James Kim’s Mistakes Doomed Him
Before I start, I want to say that the loss of James Kim was a horrible tragedy to his family. Condolences to the widow and children. But his widow and children are lucky to be alive at all. If it weren’t for the luck of a Burger King owner who had a helicopter and a hunch, his entire family would be frozen on a slab and toe-tagged right beside James Kim. It was James Kim’s terrible string of misjudgements that left him to a snowy doom.
From CNN here:
Hoping to save his stranded wife and children, James Kim decided Saturday to venture into the cold and unforgiving Oregon wilderness wearing only street clothes.
It had been more than a week since Kim and his wife, Kati, had begun the drive home after a vacation in Oregon.
They took a wrong turn and found themselves stranded in snow and lost with their young daughters on one of Oregon’s treacherous backroads, which are rarely plowed during the winter.
Their food and options were running out.
What James Kim, 35, encountered searchers would later describe as rugged, steep, snowy terrain with sodden branches, slick rocks, downed trees and poison oak nestled between sheer cliffs.
Despite those conditions, authorities said, he covered an estimated eight miles before rescuers on Wednesday found his lifeless body in a ravine about a half mile south of the car at the foot of a huge cliff.
So James Kim’s final mistake was that he ventured into the snowy wilderness with no sense of direction, inadequate clothing and a desperate, false sense of heroism. He became confused, went the wrong way, and trudged in circles only to collapse and die about 3000 feet from his car.
This tragedy presents many questions, to which the obvious answers can paint the string of mistakes that James Kim made when planning and taking his trip to Gold Beach, Oregon.
First, why didn’t Kim, who was a tech geek, have better gadgets to help him on his trip? Like a Satellite phone? A compass? Handheld GPS? Sadly, Kim did not even pack properly for a long car drive. All vehicles should carry at least two blankets and spare water at all times when on a trip that takes you over 100 miles from home.
Second, Kim most likely trusted Google Maps or an in-vehicle GPS to map out a course to his destination of Gold Beach, using Bear Camp Road as the main highway. The Gold Beach City Homepage warns against trusting these directions. On their site it says:
Regarding Bear Camp Road (also known as Merlin-Galice Road, Forest Service Road 33); This is NOT a highway and is not a maintained thoroughfare! Although on some maps it may appear to be a more direct route to Gold Beach, it’s not a highway in any sense. It’s a forest service road, closed in winter, and is mostly one-lane with no fog lines, no guard rails, no shoulder, and plenty of wash-outs, mudslides and potholes. Cell phones don’t work in much of that area and after you pass the Agness turnoff, there is nothing but wilderness until you get to the other side of the mountain range at I-5
At some point when James Kim began to encounter trouble, he had to ignore his instincts to turn around and get to safety, especially with his children in the car. The road he was on was treacherous, and he should have abandoned his attempts to travel on it. I’m sure he kept thinking it was going to get better, but when it got worse, he should have turned around.
There are people that are saying that he died as a hero. I agree that he was brave to attempt to go for help. But his final desperate actions of going downhill into a ravine was the last in a long line of tragic mistakes that does not mark him as a hero to me. It marks him as a legendary object lesson that should be a warning to others. As the Scout Motto goes, “Be Prepared.”
Pat,
Five days passed between the time he left the car and when he was found. Did you even consider the possibility that during this time of frenzied search activity in the area his goals may have adjusted? Or were you content to promptly conclude from the locations that he had no idea what he was doing?
In regards preparedness, do you think the family lasted a week in their car without blankets and water? Sure he didn’t have a Sat phone, but who does? Your assertion that they weren’t prepared for a long car drive is preposterously unfounded. However I can see how it’s useful to making your point so I’m not suprised it’s got a place here.
Your assumtion that he used Google Maps or equivalent is just as unfounded as everything else, and likewise happens to be wrong. They were using a plain old fasioned map for navigation. In my following these developments I’ve seen the Route they were on marked on various maps as everything from a “scenic route” to an unmaintained seasonal road. If you had read more than the pop summary at CNN you would know that they missed a turn off and replanned their route mid course. I have no doubt they made what seemed at the time a reasonable judgement based on the information available to them.
In following with the rest of your analysis, your readiness to conclude that he ignored signs of danger and pressed on into worsening conditions based on convenience to your premise rather than knowledge. Since you don’t know the conditions that led to their stranding, you can’t possibly know the decisions they faced or how they approached them.
Unfortunately, the tepid concern for humanity struggling through your words is vastly overshadowed by your arrogance and willingness to make uninformed judgements. Knowing that you work in the “cyber” division at DHS, I wouldn’t be suprised to learn that Bin Laden has been an eBay power seller for the last 5 years.
