
It's the morning of the 24th of September, 2002 and Dianne Brimble has yet to appear after her first night aboard a vacation cruise ship set for New Caledonia and Vanuatu.
Dianne’s sister, Alma laughs it off to her daughter and niece, joking that Dianne probably had a bit too much to drink and fallen asleep on a deck chair somewhere in the sun.
After all, the sisters had been planning this vacation for almost two years and everyone was more then ready to have a good time.
The 10-day cruise began a day earlier, boarding in Sydney. After some welcome drinks on deck and dinner; Alma, her daughter and Dianne’s daughter Tahlia all retired for an early evening leaving Dianne to enjoy herself mingling with the other guests at the ship’s disco.
That would be the last time they see Dianne alive.
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After years of scrimping and saving, this vacation had brought out a different adventurous side to Dianne.
Universally known as a fun-loving, social person who enjoyed dancing and getting the party started.
Her family and friends would use ‘conservative’ and ‘prudish’ to describe her romantic adventures, yet after one night aboard the cruise, her fellow guests found Dianne to be ‘forthright’ and ‘flirtatious.’
So when Dianne wasn’t in her bed the next morning, Alma was curious what she’d gotten up to, but not yet concerned.