Kati Kim and children found, James Kim still missing

[xultar]

Kati Kim and the Kim children (Sabine and Penelope) were just found alive in Oregon; they apparently flagged down one a search and rescue helicopter that was hunting for the missing family. James Kim is still missing, however. From what we understand he left two days ago in search of help. We do not yet know how deep in the Oregon wilderness the Kim family was, the circumstances that brought them there, or the condition of Kati and her children, although she and the children have been airlifted to a local hospital. More news as we get it.


http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/04/kati-kim-and-babies-found-james-kim-still-missing/

[MissB]

1. Holy shit.

Also local news sites: katu.com and kgw.com

[Radio_Lady]

53. THIS THREAD IS OBSOLETE... Go to LBN thread... the poor man found dead.

[laylah]

2. May he be found safe and sound! n/t

[SoCalDem]

3. I'm not a "prayer", but I'd be inclined to send one up now for james

What a brave dad, to hike out in search of help, perhaps dooming himself..

And what a good Mom Kati is to keep those two little ones safe and warm for a week..5 days alone with them :cry:

[Binka]

21. Kati Breast Fed Both Girls So Cal

The hospital said it is what keep them healthy but I think they meant ALIVE. Thank God she was nursing her 7 month old and had milk for both of them. Please find James safe.

Happy Holidays Friend!

[Radio_Lady]

36. Binka, thank goodness! "That's what breasts are for..."

The little girl (yours?) is beautiful -- and the tree, too!

[Binka]

38. Yes Radio_Lady The Little Girl Is Mine

She is five and a half and her name is Peyton Rose. She is my surprise late age baby I had her at 42. My ex stole my three other children from me when they were 6, 4 and 2 in 1987. I never ever thought I'd have another child and I almost didn't. When I found out I was expecting I also found out some very ugly truths about Pey's dad and I almost had an abortion. But I started bleeding on a biz trip and I remember getting on my knees and begging "please don't let me lose this baby." Up until then it had just been a "problem."

Peyton and I are about to embark on a new journey w/o the dad I'm afraid. I have given him every chance, 1,000,000,000 times but after seven years of his narcissistic bullshit I am too tired/angry/disgusted/pissed/fed-up to put up with anymore. Keep us in your thoughts.:hug:

edit for clarity.

[Radio_Lady]

43. Oh, Binka, I wish you happiness and success in your quest.

Your daughter is beautiful. Sorry the man who created her has not lived up to expectations. Also, I guess that you have older children who are not in touch with you. Is that correct? That is a pity...

My ex-husband divorced me in 1972 and I was left with a 3 and a 2 year old, a dog and a house with $200. a month mortgage. (That man just passed away last Friday, Dec. 1. He was a life-long smoker who contracted cancer. I did nothing to interfere with his access to the children all these years. They are just returning from his funeral today.)

I thought I'd never find another person who would love us, but I did. The next year, a very kind widower married me and I took on his 14, 12, and 9 year old children. Together we raised the five children. Regrettably, he has two daughters who are no longer in our lives, and five grandchildren who were poisoned against us.

But the three remaining children are close, and they have five grandchildren who really love us so much.

Life is a difficult journey, and it sounds as if you've been battered by TWO men. I've tried to keep the door open for the estranged children, and grandchildren. Maybe someday they will reach out, but I'm not holding my breath.

Ultimately, things are the way they are. Hubby and I will celebrate 34 years of marriage in February 2007.

I wish you and your daughter a very happy holiday season.

In peace,

Radio_Lady in Oregon

[Binka]

47. My Older Children And I Are Very Close

Regardless of their demonic father I have remained close to all three. They all know Peyton and love her very much. Callie and Ian spent August with us here in Sicily. Ben is a US Marine still recovering from Iraq wounds inflicted in Oct 2005. He is in CA. Peyton and I will walk with heads high. We are a team us two. Thank you for your kind words.

Difficult journey indeed.:hug:

[uppityperson]

4. thank you for the update,press conference @5PM PST today

wishing the best

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. Wow! I honestly thought that none of them would be alive.

[bunny planet]

6. I pray he'll be found safe too and so glad the mother and children have been

rescued.

