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Road Kims Took Was Unlocked By Vandal, Officials Say

cnn.com — "The remote logging road that James Kim and his family drove down before getting stranded deep in the Rogue River Canyon is normally blocked by a locked metal gate, but it was open the night they got lost because a vandal had cut the lock, authorities said Friday." Caused a terrible turn of events .

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  • amightywind, on 10/12/2007, -191/+16"they got lost because a vandal had cut the lock, authorities said Friday."

    Ah, that explains why he removed his trousers before descending into a rugged box canyon.
    • spidoman, on 10/12/2007, -8/+88This is a prime example of how short sighted thinking "Oh it won't cause any harm" types of crimes can have very dangerous effects.
    • flypcide, on 10/12/2007, -15/+51amightywind = moron
    • revmonkey, on 10/12/2007, -24/+14one of those butterfly effect things. such a shame.
    • timewaster, on 10/12/2007, -40/+46I don't know if this has anything to do with amightywind's comment or not, but if James Kim had just known the rule of 3: 3 weeks without food, 3 days without water, 3 hours without shelter, it wouldn't have come to what ended as an unfortunate event.They would've been found eventually had he just stayed with his family. Even if the scoundrel did open the blocked path, I can't blame him for James demise. Sorry, digg down now....
    • Muyoso, on 10/12/2007, -16/+8I have a question. How the hell did a tech editor, who reviews gadgets for a living, not have any gadgets on him when he was going out into the wilderness? Not even GPS?
    • alf86, on 10/12/2007, -2/+25"Ah, that explains why he removed his trousers before descending into a rugged box canyon."

      One of the last stages of hypothermia can cause an erroneous feeling of being overheated. That is likely the reason Kim removed much of his clothing. It may have been that he was just feeling too hot, or that he knew getting overheated could lead to sweating and a higher likelihood of hypothermia (not realizing he already had it).
    • imcompa, on 10/12/2007, -18/+3It also explains why he is dead. I would have cut a bear open and slept inside for warmth.
    • Disodium, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12"the rule of 3"
      i thought it was 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food
    • tsunamisteve, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6@ alf

      or he was using packed clothes and not the clothes he was wearing. remember, they were on a trip so they probably had extra clothes.
    • florin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@Disodium
      Actually, people can live without food a bit more than 40 days, given that the conditions are otherwise not hostile (temperature, etc), they were in good health before the ordeal, and their morale stays high. So that's more of a "best case scenario", perhaps not very useful in the real world.

      After 6 weeks (7 weeks according to other sources), restarting the metabolism becomes difficult and that's the primary cause that people who went without food that long are difficult to recover.

      But anyway, people in the modern societies seem to vastly underestimate their bodies ability to withstand food scarcity for a very long time. Maybe not everyone can go 6 weeks without food, but 3 or even 4 should be doable for most.
    • krypnos, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4Damnit. You know, I'm browsing Digg from a computer other than mine, and I forgot my copy of PortableFirefox, so I'm not logged in. Low and behold, amightywind has to go and say something so lame that I NEED to put him on by block list... Now I have cookies to clean up after..
    • Smoktiludy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8James had an extra pair of pants with him. They said they found him 'fully-clothed floating on his back in shallow water.'

      You need to stop with these stupid remarks, please.
    • jerbaker, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3"It may have been that he was just feeling too hot, or that he knew getting overheated could lead to sweating and a higher likelihood of hypothermia (not realizing he already had it)."

