Two sisters, Minnesota natives, mysteriously found dead on African island

A Lakeville man and the rest of his family are looking for answers into why his two sisters were found dead in their resort villa on a tropical African island.

The bodies of Eden Prairie High School graduates Annie Korkki, 37, and Robin Korkki, 42, were discovered in their hillside villa while vacationing together on the archipelago nation of Seychelles, more than 900 miles off Africa's east coast in the Indian Ocean, said brother Chris Korkki.

Otherwise, the brother said, the family is learning nothing through official channels about what led to the deaths of Annie Korkki, who lived in Denver, and Robin Korkki, who lived in Chicago.

Chris Korkki said his mother and his brother, who both live in Colorado, are in Seychelles pressing U.S. and local officials for details and making arrangements to bring his sisters' bodies back to the United States.

The Seychelles Nation, the main daily newspaper for the country of roughly 90,000 people, reported that police said a Maia Luxury Resort manager found the sisters "unresponsive" in their villa and showing no obvious signs of trauma on Sept. 22, a week into their visit and two days before their anticipated departure. A doctor declared them dead at the scene.

The newspaper said resort staff had seen the women drinking over the course of the previous day and that they were provided assistance to their villa that evening.

An autopsy was scheduled for this week, the newspaper added.

"At this point, the only details we know are the articles flying around online," Chris Korkki said. "My mom has been talking with people from the U.S. Embassy. I don't think they've provided her with any information."

The brother described his sisters as healthy and adventurous women who "definitely wanted to experience life to the fullest."

He added, "Two things keep going through my mind: This isn't happening, and we just want answers."

Seychelles, sitting just south of the equator, has a thriving tourist industry thanks to its numerous beaches, coral reefs, nature reserves and average high temperatures in the 80s year-round. According to the nation's latest statistics, visits are up 10 percent so far this year over the same period last year.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482