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3 Korean women missing, CCSO ramps up search
Three Korean women vanished near the site of a 22-vehicle crash on Interstate 40, prompting the Korean Consulate to contact the Coconino County Sheriff's Office to request an investigation. FOX 10's Lindsey Ragas has the latest.
PHOENIX - The search continues for a missing South Korean family last pictured visiting the Grand Canyon.
Officials with the Coconino County Sheriff's Office are asking for the public's help amid a search for three people who were last seen on March 13.
Investigators say their last known location was on Interstate 40, very close to a 22-vehicle crash that happened the same day.
What we know:
Per a flyer posted on the agency's Facebook page on March 19, 33-year-old Kiyeon Lee, 59-year-old Taehee Kim, and 54-year-old Junhee Kim, all women, were last known to be traveling from the Grand Canyon area to Las Vegas on March 13.
It was around the same time as a fiery pile-up crash killed two people on Interstate 40, involving 22 vehicles and 36 people.
At the time of their disappearance, officials with CCSO said the family was traveling in a rental vehicle, described as a white 2024 BMW with California license plate number 9KHN768.
At 3:27 pm, their 2024 BMW rental with California plates was pinged on I-40 outside of Williams near Devil Dog Road.
The backstory:
When the family of 3 didn't make their scheduled flight back home, a family member called the Korean Consulate General in Los Angeles.
"We were contacted on the 18th of March by the South Korean Consulate and advised of three missing individuals that were traveling from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas," said officials at the Coconino County Sheriff's Office.
The family was due to fly out of San Francisco on March 17 and the Korean Consulate General in Los Angeles says additional details of the missing persons are limited per the family's request.
They also say they are collaborating with DPS and the Coconino County Sheriff's Office and that they've requested a thorough and prompt investigation.
What we don't know:
DPS is still conducting an investigation in relation to the crash and it's still unknown if the South Korean family was involved.
They could not comment on the deadly crash because it is an ongoing investigation.
Dig deeper:
Additionally, the Coconino County Sheriff's Office hasn't been able to ping the car since, and they haven't seen any activity on the family's cell phones.
"It was our concern that because of the weather conditions on that day and that major accident, their GPS may have rerouted them. And if you've ever traveled up in northern Arizona, when you get rerouted, sometimes GPS will reroute you out into a forest service road without knowing that weather conditions are harsh," the sheriff's office stated.
The Coconino County deputies searched all corridors along I-40 within the area where the family's BMW was last pinged.
What you can do:
Anyone with information on the three people's whereabouts should call the Coconino County Sheriff's Office at (928) 774-4523 or (800) 338-7888.