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James Kim found dead (lost family in Oregon rel)

edith headedith head 5,106 Posts
edited December 2006 in Strut Central
i am surprised this story made the national news, but they found the father dead today.http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/06/missing.family/index.htmli feel bad for his wife and kids.
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  Comments

  • marumaru 1,450 Posts
    very sad
  • cpeetzcpeetz 2,112 Posts
    Especially since if he'd stayed put he'd probably still be alive.
  • empanadamnempanadamn 1,462 Posts
    oh my god. i've been seeing this guys face and reviews on cnet intensively for the past few weeks enough to feel like i work with him. this is so unfortunate. my condolences to his friends and family. rest in peace.
  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,903 Posts
    Yeah, crazy story.

    Crazy how they found the wife and kids using their cell phone.

    Sad stuff. Did he follow the road or head off into the woods?

    Again, sad stuff...
  • edith headedith head 5,106 Posts
    oh my god. i've been seeing this guys face and reviews on cnet intensively for the past few weeks enough to feel like i work with him. this is so unfortunate. my condolences to his friends and family. rest in peace.

    yeah. i didn't even realize that his wife owned the Doe shop in the Lower Haight. i believe I've met her before.

    people can leave wishes and condolences for the Kim family here

    http://news.com.com/2009-12-6141426.html
  • DjArcadianDjArcadian 3,632 Posts
    oh my god. i've been seeing this guys face and reviews on cnet intensively for the past few weeks enough to feel like i work with him. this is so unfortunate. my condolences to his friends and family. rest in peace.

    yeah. i didn't even realize that his wife owned the Doe shop in the Lower Haight. i believe I've met her before.

    Oh shit! Really. I live like around the corner from her shop.
  • paulnicepaulnice 924 Posts


    What's really sad to me is how the guy died not knowing if his family would make it or not.

  • hogginthefogghogginthefogg 6,098 Posts
    Absolutely heart wrenching. And apparently, they live in my neighborhood.

    I hear bad news all the time, but this story really got to me. RIP.
  • jleejlee 1,539 Posts
    that shit sucks...i was really hoping they were going to find him alive.



    i know this sounds silly, but that couple/family took really good pictures together. seeing those on tv made gave me some weird sense of a bond with them.

    condolences to their family.


    also...does anyone know the backstory of how they got lost? i don't think i ever caught that part of the story.
  • Jonny_PaycheckJonny_Paycheck 17,825 Posts
    This is terrible. That is my worst nightmare.

    RIP.
  • DjArcadianDjArcadian 3,632 Posts

    also...does anyone know the backstory of how they got lost? i don't think i ever caught that part of the story.

    Didn't their car slip off the road into a ditch?
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    Jlee,

    Basically, it seems like it was a set of different errors, the biggest being that they missed the road they were originally supposed to turn off on (HWY 42) and instead, ended up another road that cuts through the Oregon wilderness but is considered "impassable" in the winter.

    From what I've read, it sounds like they took the alternative route, thinking it would be faster b/c it looks shorter on a map but they didn't realize that it's only meant to be a summer route.

    At some point, they ended up off the road - the car was found 15 miles off that route - and in near non-existent cell phone coverage.

    They apparently still had enough gas since they were able to run the engine at night, but it sounds like they either didn't want to chance driving blindly or were snow-bound. Either way, they ended up stranded in the middle of nowhere with no easy way to get help.

    The cell phone angle was a stroke of luck - they managed to get enough coverage at some point so that their signal popped up on the cell network and then engineers were able to get a more specific lock on their location which is why the mom and her two kids were found.
  • cpeetzcpeetz 2,112 Posts


    What's really sad to me is how the guy died not knowing if his family would make it or not.


    That would have been hell.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts


    What's really sad to me is how the guy died not knowing if his family would make it or not.


    That would have been hell.

    Likewise, the rest of the family was rescued without knowing if James was still alive or not. All around, a nightmare of horrific proportions.
  • GenePontecorvoGenePontecorvo 5,612 Posts
    Jlee,

    Basically, it seems like it was a set of different errors, the biggest being that they missed the road they were originally supposed to turn off on (HWY 42) and instead, ended up another road that cuts through the Oregon wilderness but is considered "impassable" in the winter.

    From what I've read, it sounds like they took the alternative route, thinking it would be faster b/c it looks shorter on a map but they didn't realize that it's only meant to be a summer route.

    At some point, they ended up off the road - the car was found 15 miles off that route - and in near non-existent cell phone coverage.

    They apparently still had enough gas since they were able to run the engine at night, but it sounds like they either didn't want to chance driving blindly or were snow-bound. Either way, they ended up stranded in the middle of nowhere with no easy way to get help.

