CNET Editor's body found by Searchers (Update #941)

CNET TV ^ | 12-04-06 | From CNET TV

[sockmonkey]

Wife and two daughters of senior editor James Kim found in Oregon; search is still on for James Kim, who left the car on foot two days ago.

The wife and daughters of missing CNET senior editor James Kim have been found alive and airlifted to a local hospital, authorities announced at a press conference in Merlin, Ore., Monday afternoon.

James Kim left the car on snowshoes two days ago to seek help and has not been found, the official said. The search for him continues.

According to the official speaking at the news conference, the conditions of Kati, Penelope and Sabine are not yet known. More details are expected at a press conference at 5 p.m. PST, which CNET will stream live.

Kati Kim reportedly flagged down a helicopter rented by families of the missing persons.

After searches in Oregon's Curry and Douglas counties, new information on missing CNET senior editor James Kim and his family narrowed the search back to the Bear Camp area in Josephine County, according to reports Monday.

A cell phone tower received a signal from one of the family's cell phones at about 1:30 a.m. on Sunday near Glendale, but officials say the signal is only an indicator the family could have been within 26 miles of Glendale at that time, according to a report in The Oregonian.

[Arthalion]

By the way, just checked Mapquest and it does put them on this forest service road to get from Glendale to Gold Beach. I wonder if there's any liability for Mapquest out of this?

MapQuest is the WORST service for maps in mountain areas. A number of years ago I was trying to get to Foresthill California, and since I was unfamiliar with the area I used Mapquest. It took me four hours to get from Sacramento to Foresthill, and I ended up travelling down an unpaved one lane fire-road that skirted the top of a canyon and even included a one lane cable bridge! Even worse, it started pouring halfway there, and the road wasn't maintained all that well. When I eventually got to where I was going, the people I was there to meet looked at me like I was nuts when I told them which way I'd come in. When we were done, they pointed me to the nice wide highway, and I was back in Sacramento 30 minutes later.

Mapquest's database in scarily complete, and includes every fire road and driveway they could spot from the satellite images. It doesn't even try to hold you to the highways, and often doesn't differentiate between highways and dirt roads, so sometimes it will send you down the "shortest route" without ever bothering to mention that the route requires 4WD and rocksliders. I've spoken to people who have ended up on abandoned roads, on gated private roads, or who have been pointed towards roads that apparently didn't even exist. About a year ago I was chatting with someone who insisted that Mapquest showed him how to get to a Sierra lake that I KNEW couldn't be accessed by car...it turned out that Mapquest was displaying a hiking trail as a roadway. It's useful for mapping urban areas, but I would NEVER recommend their service for people looking to drive in the mountains.

[publana]

I read on another site that the local store close to this road often dissuades people from taking this road after being directed to it by several map software programs. Several people have requested the road be closed during winter or, at the very least, have a sign erected declaring the road dangerous.

[IM2MAD]

MapQuest is the WORST service for maps in mountain areas.

So what site do you suggest for better maps?

[sockmonkey]

Also, what is a "drainage area"? The policeman said he took off into the drainage area. Planned to follow a river/creek/wash out thinking it would be quicker than the road?

I was thinking he thought that by taking the drainage area, he would get to a lower elevation more quickly. Lower elevation means warmer conditions/more survivability Mapquest shows a town called Marial (which I don't think is a town at all). I thought he must be trying to reach it.

I pray he is found soon. Rescuers said for sure he would be found today-Tuesday.

[angkor]

http://www.electrilite.com

[Jeff Head]

Out here in the west, a "drainage" is a valley or basin that is "drained" by a river or stream. Sometimes even if the stream is dry most of the year, it will be called a "drainage" because in the spring the valley or canyon, or entire system will "drain" the snow off from the surrounding mountains.

You could substitute valley or a system of valleys, or basin in for that word. Lots of times we will talk about going two or three "drainages" over when looking for game while hunting or otherwise out in the wilderness or mountainous areas.

Hope that helps.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

ping for future.

[OldFriend]

Don't swim alone, don't hike alone.

When you take young children camping you are asking for trouble. Plain and simple.

Just the jewish mother in me speaking!

[AnAmericanMother]

LOL! That IS a lot of paperwork!

And reading the little N numbers on their bellies is very difficult, they won't hold still . . .

[AnAmericanMother]

Thanks for the link to the site! That's very helpful.

[gura]

Dude, you saw that on the I Should Be Alive special! :-)

[Caesar Soze]

Anyone who doesn't have an emergency bag in their car, containing the proper survival stuff, when traveling with an infant and a 4 year old, must be a candidate for the Darwin award.

His children survived, so he's not eligible. You have to kill yourself before reproducing or kill yourself and your offspring to get a Darwin.

[AnAmericanMother]

The Delorme is great.

We use it for hiking in the Smokies -- it shows you everything (including that road you probably shouldn't take). We used a short cut over the mountains in Transylvania County NC, it was August and fair weather and we had a 4WD truck. I would never do that in winter - it was plenty scary enough in summer - 3 creek fords and a very narrow winding unpaved road with a huge dropoff to one side most of the way.

[woodbutcher]

Your tag line is intriguing.

Ministrix of Ye Chase...?????

[LongElegantLegs]

(Never go to cut a Christmas tree set foot in a Volkswagon Beetle)

I fixed it for ya.

[AnAmericanMother]

Ministrix of Ye Chase . . . long and involved Catholic joke.

Short version: the Tomás de Torquemada Gentlemen's Club has a Ladies' Auxiliary. I hunt (birds w/ dogs, foxes on horseback), hence my not particularly exalted office.

[woodbutcher]

I do not believe in suing unless someone has done something to purposely hurt you.

I was raised in the day when if you fell on the slick floor at the grocery store and broke your arm, you did not sue, you said "#$%^, this is not my lucky day" and went to the Dr. and paid your own bills.

That being said, MapQuest is smart enough to know that they are publishing information that is totally unreliable and dangerous in certain areas, that is areas where mistakes cost lives.

Whereas it might be an inconvenience in Dayton, OH, the same mistake would kill you in the Rockies.

Someone should at least scare some sense into them.

[mountn man]

Dude, you saw that on the I Should Be Alive special! :-)

No, common sense. I remembered that Steven Speiberg (I believe) filmed a movie in China where he burned thousands of tires, and all the black smoke it developed.

[woodbutcher]

foxes on horseback

I suspected as much.

This should go private, if it does go any further (farther? I never could remember the difference).

We don't want to hijack the thread.

I will try an email.

[CT-Freeper]

I know some people don't like Google, but maps.google.com usually keeps to interstates and major highways, even if it means lengthening the trip by a half-hour or so. The only thing I have noticed is that Google tends to over-estimate the drive time of trips...not that it is a bad thing to plan for traffic.