Wisconsin Tour Guide, 33, Killed in Costa Rica Plane Crash Had a 'Heart of Gold,' Says Friend
The tenth victim of the horrific plane crash that also killed two American families on New Year’s Eve in Costa Rica was a beloved tour guide from Thorp, Wisconsin.
Amanda Geissler, 33, worked for Backroads, a California-based travel company that booked the flight. The adventure-seeking woman lived her life with passion, according to friends.
Ten years ago, as a student at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, Geissler was a star point guard and captain for the school’s basketball team.
“She was a spunky player,” Layne Pitt, the school’s sports information director, tells PEOPLE. “She wasn’t afraid to dive in.”
Giessler was on the plane with two families and two pilots en route to the country’s capital of San José to celebrate New Year’s Eve on Sunday when the plane went down, killing all 12 on board the single-engine aircraft.
Bruce and Irene Steinberg and their three sons — William, Zachary and Matthew — from Scarsdale, New York, as well as the Weiss family from Belleair, Florida, died in the crash.
Pitt says that Geissler leaves behind a community of supporters who will miss her smile and positive energy.
“She really did always have a smile on her face,” he recalls. “She was very energetic and a team leader.”
Since graduating from college in 2007, Pitt says Geissler remained active, competing in the Ironman Triathlon and running a marathon. She joined Backroads about six months ago.
“She had a wide range of things she wanted to do,” he says. “Adventure was on top of her list. This one of her adventures.”
Her friend Alisa Ekdahl Hvezda wrote on Facebook that Geissler had a “heart of gold” and “lived every single day of her life to the fullest and with no regrets.”
Costa Rican investigators said Monday that strong winds or mechanical problems most likely caused the charter aircraft to crash in the woods soon after takeoff.