deep regret over the incident and is cooperating with the authorities.