One of the two American students died in the horrible stampede in Seoul on Halloween was shown in a photo that was shot just hours before the incident as she celebrated her birthday.
When 100,000 people celebrated the city’s nightlife for the forthcoming holiday on Saturday on the streets of South Korea’s capital, at least 153 people were murdered and another 82 were injured.
One of the casualties was 20-year-old Anne Gieske, a third-year nursing student at the University of Kentucky and the niece of Ohio Republican US Representative Brad Wenstrup.
While they were both studying abroad in Seoul, she passed away alongside her buddy, 20-year-old Kennesaw State University student Steven Blesi from Georgia.
Gieske used the Instagram account @anne in Seoul to capture her journey.
On the account, she posted numerous images of herself and Blesi having a good time while travelling abroad.
The day before she passed away, she uploaded a picture of herself smiling behind a big cake in front of the Han River, where she had just turned 20.
She wrote about her travels, which included climbing Jeji Island’s Mount Hallasan, the highest point in the nation, and discovering the Cheonjeyeon Waterfalls, where she and her friends went to the Olle Market.
Belsi’s dad Steve, 62, warned his son of the growing crowd on Saturday.
“I texted him maybe a half-hour before all this happened, and I said, ‘I know you’re out and about. Be safe,” Blesi said.
“I never got a reply to that.”
Dan Gieske, Gieske’s father, described her as a “bright light cherished by many” and said the family was “totally crushed and heartbroken” by her passing.
In a statement, representative Brad Wenstrup said: “My wife Monica and I, as well as the rest of our family, are mourning the loss of our niece Anne Marie Gieske.
“She was a gift from God to our family. We loved her so much.
“We are completely devastated and heartbroken over the loss of Anne Marie. She was a bright light loved by all.
“We ask for your prayers but also the respect of our privacy. Anne’s final gift to us was dying in the state of sanctifying grace. We know we will one day be reunited with her in God’s kingdom,” he said.
Gieske’s high school band director told FOX19 that the news of her death was “shocking.”
“We take our band very seriously and we put lots and lots of hours into it.
“So you get to know the students really, really well and they’re like your own children.”
