South Korean family's disappearance after Grand Canyon trip makes international news
The case of three South Korean family members who went missing following a trip to the Grand Canyon has made the news in their home country.
The Arizona Republic found multiple South Korean online news outlets discussing the disappearance of Jiyeon Lee, 33; Taehee Kim, 59; and Junghee Kim, 54.
The women were traveling in a rental BMW vehicle on vacation from the Grand Canyon area to Las Vegas on March 13, according to the Coconino County Sheriff's Office.
That same day, a 22-vehicle fatal crash on Interstate 40 near Williams claimed the lives of two people and injured 16 others.
The three women have not been seen or heard from since the day of the crash.
At about 3 p.m., traffic approaching a jackknifed truck failed to slow down, causing another commercial vehicle to jackknife and collide with multiple cars.
According to Raul Garcia, spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Public Safety, vehicles were rear-ended and "pushed into or underneath" the commercial trucks in a chain reaction of collisions.
One of the commercial vehicles caught fire, which quickly spread to all of the involved vehicles. The multivehicle pileup caused a fire to burn for more than 20 hours on the snowy and icy interstate, according to DPS.
The two people who died were identified as Juan Beltran Sanchez, of Chino Valley, and Evelyn Davis, of Ganado, Arizona, according to DPS.
DPS and the Sheriff's Office said in a joint news release on March 24 that more human remains had been discovered in the debris of the wreckage, but identification of the remains had proven difficult due to the intensity and the duration of the fire.
Officials also said one of the vehicles involved in the crash was a BMW SUV, though they did not know whether it was the same vehicle the family was driving. The GPS in the family's rental car was last seen on I-40 around the time of the crash, according to the Sheriff's Office.
"All agencies involved are actively working together to determine whether the remains are those of the South Korean nationals believed to have gone missing in the area at the time of the collision," the statement from DPS and the Sheriff's Office read.
The Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Los Angeles confirmed the discovery of the remains in an email to The Arizona Republic.
"We will provide our full support if the investigative authorities request cooperation regarding this matter," the statement said.
Chosun Biz reported March 23 that family members had not heard from the missing women for 10 days.
The news site said the family was scheduled to return to South Korea on March 17. After they could not be reached, family members in South Korea requested assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and an investigation began when the Korean consulate general in Los Angeles asked local police to assist with the inquiry.
The Korean Herald also reported on March 23 that GPS data showed the trio lost contact about 3:30 p.m. on I-40. The paper quoted a local police officer who said the accident occurred about the same time that the family's phone location signals were picked up, so they may have been involved in the accident.
The Korea Times released a story on March 23 about the missing family with similar details, saying the women had planned to return home via the San Francisco International Airport on March 17. After losing contact with the women, their family in South Korea requested assistance from Seoul's foreign ministry.
In the joint news release, the agencies said the Yavapai County Medical Examiner's Office was diligently working to ascertain whether identification of the remains that were found was possible. They said further updates would be provided as information became available.
"We understand the urgency and the emotional toll this uncertainty places on the families and the public," the news release said. "We kindly ask for patience and understanding as our teams continue to work with care and precision to bring clarity to this heartbreaking situation."
Still investigating: More human remains found after fatal pileup near Williams; work to identify them continues
Public's help sought: 3 tourists missing after snowstorm, fiery crash in northern Arizona
Republic reporter Lauren De Young contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: South Korean women missing in Arizona make the news in home country
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