Author Topic: real life survival story?  (Read 15117 times)

gunsmith

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real life survival story?
« on: December 04, 2006, 10:58:02 PM »
I included the ? because they sure were not prepared. When ever I make a long trip thru wilderness I include food and survival gear, even if it's over hiway 80 from Reno to SF, especially in winter

I'm not saying all that to beat up on them though, I am praying the dad is found alive.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...s/16166775.htm

Missing S.F. mother, children found safe in Oregon
SEARCH CONTINUES FOR FATHER
By Julia Prodis Sulek and Linda Goldston
Mercury News

A San Francisco mother kept her infant and 4-year-old daughters alive by nursing them both during their nine-day ordeal snowbound in the Oregon mountains before being found Monday.

The only sign of the father, who burned the station wagon tires to keep his family warm and gathered berries to eat, were his footprints in the snow.

James Kim, 35, had left the family Saturday morning, promising to be back by 1 p.m., but he hasn't been seen since. Oregon law enforcement were tracking his footprints, which dipped into a steep icy drainage, into the night.

The family had been missing since Nov. 25, after spending Thanksgiving in Seattle. They were heading back home and had stopped at a Denny's Restaurant in Roseburg, Ore., where they were last seen.

Numerous Oregon law enforcement agencies, from county sheriffs to the national guard, have been dedicated to the search over the past nine days. But it was a private helicopter apparently hired by the Kims' relatives that spotted the vehicle after signals from the Kims' attempted cell phone calls were tracked to a tower near the vehicle.

``The fact they were found is miraculous,'' said San Francisco Police Inspector Angela Martin. ``She held up an umbrella with SOS written on it. She was that smart to save her babies and herself.''

When the father is found, Martin added, ``I'll be able to breathe again.''

Kati Kim, 30, and her children, Penelope, 4, and Sabine, 7 months, were in fair condition when they were airlifted to a hospital from their stranded silver Saab 900 station wagon 30 miles west of Grants Pass. Through the helicopter window, the mother was seen holding her swaddled infant close to her chest.

The Kim story is reminiscent of the ordeal endured by James Stolpa and his wife and infant son in 1993. When the Paso Robles family became snowbound in northwestern Nevada, James Stolpa left his family in a sleeping bag in a natural cave, where the mother nursed her son for three days until Stolpa found help.

Today is the third day James Kim -- a senior editor at San Francisco tech Web site Cnet -- has been separated from his family.

After leaving Portland Nov. 25 and stopping for dinner in Roseburg, the Kims headed to Gold Beach on the coast where they planned to stay before heading back to San Francisco.

But they took Bear Camp Road -- a scenic road used by whitewater rafters on the Rogue River in the summer, but not plowed in the winter.

``It was pretty wet. It was snowing close to the top,'' said Lt. Gregg Hastings of the Oregon State Police. ``They felt it wasn't safe to continue. They were trying to back down a very narrow road in the snow. They were having traction problems.''

They reached a side road and followed it until they got stuck in a snowbank, he said.

``They used quite a bit of gas trying to get out,'' which they finally did, Hastings said.

But as they continued on for several miles, they reached a fork in the road and decided to stop.

``It was pretty dark out,'' Hastings said. ``At that point, they decided to stay because they were lost.''

The snow continued on top of the mountain, making it hard for rescuers to find them, he said.

But on Monday afternoon, the vehicle was located along with Kati Kim waving her SOS umbrella. At the hospital, she told staff that ``she breast fed both of her children during the nine days,'' said Laura Biggers, marketing director of the parent company of Three Rivers Community Hospital in Grants Pass.

The wait for family and friends in the Bay area has been torturous.

The couple owned two boutiques in San Francisco -- ``Doe,'' a clothing store on Haight Street, and the Church Street Apothecary, said Charlene Wright, the Apothecary store manager.

``It's really emotional,'' Wright said. ``I'm here putting fresh flowers in the vases to make sure it looks good when Kati gets home.''

Kati Kim worked at the store until her second child, Sabine, was born, and still ``calls us constantly to check in on the stores,'' Wright said.

Wright last talked to the Kims the day before Thanksgiving and had expected to hear from Kati Kim the following Saturday.

``When they headed up, they weren't planning on the being in the snow,'' she said, adding: ``They're a beautiful family, dedicated, loving. They're just fantastic folks to know.''

Cell phone tower designer and volunteer Eric Fuqua, who used Edge Wireless data to detect the pings from the Kims' failed phone calls, ``was the key in this,'' Inspector Martin said.