      Not realizing that you might have hypothermia as you're ripping off your pants in the middle of a blizzard?
    • TheWorm, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5I feel really bad for James Kim and his family, but I don't think you can entirely blame the lock being cut. Going up that logging road, in Oregon, in the winter, with 2 small children was not using good judgement.
    • Sasabune, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@ imcompa

      I think the bear would have something to say about that. Though you'd end up in the bear alright.
  • converge, on 10/12/2007, -5/+54Amazing how such a small occurrence can lead to disastrous events.
    • idiotwind, on 10/12/2007, -26/+1Exactly! Argh.
    • wileydavis, on 10/12/2007, -13/+5The rule of threes doesn't apply to 7-month old babies. I agree that kim made the right decision to seek help. But I also agree with this story: http://adventurewatch.wordpress.com/2006/12/09/james-kim-did-everything-wrong/
      that he made a lot of mistakes.
    • wileydavis, on 10/12/2007, -14/+3oops. Meant this story:
      http://adventurewatch.wordpress.com/2006/12/09/james-kim-did-everything-wrong/
      sorry.
    • turpenine, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17@wileydavis
      his crime was not knowing wilderness survival skills? jerk.
    • wileydavis, on 10/12/2007, -6/+11He didn't commit a crime, he just made mistakes. And people should recognize that, i think. I live in Montana, and it is amazing how many people drive up here totally unprepared. I'm not saying he's an idiot, but you can't deny that he was unprepared. And having blankets and food in ones car for snow travel is not "survival skills" it's common sense.
    • microtopian, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5to all those who say that it's his fault for not knowing the survival skills or common sense and what not... how many of you guys who said that actually knew about the 3-3-3 survival rules before reading about this on digg...? instead of berating the guy and trying to be prideful about how "i know how to do this and that and he doesn't" ... we can all learn something from this tragedy...

      rip james kim.
    • wileydavis, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2The point is being missed. This addendum makes it more clear added due to the response of the original Adventure-Watch post):

      "One commenter said that I painted James as having “bumbled” his way along. That is close to what I meant. The fact is, most tragedies begin with a series of very small (difficult to notice) mistakes that add up to the point where there is very little a person can do to get out of the situation. James Kim was no idiot, but he did fall prey to this kind of cascading tree of errors, which is something even trained rescue professionals and outdoorsmen do from time to time."
    • dannighe, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I live in Wisconsin, and I know how many people get caught out in the cold unprepared. I know what Wiley was talking about, and can't disagree with him.
  • salinemist, on 10/12/2007, -16/+5Disgusting.
    • jayster, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4I am truly saddened by this. James did absolutely nothing wrong, In a desperate situation he did the best he could to save his family.

      However rescuers should have found them all much sooner, they made many mistakes. They waited too long before searching, The family hand to fund there own helicopters. They were stuck on the same route 36 other people have been stuck on in past winters, that alone should have told them where to start looking. The list goes on and on.

      hipdad - it does matter who did what, and is good to analyze what mistakes were made. Not to place blame, but to avoid future tragedies.
  • trunkster, on 10/12/2007, -17/+34It was involuntary manslaughter then. Not that they can catch the person but I hope whoever did it won't do it again and they will have to live with this guilt for rest of their life.

    I was really wondering why the hell they didn't close that road down or at least put up a sign during the winter. And it was open THE night they went down that road, man that just is horrible. ... I hope James didn't cut it...
    • centinall, on 10/12/2007, -8/+16not that i'm defending the actions, but it might have been opened by someone that thought it would be fun to off-road in the snow or go hunting.
    • yocheo, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14I'm not defending the actions of that guy either but for you to say that he should be charged for involuntary man slaughter is wrong. You have no idea why whoever broke the lock did it, you never know he may even have a legit reason (which I doubt). If I were him though, I don't know how I would go on living, and I'm sure I'd regret those actions every day of my life. The fact remains that at some point in time we've all done things that have turned out tragic, and in some instances we could never even imagine the consequences those actions would cause. I truly feel sorry for the Kim family and I hope the guy can someday gather up enough courage to apologize, but I'd have to admit...even doing that would be a formidable challenge.