I also suggest you review your own posting guidelines and revisit the opening paragraph of your post. Perhaps we interpret “family-safe” differently, but I believe your choice of words to be rather unfortunate. Anyhow, I hope for your sake and for the sake of those around you that your writing is a distorted perspective of the person you are.
TM,
This story is a very emotional one, and many people such as yourself are responding in kind to any criticism of James Kim’s decisions that led to his death.
The fact remains, however tragic, that it was a huge mistake to take the road he chose at this time of year. I suggested that he may have used a Google map based on the information at Gold Beach’s own website here:
http://www.goldbeach.net/maps.htm
which states plainly not to take Bear Camp Road due to its dangers. I maintain that conditions worsened on their trip progressively because that is the likely scenario. It is far-fetched to believe that they became stranded suddenly, even if they took a wrong turn. They chose not to take advantages of opportunities to turn around when those opportunities presented themselves.
More details of the bad and tragic decisions are in CNET’s story regarding Kim’s autopsy here: http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6141886.html
I am so relieved to see Pat’s original comments. I couldn’t agree more. Obviously, a huge tragedy for his children, but it is infuriating that he is being made out to be a martyr. Kim’s behavior is so typical of wealthy yuppy Noe Valley/San Franciscans (arrogance, false bravado, ignorance of mother nature, and selfishness). It seems to me that regardless of any of the navigational mishaps or poor judgements made on the Kim family’s part, it seems like child abuse to drive in those conditions with a 7 month old nursing child. I-5 in the winter in the pac northwest is bad enough, let alone a restricted travel road. They were obviously late and wanted to make time, so Kim figured himself clever using GoogleMaps to plot a short cut. I can only hope he reached some type of enlightment about his failings as a human being and father before his unfortunate death.
Hi, I agree with Pat’s article completely. With all due respect for the Kim family, James was a fool who made one horrible mistake after another. I also think that it is irresponsible for law enforcement to make such stupid statements about how Kim did nothing wrong. That is not true. First, Kim decided to travel an unknown scenic road at night with two young children in the car during winter. Big mistake. Every single horror movie begins with stupid tourists venturing down isolated back country roads, which ultimately results in their demise. Kim was not from Oregon so he had no business being on that road. Second, Kim failed to make contact with a single person to tell them that he was taking a different route. Had he called a friend or family member I?m sure they would have been rescued within a couple of days. Lastly, after several days of being stranded, Kim ventures out by himself and leaves the safety of the road. Huge mistake! I have lived in Oregon all my life, was at one time a forest fire fighter, and even I sometimes get turned around when walking in the woods. This was Kim’s last and fatal mistake which cost him his life.
There are three lessons we all should learn from this. 1) If traveling out of state, never get off of the major interstate or highway. 2) Always inform someone of your intended route, especially if you will be out of cell phone range. 3) Never leave your group, there is safety in numbers. The Kim family could stay warm by huddling together in the car and there was plenty of snow to melt into water. In addition, Kim should never have run his gas tank empty or burned all of the tires. Two weeks after the event we can see that the car was not snowed in and the family could have simply driven out. I know that criticizing a dead man is not popular, but it is important to let people know that the decisions made by Kim were wrong and his wife and two children are lucky to be alive. By suggesting that Kim did nothing wrong insinuates that if someone else is confronted with a similar situation they should do just what Kim did. This I would not recommend.
Here’s a bit of flavor to get know what Kati Kim is all about. You can read for yourself at kati.yelp.com
“Someday, I’m going to be a very rich woman with a very large Dwelled-out house. And, when I am, I’m going to buy up plenty of these rugs to adorn the floors of my lavish abode.”
“I consider myself to be a hardcore shopper. Hard to the core. I love stuff, and I’m unapologetic in my pursuit of it.”
“I don’t want my friends to know I spent $95 on a pair of pants that will be outgrown in two weeks. Except, sometimes I do and say I didn’t and then everyone can’t help but coo and melt when they see how adorable my little half-Korean bears are. The ladies stuff doesn’t work quite as well. ”
“When I first began my career as a serious shopper, Bloomingdale’s in New York was a marvel to me. I’d never seen such a tempting melange of affordable and off-limits and I had never before considered that I might want to own fancy underthings.”
“Only in San Francisco can you watch Opera in the company of gutter punks and walk 200 yards to hear hippie drum circles. Another great thing about this city: nobody thinks you’re weird if you’re nursing your baby and a beer at the same time.”