``As far as I'm concerned, he's the hero,'' Martin said.
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LadySmith

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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #1 on: December 05, 2006, 02:24:50 AM »
I'm glad the family is ok and I hope they find the father in good shape.
If I ever got stranded like that, I think I could survive for a couple of months just with what I hav ein my purse.
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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #2 on: December 05, 2006, 05:31:58 AM »
I appreciate it when stories like this get publicity, though it is terrible that it actually has to happen to someone.  But, whenever someting like this gets published, it makes my wife look at me with a little less contenpt when I pack survival gear in the car for a road trip.  Being an Eagle Scourt, I take "Be Prepared" to heart.

meinbruder

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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #3 on: December 05, 2006, 07:18:10 AM »
I included the ? because they sure were not prepared. When ever I make a long trip thru wilderness I include food and survival gear, even if it's over hiway 80 from Reno to SF, especially in winter

I'm not saying all that to beat up on them though, I am praying the dad is found alive.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...s/16166775.htm

To get from Roseburg to Gold Beach requires a trip south into Kalifornia and north to get back into Oregon; or, backtrack north a bit and then south on the Oregon Coast Hwy.  There arent any roads passable to a car and a few that will give four-wheelers a headache.  I had family living in the Grants Pass area for a while and they wouldnt think about using some of those roads in high summer much less at this time of year. 

The local news here in Portland claims the family map-quested the shortest route and didnt consider the possibility of travel difficulty.  The story was presented as a perfect example of not using map-quest in unfamiliar areas.  Mrs. Kim and the kids are lucky to have been found but Mr. Kim is likely to found by hunters in the next few years. 

Gunsmith, Im with you.  I hope they find him soon.   
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Sergeant Bob

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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #4 on: December 05, 2006, 08:00:45 AM »
Quote
The Kim story is reminiscent of the ordeal endured by James Stolpa and his wife and infant son in 1993. When the Paso Robles family became snowbound in northwestern Nevada, James Stolpa left his family in a sleeping bag in a natural cave, where the mother nursed her son for three days until Stolpa found help.
Yeah, they made Jim Stolpa out to be some kind of hero, when in actuality, he was a frakking idiot.
When the major highways across the mountains were closed due to excessive snow, he decided to take the back roads through the mountains!

I'm glad most of those people are OK and hope they find the father but, this guy wasn't any brighter than Jim Stolpa.
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client32

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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #5 on: December 05, 2006, 08:22:52 AM »
But, whenever someting like this gets published, it makes my wife look at me with a little less contenpt when I pack survival gear in the car for a road trip.

I shared this with my earlier today for near the same reason.  I toss a few extra items in the car when we head out of town, especially on cold days. 
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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #6 on: December 05, 2006, 09:20:17 AM »
But things like this don't help people understand why I carry two full-size Glocks, two compact Glocks for back-up, six extra magazines, a stun-gun, pepper-spray, a tactical flashlight, a second tactical flashlight, handcuffs, an ASP baton, kubotan and a Gerber Covert on each side.  So misunderstood.  sad

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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #7 on: December 05, 2006, 09:23:35 AM »
From october to april I carry a sleeping bag and pillow in my car just in case I need to spend the night in my car on a winter night. We may not get the really deep snow here in Iowa but we do get white out conditions and ice storms.

Iowa- 88% more livable that the rest of the US

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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #8 on: December 05, 2006, 10:11:58 AM »
It's so simple to survive yet so many fail at it. :sigh: I imagine some lucky hiker will find his skeleton this summer. Providing he doesn't get scattered around that is.

It reminds me of Mt Washington. The only month of the year when someone hasn't died of exposure on the mountain is July. That's pretty darn scary if you ask me.

Just heard a gunshot off in the distance. Must be hunting season!  grin
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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #9 on: December 05, 2006, 10:18:34 AM »
By JEFF BARNARD, Associated Press Writer
25 minutes ago
 


MERLIN, Ore. - Searchers scoured a narrow canyon in Oregon's snowy Coast Range on Tuesday for a man missing for more than a week in the rugged area while his wife and two young children, rescued just the day before, recovered in a hospital.

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A helicopter with heat-sensing equipment joined other helicopters, snowmobiles and foot patrols Tuesday in the hunt for 35-year-old James Kim of San Francisco. Trained dogs and horse patrols were on standby to help in the seach. Trackers had followed his footprints until dark Monday night.

Officials said it appeared that Kim was within five miles of the car he'd left Saturday morning in search of help.

Trackers said he had headed downhill and apparently walked out of an area covered with snow. The trackers "were following scuff marks" in dirt and rock, said Undersheriff Brian Anderson of Josephine County.

The drainage Kim followed headed for the nearby Rogue River, and the search and rescue teams brought out rafts Tuesday to check the river.

Kim, a senior editor for CNET Networks, had left his wife and two young children in their frozen, snowbound car and set off into the wilderness to seek help, wearing only tennis shoes, a sweater and a jacket.