      Bless James soul.
    • TheToecutter, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8It was a dirt road, in the mountains of the pacific northwest. You obviously don't live here. It's impossible to gate off and close down every random dirt road leading into the mountains here.
    • nepawoods, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5He passed multiple signs warning that the road was likely impassable due to snow drifts, before he turned off onto the side road. There is no reason to blame whoever may have cut the lock on the gate to the side road.
    • InetRoadkill, on 10/12/2007, -8/+7Whoever cut the lock deserves to have manslaughter charges brought against him. He created a dangerous situation by opening a section of road that Kim would not have traveled otherwise. By opening the road, he gave the false impression the road was safe to travel when it was obviously not. This is no different than someone removing a stop sign or other traffic safety device.
    • klawz, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12quote
      He passed multiple signs warning that the road was likely impassable
      /quote

      Did you miss the part where it was snowing so hard, that he had to open his door just to see? I guess if it's snowing that much, you'd not be able to see a freaking sign, that's why they have gates.
    • fatdog789, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3@ yocheo. that's why it's called INVOLUNTARY manslaughter. You don't voluntarily intend to cause someone's death, but your actions cause someone's death. It's not enough for it to be an accident though, your actions had to be wrong or blameworthy in some way (ie, breaking the law, however minor).

      also, @ klawz: the victim's actions generally do not constitute a defense unless they were blameworthy in themselves, (ie, breaking law by seeing the signs and going on).

      however, it does appear that the vandal was only negligent in his actions and not reckless, which is enough to get him off, unless the prosecutor feels he can prove criminally negligent homicide.
    • jerbaker, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Why would any of you feel responsible because someone died after driving past a gate you opened? That's just retarded.

      "Did you miss the part where it was snowing so hard, that he had to open his door just to see? I guess if it's snowing that much, you'd not be able to see a freaking sign, that's why they have gates."

      And yet you think the logical thing to do in that situation is keep driving? You can't get much more ignorant.
  • timewaster, on 10/12/2007, -11/+1Sabotage!
  • amaris, on 10/12/2007, -19/+1Yaaaawwwnnn....
  • chriskzoo, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11Also, had James gone down that other road it was ~1 mile to that lodge, which was stocked with food! Tragic.
    • timewaster, on 10/12/2007, -9/+1They had food in the car...
    • chriskzoo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4They had food for a few days - there was enough food in that lodge to last them through the winter, if needed, according to the owner.
  • heavensblade23, on 10/12/2007, -6/+15Just when you thought this story couldn't get any sadder.... :(
  • shadekeiko, on 10/12/2007, -17/+3If that's true then those vandals deserve to be subjected to the same pain James was. I say leave 'em out in the forest for 11 days and see how they like it.

    Bastards.
    • Xageroth, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9Right, because I'm sure the vandal specifically traveled to that location to cut that specific lock knowing it would cause something horrible to happen.
    • shadekeiko, on 10/12/2007, -7/+6Intentional or not the vandal obviously knew he/she was doing something wrong. Just because he/she didn't know the exact consequences of his/her actions doesn't mean that he/she isn't responsible for those actions.
    • jerbaker, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Exactly. The vandal is responsible for cutting a lock on a gate. James Kim is responsible for driving in conditions where driving at all is ill-advised, for traveling in snow country unprepared, and for breaking the cardinal rule of survival to stay put. It's disappointing that everyone on digg only talks about personal responsibility until something hits close to home and then there's a mad scramble to try and blame anybody else.
  • psygnisfive, on 10/12/2007, -9/+14Damn Vandals, they give the Gothic tribes a bad name!
  • ImTheDarkcyde, on 10/12/2007, -12/+15they didn't get lost because the gate was open, they got lost because they took that road

    putting the blame on anyone else is just wrong
    • crystalphoenix, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12True, but they never would've been able to venture down that road had the gate still been locked.
    • sully213, on 10/12/2007, -6/+18You're missing the point. If the gate wasn't opened (illegally) then they couldn't have taken that road.
    • ImTheDarkcyde, on 10/12/2007, -8/+15thats like saying "if the car hadn't been invented the kims couldn't have taken the trip"

