FLAGSTAFF, AZ — Eight days after the couple was reported missing, Corey Allen and Yeon-Su Kim's family has announced the coordinated volunteer portion of the search will conclude by the end of the day.
According to a GoFundMe page for the couple, Allen and Kim disappeared during a kayaking trip near Rocky Point on Thursday.
The GoFundMe page was updated Thursday to say Allen's kayak was found in open water by a fishing boat with no sign of Allen.
"We are encouraged with the knowledge that so many will keep their eyes out for Corey in the coming days going about their daily business," the page reads. "And we very much hope he will be found. For the time being, our family is focusing on returning Yeon-Su home, grieving, celebrating Yeon-Su's and Corey's lives as a family, and helping the children settle into their new reality."
COORDINAN BÚSQUEDA
— Protección Civil Sonora (@cepcsonora) November 26, 2022
Protección Civil Sonora mantiene coordinación con la Secretaría de Marina y autoridades municipales en la búsqueda de dos personas de origen estadounidense desaparecidas en Puerto Peñasco, luego de un paseo en kayak. (1) pic.twitter.com/gvyfgPJDaS
On Sunday, a Mexican news publication called El Imparcial said the Secretary of the Navy to Civil Protection Sonora reported finding a body near Encanto Beach. The body is said to have features similar to one of the missing persons.
The body has since been identified by Allen's sister as Kim, according to Coordination of Civil Protection and Fire Fighters of Puerto Penasco officials.
Kim was a faculty member in the School of Forestry at Northern Arizona University. She served as the school's executive director since July 2021, according to a statement from the university. The university's full statement can be read below.
According to the GoFundMe, strong winds came up on the couple and their daughter Lux while they were kayaking. Allen reportedly took Lux to shore and then went back out to help Kim. Neither have been seen since.
Allen has still not been found.
Local authorities in Mexico say they are coordinating with the Navy and the Secretary of Public Security to search for the couple.
NAU released the following statement Sunday night following the announcement:
Dear Lumberjacks,
I write to you this evening with a heavy heart.
As many of you know, our dear colleague Yeon-Su Kim and her husband, Corey Allen, have been lost at sea since Thursday when they faced strong winds while kayaking off of Rocky Point Beach.
This evening, after days of search and rescue efforts, the tragic passing of Yeon-Su was confirmed. The search for Corey continues.
The first time I interacted with Yeon-Su, I walked away impressed by her love of NAU, passion for our mission, and devotion to advancing the well-being of our university’s community.
This first impression would hold true in every subsequent interaction I had with her, and it is an impression that will now forever be cemented in my heart as I reflect on the many people from inside and outside our university community who have contributed in one way or another to the efforts to search for her and her husband, and who today are striving to help their children in these most devastating circumstances.
Yeon-Su was an invaluable faculty member in the School of Forestry and esteemed academic leader who joined NAU in September 1998 and has served as the school’s executive director since July 2021. Her accomplishments and contributions to her academic discipline, our university’s mission, and the broader community were many, and—in consultation with her family and friends—we will find the appropriate time and place to celebrate her legacy of a life well-lived.
In the meantime, let us all keep the hope alive that Corey will be found soon and brought home safely.
I will provide more information as things evolve and encourage anyone in need of support processing this painful news to access NAU's resources.
Friends of the family tell ABC15 the two were very involved in the Flagstaff community.
Laura Brown, a family friend, said their children grew up together in a charter school. Yeon-Su and Corey have two kids, ages 14 and 18.
“That's the most difficult part because you know our kids grew up together. So, you know, there's just a lot of emotion there when I think about both of them,” she said, getting a bit emotional.
Brown said the NAU community impacted heavily with the news of Yeon-Su passing. She says the couple is “down to earth” and super fun. They always would go to get-togethers as well as chaperone field trips with the kids in schools.
She says it’s a difficult time for those who knew the couple and the pain their kids are feeling.
“It's kind of doubly hard because you've got you know that aspect of these two kids who are very young to even be losing one parent, let alone both of them at the same time,” she said.
"People from Phoenix, Flagstaff, Tucson - all came down here to help with the search. It's just absolutely incredible to see the community and not just them, a lot of locals as well," says Scott Scriver, search volunteer.
Scott Scriver lives in Surprise but also owns a property in Rocky Point. He and his wife drove down after hearing about the need for volunteers. The two went out on Sunday in an off-road vehicle, along with others searching in planes and boats.
"A lot of the areas that we searched were estuaries, where a lot of the current comes into. So, it was very rough terrain, unfortunately. A lot of things you don't want to see," says Scriver.
Volunteers say they faced several false alarms Monday, with Allen still not found. When it comes to the sea, we're told the tides are large and the winds are very deceiving.
"It may look flat for a mile out, and it looks great, but once you get beyond that it could be treacherous out there... depending on the winds," says Scriver.
That is taken into consideration during the daily planning for search efforts.
