PHOENIX — Mexican authorities announced Sunday evening that the family confirmed the body found earlier in the day was one of two Arizonan kayakers who had been missing since Thanksgiving off of Puerto Peñasco, Rocky Point, Mexico.
The sister-in-law of Yeon-Su Kim confirmed that the body found earlier during the search was Kim. Officials say that her husband, Corey Allen is still missing.
Coordinación de Protección Civil y Bomberos Puerto Peñasco announced on Sunday afternoon "the identity was confirmed by the sister-in-law of the deceased."
Earlier in the day, Protección Civil Sonora announced that they found a body "with characteristics similar to one of the two missing persons."
Allen and Kim, who is a professor at Northern Arizona University, went missing at sea while kayaking with Corey's daughter around 1 p.m. on Thursday.
According to the GoFundMe page set up by Lisa Aumack, Corey took his daughter to safety on shore and went back to help Kim.
"The strong winds and currents made their return to shore impossible, and neither they nor their kayaks have been found as of Saturday morning," the GoFundMe said.
Kim is an executive director for the School of Forestry at NAU.
In a statement to the NAU community after Kim's passing on Sunday, the university's president José Luis Cruz Rivera recalled the first interaction he had with Kim and remembered her devotion and passion for the university.
"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," the statement read.
Rivera goes on to say in the statement.
"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."
Authorities and search parties continue to search for Allen.
"Gofundme donations which have been so generously donated so far will be used to support more pilots getting up in the air, and to support others who have been supporting the search or may be able to, with additional resources," the GoFundMe said.
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