Anderson said Kim took two lighters with him when he left the car. "Maybe he got a fire going," he said at a news conference.

Overnight temperatures in the region have been in the mid 20s to mid 30s.

A helicopter crew spotted his wife, Kati Kim, 30, waving an umbrella Monday afternoon. She and her daughters Penelope, 4, and Sabine, 7 months, were flown to a hospital in Grants Pass.

They were in very good condition Tuesday and Sabine was expected to be released from the hospital, said Linda Rankin, vice president for patient care at Three Rivers Community Hospital.

Kati Kim might lose one toe because of the cold, her father, Dr. Phil Fleming, told The Associated Press on Tuesday as he and his wife, Sandy, awaited a flight to Oregon from Albuquerque, N.M. He said his daughter breast-fed the two children to keep them nourished during the ordeal and "the children are doing extraordinarily well."

"You think about a soldier being killed or an individual in a car accident, and you often time wonder how difficult that is," said Fleming, of Gallup, N.M. "But take a whole family and subject two kids to it  it's just unbearable."

The family said James Kim left the car stuck in the snow in southwestern Oregon at about 7:45 a.m. Saturday and walked back the way they had come to look for help, saying he would return by 1 p.m. if he found none.

His family said he had outdoor experience, and State Police Lt. Doug Ladd said there was "a very reasonable chance" that he is still alive. They said he had eaten berries in the area and didn't know if they were poisonous.

Before he left, the four huddled together as a family for warmth and ran the car at night until they ran out of gas. Officials said some of the tires were burned as signal fires in a vain attempt to attract attention.

"They did a good job. They are in remarkable shape for spending nine days out in the wilderness in this type weather conditions," Anderson said.

Searchers said the key to their discovery was a "ping" signal from the Kims' cell phone, even though the remote region is generally out of cell phone range.

The family saw friends in Portland on Nov. 25 and then headed toward home after a Thanksgiving trip to the Pacific Northwest. They were last spotted at a restaurant that same day, then never arrived at a lodge where they had reservations.

Authorities combed highways and byways using snow machines and helicopters, and checked hotels and resorts along the south coast.

State Police Lt. Gregg Hastings said Kati Kim told a detective the family intended to take Oregon 42, the usual route from Interstate 5 to the south Oregon coast, but they missed the turnoff, found Bear Camp Road on the map and decided to take it instead of turning back. Their car was found 15 miles from Bear Camp Road.

The complicated network of roads in the area is commonly used by whitewater rafters on the Rogue River or as shortcuts to Gold Beach in the summer, but the roads are not plowed in winter.

As a senior editor for CNET in San Francisco, James Kim covers digital audio and co-hosts a weekly video podcast for the Crave gadgets blog on CNET. The couple also own two boutiques in San Francisco.

"We are extremely relieved that they have found Kati and the kids," said Sarah Cain, spokeswoman for CNET Networks Inc. "We are cautiously optimistic and hopeful that it will bring more good news about James and his family."

___

Associated Press writer Matt Mygatt in Albuquerque, N.M., contributed to this story.

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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #10 on: December 05, 2006, 10:27:41 AM »
This is why I always bring my all-terrain wheelbarrow.


Eleven Mike

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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #11 on: December 05, 2006, 10:35:23 AM »
Unless there's a river nearby.   smiley

DrAmazon

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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #12 on: December 05, 2006, 10:40:45 AM »
Yep, time to throw the sleeping bag, spare socks, water and granola bars into the car.  Seems like less of a need in VA than it was in CO but I ought to do it anyway.
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Cosmoline

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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #13 on: December 05, 2006, 10:43:16 AM »
I used to hike around there when I lived in Medford.  It's a crazy jumble of mountains, where the Oregon coastal range kind of bunches up on itself. 

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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #14 on: December 05, 2006, 12:08:45 PM »
Quote
His family said he had outdoor experience, and State Police Lt. Doug Ladd said there was "a very reasonable chance" that he is still alive. They said he had eaten berries in the area and didn't know if they were poisonous.

I guess in this case outdoor experience is a walk on the Ocean Beach in San Francisco.
Was he in the boy scouts?
When I was it was "berries red go ahead berries white poisonous  sight"

KOA ten year ago when you were in college doesn't count as "outdoors experience"

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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #15 on: December 05, 2006, 02:00:43 PM »
C'mon now, I'm sure he was outdoors plenty of times... 
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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #16 on: December 05, 2006, 02:18:06 PM »
Hero?  Hardly
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mfree

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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #17 on: December 06, 2006, 04:38:00 AM »
Yuppie daddy is likely dead, and this isn't a "survival story". They've found his pants...