      just because an opportunity presents itsself doesn't mean you have to take it, and everyone is honestly scapegoating the 'vandal'
    • alf86, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13The pilot who found the wife and children said he specifically checked that road because it is commonly mistaken as the main road. Apparently it is actually wider than the main road at that point and more of a fork than an actual turn. The gate is likely there, partly, because of this common mistake.
  • Genocyde, on 10/12/2007, -7/+5Damn. Talk about bad luck. This guy WALKED 10 miles the into the wilderness going the wrong direction, which ultimately caused his death, when all he had to do was DRIVE 1 mile down a road that would have led him and his family to salvation.
    • jonesin, on 10/12/2007, -6/+9You'd think a tech editor for one of the leading tech publications would have had a GPS unit, Onstar, and a satellite phone..

      Or at least sense enough to realize that Grant's Pass is NOT the kind of place you want to drive through in winter time.

      So I dunno, was it bad luck? Or was it stupidity?
    • Gemini25RB, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8From what I understand, it wasn't 10 miles in the wrong direction, it was 10 miles in a rough circle around the vehicle.

      Oh, and Cell phones weren't working out there. Onstar relies on the cell network. GPS does you little good by itself. Even with it, all he could really have done is go in a straight path or something.
    • Tweets, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2They couldn't have driven down the road a mile because the car got stuck. However if he had WALKED that direction.....
    • mzwaterski, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4By GPS, I'm sure he meant a navigational GPS...
  • max420, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11This entire series of events is really very tragic. One thing I've noticed though, is that events like this take place almost every year, but I've never seen one covered in so much detail. That makes these events no less tragic, but why are the countless other people lost in such circumstances simply ignored?

    Well, I think the fact that this on line community probably all new of James Kim from his days on the screen savers, as well more recently on cnet.

    Again I am not trying to be offensive or anything, I just think it interesting that this man's tragedy is so much more prevalent.
    • omgbanana, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Not sure. Does someone want to get a statistic?

      It's easy to forget hot news from last year. A video on CNN said in the last 6 years, 35 people (or cars? I don't know if it was counting families as one or each person in a family) have been stuck like this. Just last year was that story of the family in an RV. Was that covered heavily?
    • blazer34i, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Personally I think that the media attention will change things. I know that James being more known than the others made it a media event. But if something good comes out of this tragedy it will be an new awareness of the search and rescue process, road closure procedures and general preparedness for possible hazardous conditions. God Bless you James, Kati and the Girls!
      http://charles.hopto.org/blog/?p=21
  • deanau, on 10/12/2007, -21/+2OK I give up.

    Who is/was this dude? and Why do we care about him so much?
    • sully213, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6I first knew him from his work on TechTV. Read here for more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Kim
    • AeroZeppelin, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11Does it matter who the guy is?
    • tobyjoe, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10"Who is/was this dude? and Why do we care about him so much?"

      A fellow geek working hard for a good life getting stuck in a bad situation, taking noble actions, and dying as a result... Why would that appeal to Digg readers... I have no idea. I can't piece it together...

      Most folks here, were they stuck in a car with their families after making a wrong turn, would surely troll and blame, roll their eyes and blame say their families supported a "nanny state" for wishing they could be rescued.
    • jerbaker, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2Would people stop saying that taking ignorant actions is noble. Just because James Kim was a good guy doesn't make everything he did leading to his death automatically noble. I can't believe how quickly the digg crowd turns into a raving-mad collection of lunatics looking for anything and anyone to blame except the actual person who made the decisions that directly led to his death.
  • bigvics, on 10/12/2007, -7/+3Sounds like the state is positioning themselves against a lawsuit by claiming a vandal was reponsible for the gate being open.
    • omgbanana, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3I was curious about that. If they noticed this gate was open from the beginning, why are they just mentioning it?

