BY STEVEN NUCKOLS
The Cincinnati Enquirer
CALIFORNIA, Ky. -- It was supposed to be a pleasant outing in South Carolina, but Todd Anthony Geiger, 19, of California, Ky., would die on a fishing trip in late March.
The body of Mr. Geiger was found Saturday at Luther Point, along the Atlantic Coast in McCormick County, S.C.
Visitation is 4 to 6 p.m. today at Alexandria Funeral Home. The service will be 6:30 p.m. today at St. Peter and Paul Church in California, Ky.
Mr. Geiger, adopted son of Stanley J. and Anita Geiger of California, was one of four people involved in a boating accident at the Plum Branch Yacht Club in McCormick County on March 21.
The 14-foot fishing boat, belonging to his good friend and boss, Joel Jackson, capsized because of high winds and waves.
Surviving were 10-year-old Barry Jackson and 18-year-old Robbie Alley, who were able to swim to shore. Lost in the storm were Mr. Geiger and Mr. Jackson, 38, a native of Fountain Inn, S.C. Both of them worked with a mattress delivery company in McCormick County. Neither one was wearing a life preserver, Mrs. Geiger said.
Mr. Jackson's body was discovered by South Carolina Department of Resources (DNR) divers on March 24.
Mr. Geiger's body was found by a local fisherman Saturday, three weeks after the accident and approximately 1.5 miles south of the accident site, said DNR spokesman Mike Willis.
Known as an inspirational poet and athlete, Mr. Geiger attended Campbell County High School and also worked at various food service restaurants. At age 17, he became actively involved with his biological family, traveling back and forth from his Campbell County home and Greenville, S.C.
"He was a young man with a good heart who never met a stranger," said his adoptive mother, Mrs. Geiger. "He had a real talent for writing and was very outgoing. His reflective works contained themes of the holiday season and teen-age growing pains."
In addition to his adoptive mother and adoptive father, he is survived by his biological father, Thomas W. Carter Sr.; his biological mother, Joyce Pittman of Greenville, S.C.; his grandmothers, Viola M. Geiger and Elsie Arkenau both of California; and a sister, Jin Kristen Foegle of Southgate.
Interment will be in St. Peter and Paul Cemetery.
Memorials can be made to Diocesan Catholic Children's Home, 75 Orphanage Road, Fort Mitchell 41017.
