Investigators unsure if remains from fiery crash belong to missing South Korean family

By Rebekah Riess, CNN

(CNN) — Arizona officials are working to determine whether additional human remains discovered in the debris of a fatal pileup crash on Interstate 40 on March 13 are those of the South Korean family who went missing in the area at the time of the crash.

Jiyeon Lee, Taehee Kim and Junghee Kim have been missing for nearly two weeks after driving through a winter storm on their road trip between the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas.

Investigators have confirmed that one of the vehicles in the collision, which involved multiple passenger vehicles that “were rear-ended, pushing them into, and in some cases, underneath crashed tractor-trailers,” was a BMW SUV, an update from the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office said on Monday. The family had been traveling in a BMW rental vehicle, the sheriff’s office said.

The vehicle’s GPS data showed the rental car was last on Interstate 40 westbound around 3:27 p.m., coinciding with the fatal pileup accident on the same interstate during a winter storm, according to a release from the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

The crash happened around 3:27 p.m. on westbound Interstate 40 near milepost 159.5 in Williams, Arizona, on a snow and ice-covered interstate. Some of the vehicles involved in the crash burned for more than 20 hours at “extreme temperatures, resulting in extensive destruction,” DPS told CNN Saturday.

Initially, Arizona DPS reported that the accident involved 22 vehicles and 36 drivers and occupants, resulting in at least two fatalities and injuring 16 people. Over the weekend, highway patrol investigators announced they had discovered additional human remains.

The intensity and prolonged duration of the fire “have posed significant challenges for identification efforts,” the sheriff’s office noted on Monday, requiring “meticulous examination” in the process of identifying the of additional remains found.

Bart Graves with Arizona DPS told CNN on Wednesday, that only “small portions of human remains” had been located. “Of these portions, we cannot even determine at this point in time if those remains are from the same body or different bodies,” he said.

“The Yavapai County Medical Examiner’s Office is diligently working to ascertain whether identification is possible,” the sheriff’s office said. “We understand the urgency and the emotional toll this uncertainty places on the families and the public. We kindly ask for patience and understanding as our teams continue to work with care and precision to bring clarity to this heartbreaking situation.”

“At this point in time, though, we do not expect any updates in the near future as the analysis takes time,” Graves added.

The Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Los Angeles told CNN it would provide “full support if the investigative authorities request cooperation regarding this matter.”

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