      And, as the man said in the video in the article, "If they searched every road, why weren't they found?"
  • KnightMareInc, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1Wow if true.
  • sinoth, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1Maybe if the lock wasn't cut, he would've had a head on accident with a drunk driver and the entire family dies instead of just himself.
  • filovirus, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7Was the gate ever locked? Perhaps it was left open by the forest service/logging company and now they are covering their collective asses with the vandal story.
  • DrScott, on 10/12/2007, -4/+0So we're discussing a road that is closed for half the year. Could this be related?

    http://qacer.blogspot.com/
  • ah802, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2It's predictable that locks to logging roads get cut.. should have been a sign at the forks '9 mile dead end logging road to the left, and 12 miles to the beaches on the right' of course it would make a target for gun practice in that neighborhood.
  • tobyjoe, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2I'm sure there is a Loose Change documentary forthcoming.
  • hipdad, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4The geek/Internet community shows its ugly side again. Postings of a racist viewpoint, what James Kim should have done, what the rescue people should have done and last but not least, somebody is to blame for this tragedy. I am not saying that I myself haven't thought of many what ifs etc... My point is this. James has passed away doing what he thought best to try and save his family from a tragic turn of events. He died an honorable man, Does it really matter who did what at this point in time? Will it bring James back? No.
    • alf86, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Does it really matter that someone cut a lock to enter private property illegally? Does it really matter that said selfish, disrespectful, illegal act lead to a mistake that ultimately would cause the death of a man and the near death of his family? Maybe not in the grand scheme of things. Will it bring him back? No. Does it matter that those little girls have to grow up without their father? Yes. This is salt on the wound for the Kim family. And when those girls grow up, ask them if they preferred growing up knowing just how great of a man their father was and just how much he loved them, or if they would rather have had their father. Ask them if they would have rathered him try to walk to the ends of the earth for them, or simply believe that he would have. That's the real tragedy here. All because of an act of stupidity.
  • TheToecutter, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9Tragic though his story is, and heroic thought his attempt was...anyone who knows the pacific northwest would NEVER drive up any unkown dirt road this close to winter. And this goes doubly for people who spend most of their lives in cities.

    James Kim died because of some very unfortunate decisions that he and his wife made, not because some guy opened a gate.
  • Progression, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5"Your dad is a hero. Your dad is a great, kind man. He will always love you very much," said a handmade card written in a child's scrawl, signed by "Malia."

    After all is said and done, people should remember quotes like this one. R.I.P. James Kim.
    • wileydavis, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5No. People should remember not to drive in the snow without being prepared.
  • hammydude, on 10/12/2007, -13/+1Owned
    • hansdg1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2you are the biggest cockbite in the world
  • cliktokill, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3@hammydude
    you know what? You can just shut up...
    this isn't funny. Good people dying because of stupid reasons is not funny. I hope you consider that and I hope you think about what his 2 children and wife are feeling right now.
  • supremechees, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1holy crap. im telling you, this whole ordeal should be made into a made for TV movie
  • AhrenBa, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Wow, I am even more deeply saddened, because I just watched a news station which traced his route in Google Earth. Supposedly, their car was stuck at the turnoff, an if James would have continued following the road down (where he was headed in the car), he would have only been 2 miles away from the Lodge.

    It saddens me greatly to find out this information, and makes me wish so badly that they would have chosen to follow the road. But either way, James Kim was a hero, father, and husband, and did everything possible to help save his family. We will miss you greatly James, rest in peace...
  • nepawoods, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6Kim was verbally warned not to take Bear Camp Road, that it was not used this time of year, and might be impassable. He ignored the warning, then ignored at least three roadside signs saying the road might be impassable due to snowdrifts (at 28, 10, and 6 miles ahead). He came to a place where he got stuck, used a lot of gas getting unstuck, and had to back down the road in reverse. All this BEFORE he turned up the logging road that was allegedly opened by a vandal. And now the alleged vandal is to blame.