[malaise]

7. Great news

Hope he's OK. They probably had some snacks in the car since they were travelling with kids. Snow is good water.

Add.

[MoonRiver]

8. Thanks goodness mom and kids are safe!

Prayers for James' safe return. O8)

[LSparkle]

9. Wow -- I just went through that area before Thanksgiving

but had to go back the coast route because of snow. Beautiful territory but treacherous in snow (ice, etc.) Prayers that James Kim will soon be found and rejoin his family!

[Boxerfan]

10. Father is still missing as of 5pm-It's very cold-Prayers with them...

Thank goodness the Mother & kids are Ok .

[Gregorian]

11. My god, that's almost exactly where I live.

I dearly hope he is found. I wish there were something I could do to help.


It has been cold lately. It was 25 degrees this morning. I hope he survives.

[magellan]

12. I just watched the press conference

What a relief that Mrs Kim and the girls were found and are okay, but very worrying that James Kim walked off on Saturday, promising to return if he didn't find anything by that afternoon, and never did come back. All best wishes to the police and rescue workers for the safe recovery of James Kim, and prayers to his family.

Updates from the OR State Police at http://www.flashalert.net/news.html?id=1002

[warrior1]

13. Fantastic news

I'm praying for James Kim's save return.

[spooky3]

14. our DU thoughts are with you, Kim family

[Rex]

15. Dam I hope they find him Xultar.

This is sad. I will hope for good news.

[file83]

16. May I just ask: WTF was James thinking by taking that road?

I heard in another article that they were found near the Bearcamp Overlook which would place them right about here:

http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=42.629550+N,+123.858649+W&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=11&ll=42.631433,-123.85849&spn=0.275323,0.772476&t=h&iwloc=addr

That's over 4600 ft on a dark stormy night. They should have taken the 42. We'll have to hear what his wife says what happened, but considering they had a 7 month old baby in the car, putting your family in such a remote area is not a very good idea, this being a case in point.

[Pachamama]

17. Good question....my husband's family is in Oregon and we go up atleast 4 times a year.

In fact, we are about to go up in a few weeks for the Christmas/New Year holiday. My husband's parents grew up in Berkeley, so even as a kid, my husband and his parents made the trek back and forth between Oregon and the Bay Area...the thing is, they knew the route well (and so do we) and wouldn't venture off of I5. From that Google map, that family couldn't have been further off the roads from 101 or I5. I think that they seriously had no idea of how treacherous the roads can be. My inlaws were here for thanksgiving and headed out early Saturday morning to get back to Oregon because of the big storm that came that Sunday. Anyway, I am so happy the Mom and kids are okay and I put the prayer out to the Universe that James Kim is found alive.

:hug:

[roguevalley]

18. that is amazing country. i'm from central point and the snow falls

in the mountains there are horrendous sometimes. i pray for his safety. they sound like good people.

[Kat 333]

20. It is amazing ...

I'm not far from you RV. I went through Brookings, Gold Beach etc for a an appt in Bandon early last week. Coming back, the next morning, the weather on the coast was what you would expect. 199 was good through the valley but once hitting Hayes Hill YIIIKES ! Held my breath all the way down, wondering if anyone would ever find me should I slide off. Though not far in distance the weather varies drastically from one place to the next. I've taken wrong turns on familiar roads, at night, distracted by thought and before long was so lost I didn't know what to do. Sending Peace and Light to his family until his return.

[Gormy Cuss]

27. Here's WTF they were thinking.

from the MSNBC page:
"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 15 miles from Bear Camp Road when found."

It was late, they were tired, they made the mistake of taking a road with a big sign that said "Gold Beach, 54 miles," probably not realizing that it was a remote, seldom traveled forest service road with lots of unmarked side roads.

[SoCalDem]

28. I did a similar thing once on the way to S.Lake Tahoe

after driving all night, I made a rash decision to go "24 miles to S Lake tahoe", instead of taking the interstate "55 miles to RENO, NV)..(why would i want to go to nevada to get to a place in calif?)

