Posted on 12/09/2006 9:33:13 PM PST by saquin
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - James Kim walked more than 16 miles before he died trying to save his stranded family in Southern Oregon's rugged Rogue River Canyon - six miles more than was originally thought, a search official said Saturday.
Phil Turnbull, chief of the Rural/Metro Fire Department in Josephine County, also said that as Kim's wife and two children waited in their car to be rescued, they weren't as close to a fishing lodge as authorities had initially thought.
A field report that had incorrect coordinates for the location of the family car led officials to calculate initially that Kim had walked about 10 miles before dying of hypothermia, Turnbull said.
But the mapping error did not affect the way the search for Kim was conducted or its outcome, Turnbull said.
By the time the coordinates of the car were reported, he said, rescue teams had already tracked Kim, 35, into the Big Windy Creek drainage.
He was found there Wednesday, about half a mile from the Rogue River.
"It really didn't have any impact on the search for Mr. Kim," Turnbull said.
The family left Portland on Nov. 25 on the way home to San Francisco and got stuck in snow after taking a wrong turn at a fork on a little-used, narrow road through the mountains of Southern Oregon.
A vandal had apparently cut a lock and opened a gate to a logging road, officials said, giving the family a choice of routes in dark, snowy conditions.
Kim's wife, Kati, 30, and their two young daughters were rescued Monday, two days after he struck out on foot in search of help.
The map error led searchers to believe that the Kims' Saab station wagon was about a mile from a fishing lodge.
But the owner said he didn't recognize the area as being near his lodge and double-checked.
Instead of being about a mile from the lodge, Turnbull said, the vehicle was 6.37 miles farther along the road than thought, meaning James Kim had walked that much farther than searchers first thought.
"Holy smokes, that was superhuman effort to get that many miles," John James, who operates the Black Bar Lodge, told the Grants Pass Daily Courier, which first reported about the error. His lodge was closed for the winter but stocked with food.
Turnbull said it was important to "set the public record straight" and "to emphasize the efforts Mr. Kim made to rescue his family."
The speculation is that Google Maps or Mapquest or something else, without regard to local conditions, generated a map which would do that.
As I understand it, that's part of how they eventually located the car.
"A list of stuff to carry in the trunk might have been useful for the sheriff to recommend for others in the future."
Yep. Some people just don't know how to survive in the wilderness. Sometimes it just doesn't matter, but you can increase your odds of surviving.
Not at all trying to make light conversation, but a while back on a popular leftist board we all know and loathe, the topic of surviving the Bush armageddon came up. One of the exalted survivalists had praise heaped on them because they knew how to cook on a propane grill at home. That was their extent of survivalism. They were not joking either, that really was roughing it to them.
I wondered if it was something like that. Having been raised in mountainous country, I know that the most direct route can often be the most dangerous if weather is capricious. I wonder about the safety of naive urban folks who slavishly follow their on-board GPS systems in unfamiliar mountain or desert terrain. Weather, both cold and hot, can be mighty unforgiving to stranded travelers.
His death is a perfect example of the extent a man would go through to save his family.I am certain he knew the consequences should he fail.I think of him in heroic terms.God bless him and his family,and the people who never gave up against all odds.
From what I read, when they started seeing signs to that effect, they decided to turn around and go back to the interstate. The road was too narrow at that point to turn around so Kim backed up for a while until he saw a road turnoff (this was the spur road that is usually locked by a gate in the winter) and took that, probably thinking it would loop him back to the road or that he'd find a place to turn around. They got stuck in the snow on that road.
From what I read, they family intended to take I-5 to Highway 42 to Gold Beach. They missed the exit for 42 and instead of doubling back to it, they looked at a map and saw Bear Camp Road which looked like a good direct route to the coast so decided to take that. Apparently, on the map it looked like a regular road and they didn't realize the danger in winter.
Prayers for the Kim family.
Here are some other threads where we've been discussing this story at length and swapping snow survival tips:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1751267/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1749424/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1748417/posts
Its good you taught your children those things. My dad taught me how to change a tire before I could get my permit. He also made sure we knew what to do out on the water as we live in a boating area. I was always told to keep a small mirror when I was hiking or boating to flash for help. A cd works too. Or a car mirror. He also made sure we carried compasses. This is such a sad story but maybe with all the attention this story has gotten people will realize they need to be more aware of where they are going and to keep supplies in their cars. Prayers for the Kim family.
What you read is wrong. The first two signs are on the interstate.
Late to the thread, but I don't think the point is to act as if he didn't make a mistake. The point is to acknowledge the monumental, if futile, effort the man made out of love for his family. 16 miles in mostly freezing temperatures (in tennis shoes!) is a tremendous effort. God rest his soul.
well said
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