    • klawz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1What verbal warning? Alleged vandal? check out www.cnn.com (at 2006DEC08 2138)
      No alleged vandal at all, the chain/lock was cut.
    • wileydavis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Where does the information about verbal warnings come from?
    • jkimcv60, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Signs were missed due to heavy snow. Kati indicated that at times James had to drive with his head out the window.
    • jerbaker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"Signs were missed due to heavy snow. Kati indicated that at times James had to drive with his head out the window."

      Well, then obviously continuing to drive was the right thing to do. WTF?
    • HappyScrappy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1alleged vandal.

      You don't know why the chain/lock was cut. Perhaps after locking the road for the winter, the authorities lost the key or the lock was seized, so they cut it. And the next season they didn't replace the lock.

      It DOES happen.

      Just because the chain was cut doesn't mean you know the circumstances,
    • nepawoods, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@wileydavis

      "Where does the information about verbal warnings come from?"

      A report on cnet.com (his employer).

      http://msn-cnet.com.com/Searchers+think+they+are+nearing+missing+CNET+editor/2100-1028_3-6141107.html

      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, Mark Ottenad, executive director of the Wilsonville Chamber of Commerce, said Wednesday.

      The employee working that day gave the Kims a copy of the Oregon State Department of Transportation highway map, Ottenad said.

      James Kim "asked what would be scenic road and (the employee)highlighted the Agness-Galice Road, but cautioned against trying to travel on that road this time of year," Ottenad said. "Instead, she recommended staying to the main roads--Highway 38 or Highway 42," especially as it was late in the day and it would be dark soon.



  • veruber, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1All our words are largely unimportant, a man died.

    He cared enough about his wife and children to wager his life against finding food/shelter/a signal. This is news which touches more than just those who knew him because it seems such a small thing - to dive down a road. to push your luck.

    We all do it, some more then others, and for the most part, we pay no toll.

    Mr Kim lost his life, to a poor decision. Earlier we assumed this was the decision to travel on secondary roads in poor weather, then it was the failure of the Department of Transportation (for not closing the road), now it appears to be an individual whose reasons may never be known.

    We all depend on the competence of people we will never meet.

    I am saddened his children will depend on the words of others to know their own father.
    • HappyScrappy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1No, you had it right the first time. The government can't stop you from doing everything stupid.

      He lost his life because he made a poor decision to travel backroads with no preparation and in a big nasty storm. It's too bad no one stopped him, but it was his decisions that doomed him.
  • TomJoad, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3I honestly feel really bad for him and his family, as well as all of the tech community.

    But i also think this is complete *****. I doubt this would have ever been even concieved if the man had lived. Its always the ***** police trying to cover their asses when they ***** up. I mean the wife and kids were saved by the privite Kim hired helicopter and the police failed to find Kim himself, and now they try to lay this bull on "vandals". Wake up and smell the roses, these so called "officials" lie to you.

    From communist to terrorists to WMDs and now vandals.

    rip james kim
    • freeoutdoors, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Not finding someone in time is not a mistake in need of a cover-up as you state. It's a tragic event, and something that searchers (often volunteers) do all they can to avoid. What is the point of volunteering your time and money if you don't intend to give it your maximum effort?

      The worst kinds of searches are ones with basically no starting point to narrow the search area. You can work in a structured manner, eliminating one candidate after another. I don't know the reasons behind the search manager's decisions, but it's possible that he felt there was a high likelihood they were in a different area or perhaps that particular unit has a protocol in which they search in a particular sequence when there is no additional location information.

      Just two weeks ago I was on a search for a group of hikers. Based on the information they gave us on the phone, we began searching in one canyon. Hours later, we found them almost 10km away cliffed-out in another canyon.