    The cell phone angle was a stroke of luck - they managed to get enough coverage at some point so that their signal popped up on the cell network and then engineers were able to get a more specific lock on their location which is why the mom and her two kids were found.

    Thanks ODub. I learned more about the situation from this than the cnn piece that was linked. A very tragic story. Presumably the father died from exposure/hunger?
  • BrianBrian 7,618 Posts
    RIP

    shits sad but i couldnt think of a better way to go out
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    RIP

    shits sad but i couldnt think of a better way to go out

    huh?
  • Young_PhonicsYoung_Phonics 8,039 Posts
    I think he means trying to save your family.
  • BrianBrian 7,618 Posts
    giving up your life to rescue your family?
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts


    Thanks ODub. I learned more about the situation from this than the cnn piece that was linked. A very tragic story. Presumably the father died from exposure/hunger?

    Most likely exposure I would think - he wasn't really dressed for that kind of weather.

    By the way, from what the CNN story said, their car got snowbound which is why they couldn't drive out of their predicament.

    All in all, it's just fucking crazy: they were stuck for a week before James decided to trek out but regardless, that means that whole family was marooned for at least seven days, not knowing what was going to happen.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    giving up your life to rescue your family?

    Gotcha.
  • dayday 9,611 Posts


    Thanks ODub. I learned more about the situation from this than the cnn piece that was linked. A very tragic story. Presumably the father died from exposure/hunger?

    Most likely exposure I would think - he wasn't really dressed for that kind of weather.

    By the way, from what the CNN story said, their car got snowbound which is why they couldn't drive out of their predicament.

    All in all, it's just fucking crazy: they were stuck for a week before James decided to trek out but regardless, that means that whole family was marooned for at least seven days, not knowing what was going to happen.

    I had heard they were in the car for 9 days. I was watching CNN last night and they had an outdoor survival expert from Nat. Geographic on and that topic came up. He said all the experts will tell you to stay in the car because it's garaunteed shelter, you have possible tools to use etc. - but no one can agree at what point do you venture out for help.

    The thought that he was trying until his last breath to save his family...words can't even describe how terrible that is.

    What an awful, awful story. My thoughts are with him and his family.
    This is truly sad.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    At the very least, I'm glad the kids survived.
  • bobbydeebobbydee 849 Posts
    Back when i was a scout some 10 years ago (erm, no homo?) I was lost in the bush for some 70 hours, with another scout my age and 2 young cub scouts with us. I got the three of them to stay put, and I went for help (dumb, i know). They had choppers out, news crews, the whole deal.

    By the 2nd night my mind was doing crazy shit, I have absolutely no idea how they did a week. Hearing stories like this make my stomach drop, being out on your own is crazy, can't imagine how much worse it would be with your family hanging in the balance too.
  • dayday 9,611 Posts
    At the very least, I'm glad the kids survived.

    Definitley. Some good did come of this with his family surviving. They were extremely resourceful burning tires, breastfeeding, eating berries and so on. 9 days is a long time.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    SFgate.com has pretty thorough background on the whole ordeal:

    http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/06/BAKIM06.DTL
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    Back when i was a scout some 10 years ago (erm, no homo?) I was lost in the bush for some 70 hours, with another scout my age and 2 young cub scouts with us.

    By the 2nd night my mind was doing crazy shit

    So did you get lost yourself and then get rescued separately from the other scouts? Or did you actually find help?

    And ultimately, what spurred you to leave and go in search for help?
  • bobbydeebobbydee 849 Posts
    Back when i was a scout some 10 years ago (erm, no homo?) I was lost in the bush for some 70 hours, with another scout my age and 2 young cub scouts with us.

    By the 2nd night my mind was doing crazy shit

    So did you get lost yourself and then get rescued separately from the other scouts? Or did you actually find help?

    And ultimately, what spurred you to leave and go in search for help?

    I got to a search team before we went back to the others, but that was more chance than any skill really. I left because I had two young kids who i felt responsible for, and since there was someone else who I trusted (Joe, a long time family freind) to leave with them, I couldn't sit still and just wait. I liken it to hospital waiting room pacing... in that it really doesn't acheive anything but you feel like the expression of energy is helpfull. It wasn't until the 2nd night, as i said, that i really started to think "maybe they are home safe and your not going to get found - you fucked it up by leaving" and "what if they are in trouble and need your help, and you had to go be a hero and look for help"

    So in the same moment I was thinking "poor me" but also "you selfish bastard, you abandoned them"
  • HAZHAZ 3,376 Posts
    Tragic. RIP.
  • JoeMojoJoeMojo 720 Posts
    I met the Kims back in May - James was a friends of friends and we were all camping together in southern Oregon. A lot of people I'm close to are really broken up about this. Some drove up from SF or down from Portland to join the search parties. If nothing else, we know that heaven and earth were moved to save his family and find him. RIP.
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