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More Details Emerge About South Bay Victims Of Deadly Dive Boat Fire

CUPERTINO (KPIX 5) -- As the investigation into the deadly dive boat fire in the Channel Islands entered its fourth day Wednesday, more details about South Bay victims emerged.

Dan Garcia was Apple employee since 2016, his title listed as "optimizer," according to his LinkedIn page. Garcia had worked as a software engineer since 2005.

In company statement released Tuesday, Deirdre O'Brien, senior vice president of retail and people at Apple, said Garcia was "as passionate about his job at Apple as he was about his love of diving."

Patrick Burleson, a coworker at Apple, posted on Facebook Wednesday morning, saying, "RIP Dan, you will be sorely missed."

Apple also confirmed Steve Salika was killed about the boat. Salika was a longtime senior manager.

"Steve was a 30-year Apple veteran whose energy and enthusiasm touched so many people across our company throughout his career. He met his wife at Apple and was aboard [the Conception] with her and their daughter," said O'Brien.

Steve's wife Diane Adamic, his daughter Tia, and Tia's classmate Berenice Felipe were aboard the Conception when it caught fire Sunday morning, killing 34 people. Tia was celebrating her 17th birthday onboard the boat.

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Also, in an emotional interview from her Los Altos home, Vicki Moore spoke about her husband Scott Chan and their daughter Kendra, who both also perished about the boat.

Moore returned home from the scene in Santa Barbara, where authorities debriefed her on the case, and obtained a cheek swab to aid in DNA testing and identification of victims. Moore described the scene as orderly and well managed.

Between sobs and smiles, Moore spoke about her "first born" with pride and sadness.

Kendra, who turned 26 on August 29, had been working as marine biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Scott was a "beloved" physics teacher at American High School in Fremont.

Between the two, Moore estimates, they had completed hundreds of dives together.

"She was passionate about what she did, which is what everyone would love to have. And so was Scott, they followed what their passions were, and worked really hard at it," said Moore.

A 2009 underwater family photo showed the father and daughter enjoying a dive that was taken while on the Conception, the same doomed ship that would catch fire ten years later, and trap the passengers aboard while they were sleeping.

Scott and Vicki met when they were 19 at Stanford and have been married 34 years. The avid outdoorsman was an engineer for two decades, before feeling the call to teach, obtaining his teaching credentials, and heading into the classroom in 2011 for his second career.

"He made it very clear, how much he loved getting through to his students and helping them," said Moore, "They really were remarkable people. And you don't always realize that when you're living with someone for so long, and you maybe take it for granted. But, you know, it's all kind of coming to me right now."

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