Authorities in Arizona are seeking the public’s help in locating a South Korean family of three who went missing after visiting the Grand Canyon. The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) says the family was last seen on March 13, traveling toward Las Vegas, and has not been heard from since.
The missing individuals have been identified as 33-year-old Kiyeon Lee, 59-year-old Taehee Kim, and 54-year-old Junhee Kim. Their last known location was on Interstate 40, close to the site of a fiery 22-vehicle crash that same day, which resulted in two fatalities.
According to investigators, the family was driving a white 2024 BMW rental car with California license plate 9KHN768. At 3:27 p.m. on March 13, the vehicle was pinged near Devil Dog Road, just outside Williams, Arizona.
“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.
When the family failed to board their scheduled March 17 flight from San Francisco to South Korea, a relative contacted the Korean Consulate General in Los Angeles, which has since been working with Arizona law enforcement to locate them.
Officials have not been able to track the family’s car since the initial ping on March 13 near the Grand Canyon, nor have they detected any cell phone activity from the missing individuals.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) is continuing its investigation into the deadly crash on I-40, but it remains unclear whether the missing family was involved. Authorities have not disclosed further details due to the ongoing nature of the investigation and the family’s request for privacy.
Anyone with information about the family’s whereabouts or their rental vehicle is urged to contact the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office or DPS immediately.
