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Yeon-Su Kim and her husband Corey Allen vanished in Mexico on Thursday, November 24, 2022. A fundraiser on GoFundMe has been initiated to assist the couple's search proceedings.
After days of looking for the couple, the wife, Yeon-Su Kim, has been confirmed dead. The president of Northern Arizona University confirmed the news of the death on November 27, 2022. However, the search for the husband, Corey Allen, is still on-going.
The couple went kayaking and never returned, and were were reported missing on Thanksgiving.
According to The Washington Post, Kim was the executive director of the School of Forestry at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, while her husband was a real estate agent.
A GoFundMe post was uploaded to raise funds to look for Yeon-Su Kim and Corey Allen
The couple, and their teenage daughter Lux, had gone kayaking in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico at around 1 pm. Due to strong winds and for safety reasons, Corey brought Lux back to the seashore. He then went back to the sea to help his wife, Yeon-Su Kim.
According to a post on GoFundMe, the couple could not return due to the strong winds and continuous currents. The post also mentions that neither the couple nor their kayaks had returned to shore as of Sunday morning.
Authorities had begun a full-fledged search for Yeon-Su and Corey on November 24, 2022, at 6 pm. Search and rescue teams, and volunteers were deployed to look for the lost couple. Lisa Aumack, a family friend, uploaded the post on GoFundMe and initiated the search for the couple.
Tavane McCombs, a search coordinator who oversaw the entire search and rescue process, said:
“With the wind and that current, I know that they probably knew something was up. Even an experienced kayaker would have trouble with what was going on that day.”
Yeon-Su Kim’s body found in a local fishing boat
While Mexican authorities in Sonora found a body on Sunday, November 27, 2022, they initially didn't confirm that it was Kim's. However, it was later confirmed that the body was that of the missing kayaker whose husband was still missing.
The GoFundMe post called it an "incredibly sad day" as they announced that Kim's body was found.
McCombs stated that the body was found on Sunday at around 9 am about eight miles off Mayan Place. Authorities later confirmed that the features of the body mound were similar to those of Yeon-Su Kim. McCombs also said that they hope that the family feels like they are part of the community's family and that the team did their best and will continue to do so.
Speaking about the couple, Lisa continued that the family was a "well known, much loved and respected" at the university. She added that it was a "loss to the entire community."
Northern Arizona University also released a statement that read,
“Yeon-Su was an invaluable faculty member. Her accomplishments and contributions to her academic discipline, our university’s mission, and the broader community were many.”
The couple hailed from Arizona and also had a son who didn’t accompany them on the trip to Mexico. Kim, Corey and Lux had gone to Mexico to spend some time with each other.
Many American tourists and locals also assisted in looking for the missing couple in the ocean. The search for Allen is still on, as per the authorities. The university has also expressed hope and optimism that he will be safely found soon.
