Close X
Monday, November 4, 2024
ADVT 
National

39-Yr-Old Richmond Woman And Her American Husband Among Six Killed In Alaska Crash

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 15 May, 2019 10:39 PM

    VANCOUVER — Friends and colleagues are mourning a Metro Vancouver couple who were active in the region's booming technology industry before their lives were cut short in a float plane crash in Alaska.


    Thirty-seven-year-old Elsa Wilk from Richmond, B.C., and Ryan Wilk, 39, originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, were among six people killed when two sightseeing planes collided on Monday.


    Derek Bolen confirmed the two were married and recalled working with Elsa Wilk at Clio, a legal software company in Vancouver.


    "When we worked together she was a highly driven, incredibly intelligent and supportive person who you could always rely on for personal or professional advice and I considered her a close friend," he said in a direct message on Twitter.


    She was a competitive in taekwondo at the national level and brought the same sense of "healthy competition" to everything she did, he added. He recalled how the marketing team at Clio made red "Elsa Army" T-shirts for staff to support her when she was competing.


    Her LinkedIn page said she had worked in marketing for several technology companies and helped launch the video game CryptoKitties.


    Ryan Wilk's LinkedIn account described him as vice-president of product and market innovation at NuData Security. A person who answered the phone at the company's Vancouver office confirmed he worked there and said the company is working on a news release.


    Brianne Rigetti, a former taekwondo teammate on the B.C. Senior Women's Pattern Team, said Elsa Wilk was a "fierce friend and competitor with a work ethic like no other."


    "It didn't matter if you hadn't spoken for months or hours, it was always like no time had passed at all. She would be there for you at a moments notice, sometime even when you didn't know that was exactly what you needed," Rigetti said in a direct message on Facebook.


    "I am so fortunate to have called her my friend, to have travelled and competed with her and to have shared a part of my life with her. She touched so many lives that are better for meeting her and there are a lot of people who lost an amazing friend, competitor, teammate and companion."


    The float planes were carrying tourists from the Royal Princess cruise ship when they collided Monday near the southeast Alaska town of Ketchikan.


    The death toll was initially reported as four, with two people missing. The U.S. Coast Guard said the bodies of the two missing people were recovered near the crash site Tuesday night.


    Global Affairs Canada said Canadian consular officials in Seattle were in contact with local authorities to gather additional information and provide assistance as needed.


    "Our thoughts and sympathies are with the family and loved ones of the Canadian citizen who died in Alaska," the department said.


    The American victims were identified as 46-year-old pilot Randy Sullivan from Ketchikan, 62-year-old Cassandra Webb, 39-year-old Ryan Wilk and 46-year-old Louis Botha.


    State troopers said the Australian was 56-year-old Simon Bodie.


    The Royal Princess left Vancouver for Anchorage on Saturday and was to return on May 25.


    One of the planes was a single-engine de Havilland Otter operated by Taquan Air and was returning from a wilderness tour of the Misty Fjords sold through Princess Cruises, the company said.


    It was carrying 10 guests from the Royal Princess and a pilot, who were all Americans, the statement said.


    The other plane, a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver, was operating an independent flight tour carrying a pilot and four guests, the company added.


    It's not known how the planes collided. U.S. National Transportation Safety Board investigators arrived from Washington, D.C., Tuesday afternoon.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    22 Cases Of Measles Have B.C. Doctor Urging Travellers To Get Vaccinated

    22 Cases Of Measles Have B.C. Doctor Urging Travellers To Get Vaccinated
    VANCOUVER — Health officials have confirmed a 22nd case of the measles in British Columbia.

    22 Cases Of Measles Have B.C. Doctor Urging Travellers To Get Vaccinated

    Canadian Astronaut David Saint-Jacques To Make First Spacewalk Next Monday

    MONTREAL — Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques is scheduled to perform his first spacewalk next Monday, venturing outside the International Space Station alongside NASA colleague Anne McClain.    

    Canadian Astronaut David Saint-Jacques To Make First Spacewalk Next Monday

    Man Sentenced To Life In Prison For Shooting Woman In The Head In Her Home

    Man Sentenced To Life In Prison For Shooting Woman In The Head In Her Home
    An Ontario man who shot a woman in the head several times in her apartment and left her body to decompose there has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

    Man Sentenced To Life In Prison For Shooting Woman In The Head In Her Home

    Rcmp In B.C. Ready To Unveil A New Strategy In Search For Accused Murderer

    SURREY, B.C. — Police in British Columbia are preparing to announce a new strategy in the search for a wanted man.

    Rcmp In B.C. Ready To Unveil A New Strategy In Search For Accused Murderer

    Family Of Wendy Ladner-Beaudry Marks Anniversary Of Vancouver Woman's Murder

    Family Of Wendy Ladner-Beaudry Marks Anniversary Of Vancouver Woman's Murder
    SURREY, B.C. — The family of a woman found murdered in a southwest Vancouver park is making another appeal to the public on the tenth anniversary of her death.    

    Family Of Wendy Ladner-Beaudry Marks Anniversary Of Vancouver Woman's Murder

    Quebec Mother Found Guilty In Deaths Of Daughters To Appeal Verdict

    Quebec Mother Found Guilty In Deaths Of Daughters To Appeal Verdict
    MONTREAL — A Quebec mother convicted in the killings of her two young daughters will appeal the guilty verdicts.

    Quebec Mother Found Guilty In Deaths Of Daughters To Appeal Verdict