A family of three is missing after travelling from the Grand Canyon and through a winter storm in Arizona earlier this month, state authorities confirmed on Wednesday.
According to a missing person’s flyer on the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page, Jiyeon Lee, Taehee Kim, and Junghee Kim were last known to be travelling on vacation from the Grand Canyon area to Las Vegas in a rental 2024 BMW on March 13.
The flyer says the car’s GPS last recorded it on Interstate 40 westbound at 3:27 p.m.
There was a large multi-vehicle incident on Interstate 40 (I-40) that day, which was reported at the same time the family’s GPS logged its last recording, though police say it is not known if they were involved in the collision.
The pileup, which involved 22 vehicles and 36 drivers and passengers, left two people dead and 16 injured, the Arizona Department of Public Safety (ADPS) said in a statement, with a jackknifed trailer leaving the area completely blocked.
“Multiple vehicles, including additional tractor-trailers, failed to properly brake or slow down and collided with the blocking vehicles. Multiple passenger vehicles were rear-ended, pushing them into, and in some cases, underneath crashed tractor-trailers,” the statement continues.
Neither of the two recorded fatalities were members of the missing family.
The collision also caused a fire that spread to multiple vehicles and burned for 20 hours.
Smoke rises from a fire caused by a 22-vehicle pile-up on the I-40 westbound on March 13, 2025. ( Arizona Department of Public Safety).
Arizona Department of Public Safety
The ADPS added that the road was covered in ice and snow at the time of the collision.
According to NBC News, a Coconino County Sheriff’s Office detective assigned to the family’s case said in a phone call on Friday that authorities had no additional information to share.
Similarly, the ADPS says it will not share further details until its investigation is complete and is encouraging drivers to review road conditions before travel.
Anyone with any information is urged to contact the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office.