Dad who loved to travel dies in Fort Lauderdale airport shooting

FBI: Gunman killed 5, wounded 6 in premeditated attack

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Michael Oehme was at Fort Laudedale-Hollywood International Airport on his way to a cruise, as he had often done before. 

Oehme, 57, loved to travel. He and his wife, Kari Oehme, were regular Caribbean cruise ship customers. 

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"They were happy to be going on another trip," Oehme's sister Elizabeth Oehme-Miller said.  

Oehme, a surveyor who owned Oehme-Nielsen & Associates, died on Friday when authorities said Esteban Santiago, a deranged war veteran, killed four others and wounded Kari Oehme and five others.

The couple traveled to Fort Lauderdale from Council Bluff, Iowa. Kari Oehme was shot in the shoulder. 

Their daughter, Andrea Oehme, 28, asked others to "Pray for Fort Lauderdale Shooting Victims" on social media. 

"I still can't believe it's true," Oehme-Miller said. "It hasn't hit yet. I'm kind of in shock right now."

Two other couples' Caribbean cruise plans ended in tragedy. Olga Woltering and Terry Andres also died while traveling with their spouses. 

Authorities believe Santiago did not know any of his victims. 


About the Author:

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.