American sisters, one from Denver, found dead on island

A Minnesota man says his family has been given little information on how his two sisters died while vacationing on a tropical African island.

The bodies of Annie Korkki, 37, of Denver, and Robin Korkki, 42, of Chicago, were found in their resort villa last week in Seychelles, an archipelago nation off Africa’s east coast in the Indian Ocean.

Their brother, Chris Korkki, said the family has learned nothing through official channels about his sisters’ deaths.

“At this point, the only details we know are the articles flying around online,” Chris Korkki told the Star Tribune in Minneapolis. “My mom has been talking with people from the U.S. Embassy. I don’t think they’ve provided her with any information.”

Annie was a member of Denver Synchronicity Masters, a competitive skating team, Caitlyn Cattelino, the team coach, told The Denver Post.

“She was an incredible woman. She had this personality that she would light up a room whenever she walked in,” Cattelino said.

The JPMorgan Chase employee, a Minnesota native, joined the team in 2015. Her mother, Susan, who lives in Eagle, is also a figure skater who judges competitions here in Colorado, Cattelino said.

Her mother and sister would travel to meet Annie when the team was competing in other states.

The sisters had planned the trip to Africa, and Seychelles, for some time. Before arriving in the island chain, they had gone on safari in Africa, Cattelino said. “She described it as the trip of a lifetime. Her and her sister were very close, they were going to special places.”

Pictures posted on Facebook showed the sisters on the beach, and on safari, during their vacation.

Their bodies were found on a bed in a villa at the Maia Luxury Resort & Spa on Sept. 22.