Cell phone location tip for Kims not heeded

The Oregonian ^ | 12/21/2006 | Michelle Roberts

[surfer]

Cell phone location tip for Kims not heeded Police report - An Edge Wireless employee gave state officers precise data two days before Kati Kim was found Thursday, December 21, 2006 MICHELLE ROBERTS The engineer whose cell phone records helped find the Kim family in a search-and-rescue drama that riveted the nation told police the Kims were "most likely in the vicinity of Bear Camp Road" two full days before they were found, according to a Portland police detective's report.

The Edge Wireless engineer provided a far more precise idea of where to look for James and Kati Kim and their two young daughters than had previously been understood.

The Portland Police Bureau report, released Wednesday, said Detective Michael Weinstein immediately relayed that information the evening of Dec. 2 to the Oregon State Police, which headed the investigation into the San Francisco family's disappearance.

...

[Mogger]

I wouldn't even drive off a major highway in a snowstorm, and that's if I decided to drive through a snowstorm at all.

Hmmmm. We drive off the main roads a little in the winter.

On this trip to Jackman Maine and back, our friend in Jackman recommended this shortcut over a mountain on an unplowed logging road (unplowed for the last 3 storms).

No problem, there were three foot deep drifts, that's all. Kind of steep in places.

All 18 hours of driving (round trip) was in a blizzard with low visibility as well.

However, we had a cell phone and had asked if it worked in the area, our friend was standing by with snowmobiles if necessary.

We had enough provisions to last a couple of weeks, guns, ammo and cooking gear enough to last indefinitely.

Accurate maps and 2 GPS receivers.

Spare parts and tools.

Generator and extra jerry cans of fuel.

Ham radio in case the cell phone didn't work.

2 pairs of snowshoes.

Tire chains for all four if needed.

Plenty of cold weather gear.

Big difference.

Oh, and by the way, we were driving this:

It has 20 inches of clearance at the diffs, about 3 feet in the middle, locking differentials, 4WD, 6 speeds forward, 2 speeds reverse. Over 2 feet of suspension travel at each end. 42 inch high by 11 inch wide tires.

These pics were taken as we started up that logging road in Jackman, Maine. We made it through with no problem. then over 8 hours more of driving through blizzard, drifts, etc., to get home to northern New Hampshire.

[Kirkwood]

"I wouldn't even drive off a major highway in a snowstorm, and that's if I decided to drive through a snowstorm at all"

I've been caught in a few blizzards in my lifetime where driving off on an exit on an interstate freeway would have meant my being stuck there for days.

[ßuddaßudd]

LOL, sure, give the ol' ßudda a good rubbin' if you must.

[surfer]

Gotta love that rig! I want one for Christmas!

[OregonRancher]

Yeah, and now the latest news is that the county fairgrounds might be shut down next year for lack of funds... The level of incompetence and corruption in this burg has to be seen to be believed. We have a city attorney who is known from San Diego to Seattle as "useless" and he is!!!!!

[BurbankKarl]

She isnt trained in SAR....I think she was trained in CERT.

I dont think she ignored anything...she was just confused by it.

[surfer]

Never said she was trained in SAR...but she was deployed on the ground and coordinating the effort. She let SAR down big time.

...just confused... no way...

She is incompetent and should at a minimum be removed from her position - taxpayers deserve better...not to mention the Kim's.

[NittanyLion]

To use it as an excuse for forgetting a critical piece of data really takes the cake, though. I can't even believe she actually said she was carsick...

[tubebender]

I couldn't believe she was running around the hills when her job was to set up a central command and stay there and direct the search. Perhaps she wanted to be a hero by finding the Kims herself...

[BurbankKarl]

She was running around the hills when it was a 4 county effort. Until the State Patrol took over, there were four different efforts going on...

[tubebender]

Four different efforts with no command? My understanding was the State took over when the commander realized the mistakes being made at the county level...

[The KG9 Kid]

They couldn't possibly have thought that they were taking a safe route, as you put it. I just won't buy it.

I'll answer your question:

"... Would you want Sarah Rubrecht coordinating the SAR efforts involving one of your loved ones?"

I wouldn't place myself or my loved ones in a position that required my rescue by any civil service employee of gov.org.

I don't go body surfing in riptides, don't sail a boat into a typhoon, would have evacuated before Katrina hit landfall, would not have stubbornly refused to leave my little mountain shack when Mt. St. Helens started smoking, would heed the signs at Yellowstone not to goof around in the hot springs, don't dive off of piers where there's 'NO DIVING' signs, don't feed the bears, would believe the weather reports that tell me a tornado is coming and to get in the cellar, don't climb power pylons for a look around, don't go 4x4 wheeling across the Barry Goldwater Aerial Gunnery Range, don't go spelunking into mineral caverns, don't dig in the backyard before calling the power company if I see one of those little triangular signs with the guy getting electrocuted on it, don't hold lit firecrackers between my teeth, don't tease the alligators with a chicken tied to my foot in the Everglades, wouldn't take a shortcut through Compton CA on my way to LAX, won't set foot in Central America, don't try to get an interview with jihadi insurgents, wouldn't let my toddlers play unattended in Dingo country, don't use ATMs in the middle of the night, don't walk down dark alleys, would never run with the bulls in Pamplona, or decide to take a sketchy mountain sideroad in the Oregon high country during an incoming blizzard at two o-clock in the morning especially when my children are in the car and I should have stopped for the night four hours earlier rather than pressing on through to whereever I was headed.

Sorry. Once the Kims made their numerous rotten mistakes, it doesn't become someone else's mistake if they can't, don't, or won't correct the situation.

The authorities are not responsible for you. The cops have no obligation to protect you, and that's a US Supreme Court decision. They usually just draw chalk lines around your dead body long after the fact. Same thing with forest rangers and rural sheriffs who would do little more than photograph the site where they found your remains floating in an icy stream.

[surfer]

You are not getting off that easily...

"... Would you want Sarah Rubrecht coordinating the SAR efforts involving one of your loved ones?"

Answer the question...try to imagine a family member or relative that for some amazing reason wouldn't be under your perfect shield of protection and they went missing Josephine County...would you want her to be coordinating the effort to find them?

[The KG9 Kid]

I wouldn't want her running the SAR any more than I would want Captain Kim at the helm making life and death decisions.

You just want to punish someone for this tragedy. I think that nature beat you to it.

[longtermmemmory]

The "My Turf" mentality of the local constabulary is a universal constant.

[Sir_Ed]

Actually, we used to run an anti-tax newspaper here in the county, where we wrote scathing editorials and drew hilarious editorial cartoons against the bureaucrats, and Ulys was the only one of 'em that laughed at them, and remained friendly to me, (except for the sheriff, who was always friendly.

So I've always kind of liked Ulys, even though he's made some bonehead mistakes!!

And yeah, shutting down the fairgrounds is ABSURD! They should just pick the top 12 highest paid bureacrats in JoCo and just fire 'em...they'd prolly save millions of dollars!

See ya', OR,

Ed

[Sir_Ed]

They truly are...this county is beyond incompetent!

Ed

[surfer]

Thanks.

This isn't about punishment, blame, etc...

This is about stopping something from happening again. Death is final...you can't do a re-do.

[BurbankKarl]

Curry County utilzed a National Guard UH60 much earlier in the timeline...

The Oregonian picked and choosed what facts to include in their article.

[Calvin Locke]

I use to have Josephine County in my plonk list for rec.radio.shortwave on usenet.

Some guy kept complaining, er, posting rants about it for some annoying and forgotten reason.

Maybe even about the sheriff.

Maybe it was in WA State, instead. Any way, it happened enough to warrant the plonk.