A family of three is missing after leaving the Grand Canyon and driving through a winter storm earlier this month, Arizona authorities said on Wednesday.
Jiyeon Lee, 33, Taehee Kim, 59, and Junghee Kim, 54, were last known to be traveling from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas while on vacation earlier this month, according to a missing person flyer the Coconino County Sheriff's Office posted Wednesday on Facebook.
The flyer states that the GPS on the family's rental car last showed the vehicle traveling westbound on Interstate 40 on March 13. That day, a multi-car accident occurred on I-40 — an intercontinental highway that stretches from California to North Carolina — but it is unclear if their car was involved in the crash.
The family was driving a 2024 white BMW with a California license plate, according to the flyer.
A total of 22 vehicles — including multiple tractor-trailers — and 36 drivers and occupants were involved in the incident that left two dead and 16 others injured, the Arizona Department of Public Safety (ADPS) said in a statement.
Neither of the two fatalities were identified as any of the three missing family members, according to the department.
The ADPS added that a winter storm was affecting the area at the time of the crash and that "the road was covered in snow and ice.
"The collision caused a fire which quickly spread to the other involved vehicles and burned for more than 20 hours," the department said.
A detective assigned to the missing persons case for the Coconino County Sheriff's Office said in a phone call on Friday that authorities did not have any additional information to share at this time.
The sheriff's office encouraged anyone who has information about the family or their whereabouts to contact authorities.