      It happens, and it really sucks when the results are tragic. You do your best, and then get ready for the next call.
  • marinist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2This situation is really tragic, and not just due to a vandal cutting a lock.
    In the outdoors, I've seen similar situations where one's casual sense of safety @ home is projected onto an unfamiliar terrain. If you do this at the wrong moment, you can find yourself looking into the abyss. Despite what you think about the city or suburbs, there's no safety net when you bet your mortality against the elements. If you ignore the warning signs, you cannot hit control-Z to fix things, or always devise an escape by ingenuity or hunan strength. Sometimes nature just wins. I wish the news touched more upon that with these stories.
  • gh0st121der, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0Looks like Mr. Tech TV didnt have a vehicle with a GPS Navagation.

    Should blame Cnet for this, I mean if they gave him a better salary or a gps navagation kit he prolly would be alive right now.

    • The_Dude, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Naw, he just spent his dough on mp3 players and cameras. Check out his cnet profile page. A Sony GPS unit was on his wish list.
  • H0LLIS, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Too far down for most to read, but this seems like a great way for them to wash their hands. just my 2 cents
  • thefreshbeats, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The police need to start looking for locals who might have opened the gate, as I'm sure nearby poachers were cleaning up at the end of the hunting season... there's no excuse for removing a public warning advising against a closed road. These people need to be caught, fined, and send to prison for a long time. You never, ever remove a closed road sign.
  • mehau, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Why can't anyone face the fact that there is nothing special about this guy, story or the way it ended. This kind of stuff happens ALL THE TIME to loads of different people for god's sake.

    Your average Joe is not prepared for this type of emergency and would probably have done exactly the same as James. He is not a hero OR a fool, he is just a normal person acting in extreme circumstances.

    Now please stop digging these stories already :( If this is some sort of geek group hug then do it elsewhere...
  • AzBaja, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I love the fact you losers would hack into some ones PC or ride some ones wifi signal but you would never cut a lock? Well it's ok to pick them...

    The dude should not have been out there in the first place.
  • badapplestudio, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I'm sorry he died and all, but the guy was an idiot. No back up communication(CB, pre-paid cellphone), no extra heavy clothes, and most of all... NO ***** GPS!!!

    This guy was ***** tech editor and he doesn't even own a GPS? You know, I've driven through my fair share of Oregon and Utah. But I just don't understand what the hell this guy was thinking. And I mean, South Oregon is rugged and all, but it doesn't get as cold as Montana, Minnesota or Chicago. These people weren't even minimally prepared. I would think it would be common sense that if you don't know where your going, maybe you shouldn't be turning of the main road onto fire roads.

    It's just tragic stupidity.
  • CoolWind, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If you're driving into the back country where it might snow, you NEED chains. You NEED winter clothes. If you don't have these things with you, don't go there.
  • norbu2007, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0why does the media seem to be telepathic about why he made wrong turns, yet don't even mention what the cause of death was

    why is the media focusing on telling people what their driving behavior should be, based on telepathic speculations, when they are ignoring facts like what actually killed him?

    why was he wandering around ravines on a snowy mountain?

    why did the helicopter guy who located his wife and kids (also telepathic about driving decisions) know more than all the police, who were searching miles away?

    is there a power faction in the corporate/media world that wants people fly on airplanes more?

    Discuss this topic at http://www.whoowaa.com/Main?action=viewthread&ThreadID=33
  • jim1977, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2this is a prime example of a scapegoat. the vandal could well have been a poacher, but the fact remains that they personally didn't cause another person to ignore a warning from a local person, and then to further ignore several warning signs they encountered on their ill-prepared and ill-fated journey

    lets not turn a tragedy into a drama, people. ***** happens. this is the product of more than one mistake
  • HappyScrappy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2In my experience, when you get out to the boonies, they don't bother locking the gates across roads. Why? Because there's almost no one to keep out. And of the 10 people who might actually show up to get on that road, almost all of them actually DO want to be on that road, because there's something they're going to inspect (or poach or whatever) on that road.

    I wouldn't be surprised if that gate was never locked and those responsible knew it.