“The foodcourt comes nowhere _near_ to any of the big, fancy ones like the Lotte (Seoul) or Takashimaya (Tokyo). And certainly is not even a close 53rd to Les Halles or Harrod’s. It was dark the first time I was down there. And I had a darn fine cup of soup and salad after a crazy afternoon of shopping. I went again last night and my husband had a loathsome beef dish from Coriander “Gourmet Thai”.”
“When my husband and i were first married, and he’d do something dumb and I’d get pissed, he’d often bring me a present from Alla Prima. Much more effective than flowers.”
“Even though someone I hate once took me here, I have reclaimed this restaurant as a Kim Family favorite.”
“Beward the newest cabbie scam: playing on the public’s fear of contaminated blood. Yesterday, my cabbie was picking his gums with a pointy piece of folded-up cardboard. The cardboard was completely bloody on the tip and I was freaking out the whole time. I had my two babies in the car, so there was _no way_ was going to touch anything that had touched him. So, I threw the bastard a $20 and he got away with a $6 tip!!!”
“Three adults, two children – $150? WTF?!! We weren’t even that full when we left, and the sushi wasn’t even that good. Our new name for this place: “You just got f’d in the ass sushi.””
“The wine: something from up North, recommended by the waiter. Terrific choice, $35 a bottle – we ordered two. ”
“Honey – I’ve never had a $300 meal before!” and my husband didn’t pass out onto the floor. That was a lie, anyways;
The final blow was at the end of the appointment, when they made it clear that I would not be welcome back at the office. WTF???
REEEEEPULSIVE!!! I didn’t think this place could get any nastier until I ran into a guy from college who we used to refer to as “The Troll.”
I could go on and on but you get the picture. And the public is being asked to give this woman money? Unbelievable.
“Never leave your party, safety in numbers” is a great golden rule, but they were running out of things to burn to keep them warm. Should they have stayed together so they could die together? I realize James Kim’s attempt to go find help was unsuccessful, but they had *no* guarantee that anyone even was looking for them.
Also, if I were a man (which I am not) and raised in American society, I’m pretty sure I’d feel like I needed to be a hero for my wife and two small children and go find some damn help while my wife stays behind to nurse my infant and 4-year-old child in the middle of the wildnerness.
Let’s stop blaming Kim for making bad choices, since he’s not the only one to “blame” for this situation, and instead choose to learn from it. Maybe your knowledge of the circumstances surrounding his unfortunate end results in your life or the life of someone you love being saved.
Poppy,
You know there are so many things about this story that everyone can relate to, even the desire and need to get out of the car to see if you can find help. Even with all of the mistakes up to that point, what was done was done, right? Time to realize that the only way out may be to hoof it.
But even in this decision, Kim made some bad calculations, and had he been more careful he may yet have been able to survive the ordeal. Its just so frustrating to see, especially in hindsight, any final errors that contributed to his demise.
He didnt wear the proper clothes. He went the wrong way, down into a ravine rather than try to make it to a road where they came from. And he told his wife that he would be back at a designated time and he didnt turn back at the right time to make it back to the car when he was supposed to. He never did make it back.
I said before that I think he was brave in his attempt and Im certain he was noble in his desire to save his family. But he was woefully unequipped to handle this emergency and I for one will view this tragedy as an object lesson on what not to do.
Jim,
Wow, thanks for the link to her review site. It really gives me a whole new insight into the type of lifestyle this couple led. Kati talks about caviar, wine, and breast feeding a child while imbibing in alcohol.
You know, I was willing to pass over the fact that this couple had no reliable electronic equipment with them on the trip such as a satphone. After all, what if writing for CNET was like working for other journalistic positions? All prestige and no pay? But it was not the case here. The Kims were very well paid. And Kati particularly was living high on the Yuppie lifestyle, as evidenced by her long list of reviews of swanky restaurants and hotels and pubs.
They could have easily afforded a satellite phone. And Jim, as tech editor, had his pick of the new cellular technology on the market. I was in a Verizon Wireless store tonight and saw a sat phone for sale for under 500 bucks.
I think the review site sheds some light on the utter naivete of this suburban spoiled couple who had no outdoors experience and no fear of nature’s power outside of the mild San Francisco region.
