Boating Accident Claims Life of Goss VP

MIAMI—Phil Burke, 49, Goss International’s vice president of sales for Latin America, was found dead in Biscayne Bay here April 7. Burke's body and that of his 8-year-old daughter, Tara Ann, were pulled from the waters a day after they went on a father/daughter boating trip.

The pair had set out from Black Port Marina in a 17-foot boat with a giant inner tube attached to it, according to the Miami Herald. Mr. Burke’s wife, Gelina, contacted the authorities when her husband did not call home before nightfall. The boat was found in mangroves the following morning, and the bodies were discovered later in the day, the paper said.

Miami-Dade Police were still investigating the incident, the Herald reported.

“Our organization and hundreds of Phil’s friends within the industry share an immense sense of grief and sorrow over this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Gelina, their thirteen-year-old daughter Tessa and their family,” Goss CEO Jochen Meissner remarked in a statement. “Those of us privileged to have worked with Phil know that his professionalism, expertise, integrity and entrepreneurial energy epitomized the highest ideals of our industry.”