American actor Christian Klepser, 51, who performed under the stage name Christian Oliver and died in a plane crash in the Caribbean on Thursday, had posted an eerie final message on social media just days earlier.
“Greetings from Paradise!” Here's to community and love… 2024, here we come!' he wrote on Instagram.
In the New Year's Day post, Oliver captured the sunset off Bequia, a small Caribbean island that belongs to St. Vincent.
The silhouette of a family could be seen in the foreground, the calm tropical waters in the distance, while a catamaran sat on the surface along with the words: “Let love reign.” I wish you all the best in 2024.'
The actor tragically died alongside his two daughters Madita and Annik, aged 10 and 12, when their plane crashed around midday and plunged into Caribbean waters. The plane's pilot, Robert Sachs, also died.
Two days before his death, Oliver posted a photo showing a beach in a tropical setting with the caption: “Let love reign.” I wish you all the best for 2024.
Oliver pictured with his ex-wife Jessica Muroz and their two daughters in March 2015
The post received many comments with fans expressing their sadness at the news.
“It's so sad that this was the last thing he posted on his feed,” one fan wrote.
“My deepest condolences go out to his wife on the unimaginable loss of her husband and two daughters.” “There are no words,” said another.
“Someone please make sure their wife is okay.” “I've been sending her lots of prayers,” one added.
“This post is particularly heartbreaking,” chimed in another.
“May you and your beautiful girls rest in peace.” “We will miss you dearly,” said another.
“I am physically ill,” wrote one follower. “This must be a mistake.”
“I can’t believe it,” another contributor posted.
Oliver in the role of the antagonist Snake Oiler in 2008's Speed Racer
Oliver, shown here with film legend Al Pacino in 2020, had over 60 credits on the IMDb page
Among those who paid tribute to Oliver was his co-star Bai Ling. The pair recently completed filming Forever Hold Your Peace together
Over the course of his career, Oliver has appeared in major films such as “Speed Racer” and “Valkyrie” and recently had a role in the latest installment of the Indiana Jones series.
One of his first roles in the US was a long-running appearance on Saved by the Bell: The New Class in 1995. He also appeared as a character in the hit video game Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond.
The group was on its way to St. Lucia when the crash occurred, according to authorities.
Shortly after taking off from JF Mitchell Airport in Bequia, the plane ran into difficulties.
Local fishermen and recreational swimmers who were in the area assisted in the initial search, police said in a statement. The water depth is estimated at about 70 feet.
The St. Vincent-based news outlet Searchlight reports that shortly after takeoff, Sachs radioed the tower that he was in trouble and would turn back. That was the last message.
The bodies were transported to St Vincent and taken to Kingstown Mortuary where autopsies will be carried out to determine the cause of death.
Oliver will appear in the upcoming film Forever Hold Your Peace, which he also produced and whose final scenes were filmed on December 20th.
The director of his latest film, Nick Lyon, paid tribute to Oliver, posting a picture on the final day of filming, saying: “We've been talking about doing a film together for years and finally did it!” “Thank you for being a great one “I am a colleague, actor and friend.”
While his co-star Bai Ling was among the first to mourn Oliver's death on social media, she said she wrote the post “in tears.” [her] Eyes.'
“It was our first and last film together, I enjoyed working with him so much.”
“He was so kind, so hard working and such a brave actor and a beautiful gentle human being, we played lovers in this movie, just so, so, so sad,” she wrote.
According to local reports, he arrived in the Caribbean with his daughters on December 26th.
Shortly after taking off from JF Mitchell Airport in Bequia, the plane ran into difficulties
A few seconds into a social media clip circulating online, the plane can be seen hurtling towards the water
A massive splash occurs, killing all four people on board
After the crash, the plane can be seen in the water. Local fishermen and divers arrived on scene to assist in the rescue efforts
Oliver's former wife Jessica Muroz previously worked as a showbiz reporter for German media in Los Angeles.
Online records reveal that the actor filed for divorce from his wife in December 2021.
After the release of 2008's Speed Racer, in which he played one of the antagonists, Snake Oiler, he talked about finally being able to afford a Harley-Davidson and, around the same time, a Buick Centurion Bought in 1972.