FOUR BLOODY HOURS TO GO 24 MILES..
gravel single lane forestry road with no place to turn a stretch van around..

floored it to get it up to 40mph on the uphill parts, and tentatively rode the brakes to keep it under 50 as we careened down the road in parts.

Of course my husband was in S. Lake Tahoe waiting for us, as we were very "over-due"..

We made it, but it was in August, and I cried when we reached a "real road"..My boys were worried about me and didn;t understand why I was crying..

an hour after we got to his condo (he was up there working), it started hailing and later snowed.. :scared:.. we dodged a bullet.

20+ years later, the kids still talk about the "roadtrip from hell"..

[Gormy Cuss]

29. It is so very easy to do that here.

I've done a similar thing, also in the summer when the only issue is how long it takes, not whether we'd get there. I'm a big chicken about remote mountain roads and would have stayed on I-5 to Grants Pass and taken 199 to Crescent City because I've traveled that road and would know what was in store -- much lower elevation and there ARE a few people living on 199 even in winter and rangers over at the Oregon Caves monument so it's not nearly as desolate. Actually, I'd probably ditch going to the coast on a rainy night and stay in Medford but that's me.

[SoCalDem]

54. The road I took didn't even have a number

The sign just said South Lake tahoe 24 miles (with an arrow pointing left)..the other sign said Reno-55 miles wioth an arrow pointing right.

My first clue should have been that the entry to that "road" I took, was incredibly steep :scared:

[renate]

31. what a shame the sign didn't also have a warning

It should have said something about caution during snow, that there are winding roads, that chains are needed during bad weather, or some kind of information to let people know it was no ordinary road.

What a horrible nightmare. As awful as it would be for anybody, it must have been absolutely beyond horrific for the parents, having two tiny ones to be responsible for. :cry:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

32. Alright.

So why didn't James hike the 15 miles back to the highway?

[file83]

33. That's curious - and sounds like the wife doesn't 'remember' it correctly....

because according to this CNET article, they intended to take the Bearcamp road even though they were warned not to take it:

The Kims were warned that the Bear Camp Road was dangerous this time of year when they stopped into the Wilsonville Chamber of Commerce about 20 miles south of Portland, Ore., on November 25 around 1:30 p.m. PST, said Logan Crozier, a visitor center representative at the office.

The Kims had used Mapquest to map out a route but wanted a scenic route to the coast, Crozier said Tuesday. The visitor center representative who was working that day gave the Kims a map printed off an unidentified Internet site, he said. "She warned them that by the time they got down there (southern Oregon), it would more than likely be dark, and she cautioned them not to take the route," he added.

Perhaps Kati is trying to hide the fact that her and James, as parents, made a horrible decision. Perhaps.

[Gormy Cuss]

34. Perhaps Kati was suffering from dehydration. Perhaps they forgot the warning.

Perhaps none of us have a clue what really happened, but it's great to blame them for their predicament, isn't it, because if they made a bad decision they should be crucified. Most humans don't make bad decisions, ever.


:sarcasm:

[file83]

35. You are right - most humans never make poor decisions when they have a 7 month old

baby in the car, especially when they've been warned not to take a road.
:sarcasm:

[Gormy Cuss]

37. How do you know they were warned?

The person at the visitors bureau must be telling the unvarnished truth, and the parents must be lying.
:sarcasm:

[file83]

39. Because the person at the vistors bureau totally has a motivation to lie

and the parents have absolutely no reason to, that's why.
:sarcasm:

[Gormy Cuss]

46. Here it is, plain and simple.

What if neither of them were thinking too clearly because they were tired? They made one mistake and it cost them. Your initial post in this subthread questioned the husband's thinking. What if the wife made the choice? Why assume that he and he alone made the decision?

It's very easy to do arm chair quarterbacking, but neither one of us knows what happened, nor why they made the ill-fated choice to take a forest service road on a stormy night. Furthermore, why they made the choice is immaterial to the current focus which is the father's fate.

[Binka]

49. A Fucking Men Cuss

What if they had an argument what if, what if, what if,....why they made the choice is immaterial to the current focus which is the father's fate.

