CNN
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Three members of a South Korean family visiting the United States have been missing for more than a week after driving through a winter storm while on a road trip between the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, according to Arizona officials.
Jiyeon Lee, 33, Taehee Kim, 59, and Junghee Kim, 54, were last known to be traveling in a rental car on Interstate 40 on March 13, according to the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office.
The vehicle’s GPS data indicated the rental car was last on the interstate westbound around 3:27 p.m. that day, coinciding with a fatal pileup accident on the same interstate during a winter storm, according to a release from the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
The crash occurred around 3:27 p.m. on westbound Interstate 40 near milepost 159.5 in Williams, Arizona. It involved multiple vehicles on a road covered in snow and ice, according to the release.
“Multiple passenger vehicles were rear-ended, pushing them into, and in some cases, underneath crashed tractor-trailers,” the release said.
The fatal accident involved 22 vehicles and 36 drivers and occupants, resulting in two fatalities and 16 injured individuals who were transported for medical care, DPS said.
“It is not known if this (rental) vehicle was involved in the accident,” the sheriff’s office investigating the family’s disappearance noted.
The Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Los Angeles is working with the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office to locate the family of three, CNN affiliate KPNX reported.
Anyone who has had contact with the family since March 13, or has knowledge of their whereabouts, is asked to call the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office.