“(They were) part of my American dream, of what we Europeans and what I imagined as a child: the big, wide spaces and freedom. And that's what this beautiful machine still means to me.”
In a 1995 interview with People Magazine, Oliver said that when he was 16, he spent a year as an exchange student in North Carolina, which began his love affair with the United States. The article refers to him as a “Eurohunk teen idol.”
He moved to the United States at the age of 21 and was quickly cast in a jeans commercial and a toothpaste commercial before landing a leading role in Saved by the Bell.
In a separate 2008 interview, Oliver said that he grew up in a Berlin suburb and was preparing to follow his father into a career in banking until he “fell in love with the American lifestyle” in North Carolina.
In a video of the tragic crash, a person can be heard saying, “The plane has crashed! Call the Coast Guard!”
Oliver appeared alongside Cate Blanchett in “The Good German” in 2006
Cate Blanchett, Christian Oliver and Steven Soderbergh promote “The Good German” at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival
The Bellanca 17-30A Super Viking from Robert Sachs is shown here in a post on Facebook
In an interview with local media outlet iWitness News, a local fisherman criticized the Coast Guard's response to the tragedy.
“We explained to them that the flood was now starting to run. If it (the wreckage) were left there, there would be a possibility that we would not be able to find the plane again and it would drift,” he said.
He added that the tide's trajectory would have taken the plane into open water. Using ropes and a buoy, the fishermen marked the location and decided to retrieve the bodies themselves.
While another official told the outlet that the Coast Guard should have kept personnel in the area until the wreck was fully recovered.
Local fishermen and recreational swimmers who were in the area assisted in the initial search, police said in a statement
It shows rescue workers retrieving the bodies of the deceased shortly after the crash
Bequia, a 5 mile long and 800m wide island that is part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean, is a magnet for the yachts that are often found in Admiralty Bay
The unnamed fisherman said he was near where the plane hit the water and arrived there as it sank to the seabed.
When the Coast Guard arrived, the fisherman said they were told to wait for official divers to arrive before the bodies could be recovered.
Cornell Campbell, who witnessed the crash, told iWitness that the plane caught his attention because noises coming from the plane suggested something was wrong.
“The sound of the plane, the engine, the propeller.” The first time everything was turned off. So I said to my friend, “The plane is going to crash.” “But the plane went back up as if it had built up power again,” he said.
Campbell explained that the aircraft regained power but had lost altitude during the initial failure.
As the pilot attempted to correct the dive, the power appeared to decrease again and the ship simply “dived.”
“But as it sank, something went 'Boof!' in the water and that's why I said it exploded. So that was the only thing I heard as the plane sank. It was ‘Bouff!’ underwater,” Campbell said.
Another witness, Tyrone Durham, a retired Coast Guard officer, described his side of what happened to iWitness.
“It seemed to me like the power had gone out or the engine had failed, and then I came out from under the tree and looked at the plane.”
Oliver can be seen here alongside fellow actor and Lethal Weapon star Danny Glover
Oliver will appear in the upcoming film Forever Hold Your Peace, which he also produced and whose final scenes were just filmed on December 20th
The actor is seen here alongside former undisputed world boxing champion Evander Holyfield in a post shared on his Instagram
Director Nick Lyon, seen here with the late actor, paid tribute to him, sharing a picture of the two taken just last month after completing his last film, Forever Hold Your Peace.
“It seems to me like it turned around to go back to the airport, but then with the wind, because I don't think it had caught that.” [cruising] Altitude, so apparently we went back to the airport,” he said.
“Then the wind took control of it and it fell down and crashed into the water.”
According to his LinkedIn page, Sachs ran a diving business in Bequia with his wife, Cathy. He was from Springfield, New Jersey and had lived in the Caribbean for almost 40 years.
An unnamed witness told iWitness that Sachs taught him to dive about five years ago. He also worked for the pilot and called him a “good friend who is close to the family.”
The cause of the plane crash remains under investigation.
Since his death, tributes have been paid to the actor on his social media profile.
One person commented: “My deepest condolences go out to his wife on the unimaginable loss of her husband and two daughters. “There are no words for this.”
Another said: “So sad.” My sincerest condolences go out to his family and everyone affected by this tragedy. A big hug for the child's mother. I wouldn't dare imagine your pain.'