Thank you for saying this. James Kim is in grave danger let us keep our hearts and minds focused on HIM!

[seabeyond]

45. IF this story is for real, why didnt the woman remember this 8 days ago

so people would know where to search?

[Syncronaut Seven]

19. Nailed it on the head. Sometimes I scare myself.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2839901#2840056

"How would their onboard navagation have directed them? If it was across 595/nf33 there in some rugged country. Missed turn Along that hwy will splash them in the Rogue River. The only comfort being, It would have been very quick.

595 Might seem the most direct route between I-5 and Gold Beach."

God bless, your family is safe James Kim.

[Skidmore]

22. I just saw the news story about the Kim family on national news

here in Iowa. It is wonderful news that the mother and girls are safe and we're praying for an equally wonderful and safe return to his much loved family for James as well.

[MonkeyFunk]

23. I hope he's found safe...

but here's a lesson: NEVER leave the car.


A car is far easier to spot than a corpse.

[magellan]

48. I know that's the best advice

But as I said to my husband last night when he said the same thing, it had been a week, they were in freezing temps, and they were running real low on supplies. Eventually someone starts thinking, "They aren't going to find us. If I don't go find help, we're going to die."

[myrna minx]

24. May he be returned safely to his family.

:hug: At least the kids are ok.

[seabeyond]

25. i think three little miracles happened. i am happily surprised three

made it out alive. why not four. tis the season. let us hope

[xultar]

26. ************** UPDATE **************

Update (12/5): In another press conference this morning, we learned that while searching for James Kim in the Oregon wilderness heat traces were spotted with infrared cameras. Unfortunately those attempting to find James have been unable to get into the area where the heat traces were spotted, and unable to yet verify if this is James (or a woodland animal). Another press conference has been scheduled for 4:15PM PST today; we'll keep you up to the minute.

[BlackVelvet04]

30. That's wonderful news

and I certainly hope and pray Mr. Kim is found alive and well.

When I lived in AZ, my husband and I used to take what we call "tours"....going down back roads not knowing where we would end up. We ALWAYS carried extra water, blankets, food, flares, cell phone or CB, a pistol and a first aid kit. As a matter of fact I still always have water, flares and a blanket in the trunk of my car and a cell phone in my purse.

[MissB]

40. Update for Wednesday: Searchers are dropping 18 rescue packages

around the area in hopes that Kim finds them.

http://www.katu.com/news/4842546.html

MERLIN, Ore. (AP) - Searchers planned to drop 18 rescue packages Wednesday with clothing, emergency gear and provisions in hopes that a missing San Francisco man could find one and survive in Oregon's Coast Range.

The packages, in clear plastic bags the size of pillows, also contained a handwritten note from the family of James Kim, 35, who has been missing since Saturday morning when he set out on foot to seek help for his family.

[MissB]

41. And from that article, it looks like the pair of pants found yesterday

were ones that he wore over his jeans. So he did have on 2 pairs of pants.

[QuestionAll...]

42. what a great idea. but shouldn't they have done this sooner?

::crossing fingers for James::.

[Radio_Lady]

44. The Portland Oregonian (newspaper) surmised that he may have

been in the last throes of hypothermia when he doffed the pants. I guess a sort of delerium sets in.

They also found other articles of clothing today (Wednesday) and will continue day and night searches for this man. This morning, they have been hampered by fog.

I hope they find him well and safe. It has been a very long time....

[countryjake]

50. King5 News is reporting that a helicopter just spotted a man's form...

on the ground and rescuers are being lowered to the site. It's not clear yet of any condition or even if it is James Kim, just breaking news as it comes.

[Gregorian]

51. Oh. I hate to post this.

I've been saddened that living so close to where this is happening, I can't help. And yesterday and today have been so warm out. Last night I saw a copter returning from the area. I was just heartbroken.

But the news is that they found his body. I'm so sorry for everyone that this turned out tragic. The poor man and his family.

[Radio_Lady]

52. Dec. 6 - 12:30 PM P.T. THIS THREAD IS OBSOLETE... Go to LBN thread... the poor man found dead.

Full story of recovery of body of James Kim:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2642795&mesg_id=2642795