Four senior citizens of Indian origin, who went missing during a road trip from New York to Pennsylvania, have been found dead following a tragic vehicle crash, according to the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office in West Virginia.
The victims, identified as Dr. Kishore Divan (89), Asha Divan (85), Shailesh Divan (86), and Gita Divan (84), were discovered late Saturday evening (August 2) in their vehicle, which had plunged down a steep embankment along Big Wheeling Creek Road. The car was found several miles from the main highway, at the bottom of rugged terrain that made recovery efforts exceptionally difficult. Emergency responders took over five hours to reach the scene.
The group had been missing since July 29, when they were last seen at a Burger King on Peach Street in Erie, Pennsylvania. Their final known credit card transaction occurred at the same location. The family was travelling in a light green Toyota Camry bearing New York license plate EKW2611, en route to the Palace of Gold, a prominent spiritual destination in Marshall County established by disciples of Swami Prabhupada, founder of ISKCON.
They were scheduled to check into accommodations near the Palace of Gold on the night of July 30, but never arrived. Cell phone data indicated the last known signal from their devices came from Moundsville, around 3 a.m. on July 31. Authorities launched an extensive search involving helicopters and multiple law enforcement agencies.
Marshall County Sheriff Mike Dougherty earlier told WTOV News9 that investigators were following several leads but had not yet located the missing group until the grim discovery Saturday night.
The heartbreaking end to the days-long search has deeply affected both local communities and the broader Indian-American diaspora.
This incident comes shortly after another troubling disappearance involving an Indian national. In June, 24-year-old Simran went missing in New Jersey just days after arriving in the U.S. for an arranged marriage. Authorities suspect she may have used the trip to leave home voluntarily.
While there is no connection between the two cases, they have sparked broader conversations around travel safety and family welfare among immigrants and visitors alike.