280plus

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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #18 on: December 06, 2006, 04:45:18 AM »
Yea, it's hard to believe anyone with "outdoor experience" would take off and leave his pants in freezing weather.
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meinbruder

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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #19 on: December 06, 2006, 06:59:46 AM »
Yea, it's hard to believe anyone with "outdoor experience" would take off and leave his pants in freezing weather.

He supposedly left the car wearing two pair for warmth.  I hope it was merely difficult to walk in them and they were abandoned for that reason, but isn't the first indication of hypothermia a sense of warmth and the victim starts removing protective clothing?

Without proper shoes for hiking in snow he should have had very cold feet in about an hour, my first walk in the snow lasted a whole half hour.  Once I could feel my toes, we went to the store for proper footwear.
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280plus

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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #20 on: December 06, 2006, 08:05:59 AM »
Yea, one of the first signs of hypothermia is delirium. (sp?) I wonder if he took them off because he was that far gone by then and not thinking straight. One of the saddest parts is that if he had stayed with the car and his family he might have made it out with them. 
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Headless Thompson Gunner

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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #21 on: December 06, 2006, 08:49:25 AM »
If his pants were cotton and wet, he might be better off without them.  If he really was experienced in the outdoors then he probably knew this.  Of course, the hypothermia thing is looking more realistic a this point.

Twycross

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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #22 on: December 06, 2006, 08:52:41 AM »
If he did jettison his second set of pants, why didn't he carry them with him? He knew it was going to get colder at night. But then again, he decided to go cross-country after proving he couldn't find his way around on the roads with a map.

Sad story, but it's just hard to sympathize with some victims.

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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #23 on: December 06, 2006, 10:21:35 AM »
Good points on both. If it was me, I would've spent all my energy building and keeping a nice big smoky fire going. I can't believe he wasn't able to find ample fuel given it all must be wooded area. One of the first rules of getting unlost is to stay put and settle in for the stay. This is a good example of how being a Boy Scout as a kid might save your bacon as an adult.
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Re: real life survival story?
« Reply #24 on: December 06, 2006, 10:49:41 AM »
Here's more, I put the things that bother me most in bold type. Not good. His only hope now is he dug in and made himself shelter. I agree with twy. Take the pants off if their wet, but don't leave them behind. Nothing mentioned about gloves either.

By JEFF BARNARD, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 20 minutes ago
 


MERLIN, Ore. - A missing San Francisco father, who set out on foot during the weekend to find help for his stranded family in Oregon's snowy coastal mountains, left clothing and other items that appeared arranged to guide searchers, officials said Wednesday.
 
Clothing and bits of an Oregon map turned up Tuesday in a drainage in which search and rescue teams sought James Kim, 35, who has been missing since Saturday when he set out on foot to seek help for his family.

"He is a sharp individual and has a strong will to live," Jackson County Sheriff Mike Winters said. "He has done a heck of a job out there."

The clothing, which was wet, included two gray sweat shirts, a red T-shirt, a sock and a blue girl's skirt, said Lt. Gregg Hastings of the Oregon State Patrol. Family members said Kim had taken the items when he left.

"They were laid out in a well defined area, in a pattern," Hastings said. The pattern led officers to believe that "little signs are being left by James."

Searchers also found a pair of gray pants they believed belonged to Kim. The family said he was wearing the pants over blue jeans when he left.

Teams were trying to resume their search Wednesday, but were hampered by fog which they hoped would lift by midday.

Searchers planned to drop 18 rescue packages containing clothing, emergency gear and other survival provisions into the area Wednesday in hopes that Kim could find one. The packages, clear plastic bags the size of pillows, also contained a note from his family.

Searchers said the packages would be dropped in a 3-square-mile area where "hot spots" showed up two nights earlier in thermal imaging.

"This is frustrating. We are so close," Josephine County Undersheriff Brian Anderson said. "There are people pouring their heart and soul into this. We are not going to quit until we find him."

Temperatures at night in the search area have been dipping below freezing in lower elevations. No precipitation is expected until Friday.

Kim's wife, Kati, and two daughters were rescued Monday at their car, stuck in the snow on a remote road.

When he left the car Saturday, James Kim went about two miles along the road, and then headed down into a drainage area, said Lt. Gregg Hastings of the Oregon State Police.

About 100 rescue workers and four helicopters were searching for Kim, following his footprints down a drainage called Big Windy Creek that leads to the Rogue River.

Anderson said he does not know why Kim went into the drainage area. "I hope to have the opportunity to ask why he did that," he said.

Kim, a senior editor for the technology media company CNET Networks Inc., had two lighters and was wearing tennis shoes, pants and a heavy coat, but no hat, Anderson said. He would likely be within about five miles of the car, he said.

The Kims had been missing since Nov. 25, when they left Portland and headed home after a holiday trip to the Pacific Northwest.

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.

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