    But anyway, it doesn't matter much. Kim messed up, badly. Everyone talks about how much he loved his family so much he set out into the snow for them. He didn't love his family enough to return to the main road when he missed the turnoff a ways back. He didn't love his family enough to just wait out the storm in town. He didn't love his family enough to have winter weather gear in the car. Basically, he didn't love his family enough to take steps to ensure their safety, instead he valued getting there on time more.

    This is a tragic story of a family who made a string of really bad decisions and paid the price for it. I'm sorry for their loss. But the rest of us would do well to learn the right things from this. And it isn't "bring a GPS". It isn't "don't use mapquest in the Winter". It's to take nature's fury seriously, and that perhaps losing a day waiting out the storm is the smart thing to do.
  • jmchez, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2

    After the "Donner Party" disaster it was noticed that in that and similar situations almost all of the men die or suffer from terrible frostbite while almost all of the women survive. The reason is because, invariably, the men attempt to wander off to seek help and rescue. Just as invariably all they succeed in doing is dying.

    I've lived in New York City all of my adult life but every winter whenever I drive to the Adirondacks, Vermont or New Hampshire I pack my car trunk with a shovel, a sleeping bag, a five gallon jug of water and a small box of energy bars and canned spaghetti. That's because my car broke down once on a deserted road in Vermont in the middle of summer. I had water and candy bars then but it took like four hours (no cell phones back then) for a car to pass by. My only thought was that if it had been winter no cars would have gone by for days and I could have died.

    As a man whose job was reporting on the latest gadgets, I am astounded that he didn't carry a GPS unit with him.
  • wileydavis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2From the Adventure Watch site posted above:

    "The previous post was written primarily as a response to the words of Greg Hastings who was quoted in many news stories saying that, “James Kim did nothing wrong.” Such a claim is untrue and sets a dangerous precedent because it gives ordinary folks the impression that what happened to the Kims was a freak accident, something they couldn’t have avoided. For a safety professional like Hastings to say that is, I believe, quite irresponsible."

    I agree.
    • HappyScrappy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I completely agree. I expected a retraction of that comment. Kim did a lot of things wrong, and an expert saying he didn't might give a lot of other people the wrong impression and lead them to lose their lives tragically too.
  • irishgurrl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2My heart goes out to the Kim family. Like most people I prayed for them all, and cried when James didn't make it - but he did make bad decisions....and that is what caused him to lose his life. They were warned verbally and by signs on the road and they were extremely foolhardy - the vandals played a part in the story (if they exist) but the main reasons for this tragedy were that James and Kati made incredibly bad decisions...

    The thing that is slowly killing my sympathy now is the way that cnet and Kim family and friends are now trying to use the tragedy to get money out of people's sympathy. They are even talking about setting up a college fund for his girls. Well that makes me sick quite frankly. Yes - it's a tragedy two girls lost their daddy, but their are people in the world that could use that money more than the middle class, boutique owning kim family.

  • nepawoods, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1He was verbally warned not to take Bear Camp Road. To blame whoever cut the lock on the side road is absurd.

    from cnet news, http://msn-cnet.com.com/Searchers+think+they+are+nearing+missing+CNET+editor/2100-1028_3-6141107.html

    "Warned about dangerous road
    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, Mark Ottenad, executive director of the Wilsonville Chamber of Commerce, said Wednesday.

    The employee working that day gave the Kims a copy of the Oregon State Department of Transportation highway map, Ottenad said.

    James Kim "asked what would be scenic road and (the employee)highlighted the Agness-Galice Road, but cautioned against trying to travel on that road this time of year," Ottenad said. "Instead, she recommended staying to the main roads--Highway 38 or Highway 42," especially as it was late in the day and it would be dark soon."
  • chaimpot0k, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1There is no one to blame for what happened. Seeking blame on a person who cut a lock (ha!) is not going to change anything. I read in an earlier story on Digg that the family was warned by a waitress not to take the dangerous road, but they did anyway.
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