While the first commentary on Kim’s death is perhaps unduly insensitive, the fact remains that by any objective standard James Kim made many poor decisions. His misjudgements suggest a certain arrogance towards and disconnect from nature (two faults which most Americans possess BTW). Kim’s complete disregard for the power of nature got him and his family in big trouble in the first place. But then very poor judgement–for someone of his presumed intelligence–made matters even worse. With a car, lighter, snow, and fuel for a fire all around, you have the two most important survival ingredients:shelter and water. For example, there is no reason why they shouldn’t have been able to “hunker down” in their vehicle. Even if they had absolutely no food (which they did), all he had to do was focus on keeping the vehicle warm and melting snow for water. Most people don’t realize it, but humans can survive for weeks without food–but we can die of exposure in a matter of hours. He never really seemed to accept that he was in over his head. I could go on and on about things he could have done, but of course it’s overkill and unneccesary at this point. In his defense, it’s easy to make sound decisions while you’re typing on your computer in the warm comfort of your office. If anything good has come of this it’s that many people have become a bit more aware of the importance of very basic survival skills.
I agree that James Kim made MANY wrong turns, ignored warning signs: signs posted, weather, and the types of roads from two-lane to single lane and then to dirt !!! For someone that was fairly “intellegent” he was either too stubborn to admit for 20 miles on bad roads that he had made a BIG mistake or or just foolish. Sadly, his wife and children will be paying a very high price (and fortunately not with their lives) for his refusal to turn aorund and go back to a town and “civilization”. Even if he were “slightly stuck” where the car was stopped… a few tree branches and pine needles would give enough traction to ger th car turned around. James Kim probably didn’t even try to go back to town…the car looked like it was pointing in the direction of Gold Beach (being on the right side of the road)!!!
“?Never leave your party, safety in numbers? is a great golden rule, but they were running out of things to burn to keep them warm.”
Uhh… excuse me, but they were in the middle of a friggin’ NATIONAL FOREST! They could have kept a huge fire going for months. If he hadn’t burned his tires and used up all of his gas, he could have simply DRIVEN out(as someone else observed). He was as idiot.
John (#12) is dead on! Kim could simply have driven out when daylight came the next day. Instead, the chose to sit in the woods in a car and wait to be rescued even though nobody realized they were even missing until 4 days had gone by. Then, in another ridiculous move, James starts walking, but instead of using the road, he goes into the bush!!! Kati clearly suffered a traumatic brain injury years ago, based on her speech pattern and simplistic level of thought, so this family was doomed from the get-go with a low-functioning mom and a dad with no sense of direction.
After watching the 20/20 special it seemed, based on the endless string of ridiculously DUMB decisions made by the these two, that they were actually TRYING to die in the woods. What an absolutely astonishing display of stupidity.
James Kim probably had a hefty life insurance policy. His surviving dingbat wife will likely win a big lawsuit against the BLM too for not having locked that gate. So, despite the death of her husband, Kati’s materialistic half-headed pursuits won’t miss a beat.
My husband and I watched the 20/20 special the other night, mouths gaping and looking at each other frequently saying – Wha? I am so glad I am not the only one thinking these two were idiots. Am I happy he died? No. Am I happy the family had to go through that ordeal? No. Is it their own fault? I say yes. I just wanted to say I’m glad I’m not the only one who does not see Mr. Kim as a hero, nor his wife as having functional intelligence. I found that 2 hour (!) special to be nothing but frustrating from beginning to end.
Aname,
Thanks for writing. I haven’t seen the special yet, but it seems pretty unanimous that these two were way out of their element and made tons of stupid decisions.
Just traveled on this hillbilly road, with the same intention of getting to Gold Beach from I-5. Fortunately we did it in the Summer. Would I have taken that route at that time of year. Absolutely not. However, this was my first trip to the coast through such a route and I assumed, from maps and expedia that the travel via hillbilly bs wouldn’t be 40 miles long, traveling as if it was 1858. As someone who has grown up on the west coast, I assumed that there were more well developed roads to larger destination sites. However, this trip to Southern Oregon has changed that. I am assuming the Kims were under the same impression. The one thing that fails to get put to the forefront is how the state of Oregon failed the Kims. He didn’t leave his car for almost a week. Seriously? There was enough of a trail to get a general idea of where they were. Here is the thing about Oregon. Oregon is the West Virginia of the west coast. No money, limited education among those outside of Portland, mostly made up of podunks. The majority of the roads do not get fixed, schools close early, and most don’t read a book over 30 pages. Over a week to find them. Come on. That’s pathetic and idicative of the development of progress and intellect of the people of this state.
Jon, great analysis, and thanks for that.
Obviousy there are major roads to choose from instead of Bear Camp Road that take you to the coast of Oregon. I guessed the Kims didn’t plan their journey to Gold Beach after all. Sure they called for reservations at the resort, but didn’t consider how they will get there. Straight out of Portland, there are major highways connecting to the coast. The road they missed, Route 42 takes you back up north for a bit and then eventually leads you to the coast. There are better ways to get there from roads further north. Did they even consider these at all before they got into the car? It seems for them how to get there was an after thought.