CNET Journalist James Kim Found Dead in Oregon Wilderness



Published: December 06, 2006 5:10 PM ET

MERLIN, Ore. A San Francisco man who got stranded in the snowy wilderness with his family nearly two weeks ago was found dead Wednesday in a mountain creek, authorities said.

James Kim's body was discovered in Oregon's snowy Coast Range two days after his wife and two daughters were rescued from their car, stuck on a remote road. Kim had set out on foot over the weekend to find help for his family.

Ground crews and helicopters had been searching the area for Kim for days.

Kim, 35, was a senior editor for the technology media company CNET Networks Inc. He and his family had been missing since Nov. 25.

A pair of pants Kim had been wearing was found in the wilderness on Tuesday, raising fears that he had become delirious from the cold.

Searchers were emotional as they broke the news at temporary headquarters near the mountain road the Kim family took as they headed home to San Francisco from a holiday trip to the Pacific Northwest.

Earlier, Kati Kim told officers they were traveling south from Portland on Interstate 5 and missed the turnoff to a state highway, Oregon 42, that leads through the Coast Range to Gold Beach, where they planned to stay at a resort.

Officers said the couple used a map to choose the road they were on. "They got the map out - a regular highway map - that showed the route," Anderson said.

However, it wasn't clear whose map the couple used. The 2005-2007 state highway map distributed by the Oregon Department of Transportation has a warning in red print, inside a red box: "This route closed in winter." A Rand-McNally map did not have a similar warning.

On Monday, searchers in a private helicopter hired by the family spotted Kati Kim, 30, and daughters Penelope, 4, and Sabine, 7 months. They were released from a hospital in Grants Pass on Tuesday.

After leaving Portland on Interstate 5, search leaders said, the couple missed a turnoff that leads to the coast and took a wrong turn on a twisty mountain road they chose as an alternative.

Stuck, they used their car heater until they ran out of gas then burned tires to stay warm and attract attention. With only a few jars of baby food and limited supplies, Kati Kim nursed her children.

The area's complicated road network is commonly used by whitewater rafters on the Rogue River or as a shortcut to the coast in the summer, but it is not plowed in the winter.

A tragedy, my thoughts will be with his family tonight.

Perhaps if people had a better understanding of the outdoors and what to do in the event of a situation like this he may still be alive today.  It's always good to have a decent understanding of the outdoors and basic essentials, especially when traveling during the winter in remote places like that...

very sad ending, and what a tough decision for him to have made, Stay with the family and hope to be found/rescued (as they were), or set out on foot hoping to get help in freezing temps with no idea of where you are going. It's sad, & it makes me wonder how I would have handled that situation.  Don't be surprised when the made for tv movie is made of this family tragedy.

So sad...I was hoping for a different ending.  :\'(

:\'(

I was pretty certain Mr. Kim was going going to die out there. 

It is fortunate that the mother and children survived against some dubious odds, but they now live with the devastating loss of husband and father.

They say it's best to stay with the car.  Whether it's baking desert or frozen mountain pass, state agencies do patrol with helicoptors.  Mr. Kim was found only about a mile from the car.  Disorientation and fatigue quickly diminish your capabilities when your caught unprepared in the elements, especially after being cold and hungry for days.  I can't say I would have fared any better than Mr. Kim.  He was obviously a brave man trying to do his best to save his family. 

I've done some risky motoring myself.  The horrors that befell the Kim family are a grim reminder not to gamble with nature.  If there's a possibility of getting stuck in the middle of effing nowhere because of road conditions, I turn around and go back the way I came.  I did that in the mountains a couple of times.  The Gazeteer had the roads marked as passable by car, I saw them narrowing down to unimproved trails, and made a 180!

what a brave father/husband.....but such a sad ending. :\'(

Such a tragedy...my heart goes out to them all.  :\'(

So sad...I was hoping for a different ending.   :\'(
:(Me too--it sounded like,from the way it was described in the news about it being too dangerous for the searchers,that he had a good chance of falling down some steep embankment and getting killed.Kind of hoping he 'd meet some homeless people who lived there to get away from cililization--I mean,if any lived there.

A tragedy, my thoughts will be with his family tonight.

Perhaps if people had a better understanding of the outdoors and what to do in the event of a situation like this he may still be alive today.  It's always good to have a decent understanding of the outdoors and basic essentials, especially when traveling during the winter in remote places like that...


Very true.  And this is something that happens every year.

Those that live in the Pacific Northwest know how to prepare for winter, and when to not drive in certain areas.  I learned how to drive in Idaho, and took the usual precautions when driving up north in the Winter.

I was living in San Francisco, and went to visit my family in Oregon-Idaho in the winter of 1991.  Before I left, I made sure I had chains, a shovel, and a large bag of kitty litter in the trunk of my car.  And my "Emergency Kit" (which is in my car year round) has at least 3-5 days worth of food, water, blankets, first aid kit, and other emergency supplies.

Mr. Kim simply was not prepared for driving in the Cascades in winter.  He took an unplowed road, and did not have chains or anything else in case he got stuck (which he did).  And once he did get stuck, he made the worst possible decision: he left his vehicle.

This is why I tell people that unless they are experienced in winter driving, to stay on major highways.  And to never go on a trip without emergency supplies.  You never know when something can go wrong, and should be prepared.  Especially if you have children with you.

Very true.  And this is something that happens every year.

Those that live in the Pacific Northwest know how to prepare for winter, and when to not drive in certain areas.  I learned how to drive in Idaho, and took the usual precautions when driving up north in the Winter.

I was living in San Francisco, and went to visit my family in Oregon-Idaho in the winter of 1991.  Before I left, I made sure I had chains, a shovel, and a large bag of kitty litter in the trunk of my car.  And my "Emergency Kit" (which is in my car year round) has at least 3-5 days worth of food, water, blankets, first aid kit, and other emergency supplies.

Mr. Kim simply was not prepared for driving in the Cascades in winter.  He took an unplowed road, and did not have chains or anything else in case he got stuck (which he did).  And once he did get stuck, he made the worst possible decision: he left his vehicle.

This is why I tell people that unless they are experienced in winter driving, to stay on major highways.  And to never go on a trip without emergency supplies.  You never know when something can go wrong, and should be prepared.  Especially if you have children with you.

"Unprepared" is the key word here, but Kim wasn't like so many who go adventuring unprepared.  He wasn't out to tackle the Cascades.  Apparently, he made a few wrong turns and got caught in winter's frozen grip.  I wish he'd stayed with his vehicle and gotten rescued withe his family, but I think conditions compromised his judgment.

:\'( >:(Now it says in the news that a vandal cut the lock to the gate blocking the road that was supposed to be closed!