Mr. Kim Lost In Oregon Wilderness

[Hoosier]

Agree... If my family was in the same condition, I would do the same thing.

I have done an overnight march only with the compass at the snowy mountain several times. It was the most difficult task that I have done during the service. I just wanted to sleep on the ground....

 

[ScubaTexan]

nine days is a long time to "wait".

I wonder if he became lost.

There's only one person that could have answered that, but, unfortunately, he is no longer able to.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Where the Kim family got lost is very close to where I live. It is a brutal range of mountain and no one goes there in the winter. I have backpacked and hunted in that area and where Mr Kim was found is an area where no one goes, ever.

Many friends of mine worked hard to recuse this family. By staying with the car mom and children were fine. He walked off the edge of the road down into deep canyons with no hope of survival.

With infrared instruments the rescuers were able to track his progress and knew that he was traveling about a mile a day, if he had gone into a clearing (he went through some) and stayed there he would have been found in time. They dropped "care" packages for him in his path containing food and signals and many other things that would have enabled him to survive.

A couple of swat team members even rappelled into the canyons at great risk to themselves trying to save him.

His family hired 3 private helicopters to help in the search and it was one of those that located his body in the creek.

Honestly many people put themselves at great risk trying to save this man and they are drained emotionally. The Sheriff who made the announcement that he did not survive broke down on camera. It got personal.

Here's my thoughts on this entire episode. Around here, every winter, city dwellers make serious mistakes and these mistakes cost them their lives. Why continue to drive on a road when you can turn back when the snow starts getting deep. Why venture off wearing tennis shoes into the snow? Mr Kim made so many serious mistakes that we'll never know what his thinking process was. Obviously towards the end he couldn't be expected to make good decisions.

I spent time the night before he was found with one of the people in charge of this and they honestly thought they had him located. Opinion was that he had one last night left in him. It was felt he had come across a care package along the way, we'll know more about that eventually.

These wilderness areas aren't a park. They don't have trails and the roads through them always suck. Stay on main roads, don't try to take shortcuts and stay with your vehicle.

By the way, where the car was stranded is now clear of snow.

 

[Cacia]

Thanks, Al. I really enjoyed reading your detailed post.

Around here, every winter, city dwellers make serious mistakes and these mistakes cost them their lives. Why continue to drive on a road when you can turn back when the snow starts getting deep

One of the key points made in the book Deep Survival is that we, as a society, in general, have become somewhat "over domesticated" in a way and no longer have an ability to read our environment because we live in a culture where it is so safe and people are losing many instictive reactions and inate abilities.

I often see educated intelligent people on dive travels to third worlds put them selves in dangerous situations because they are focused on other less meaningful details which often they have been trained and conditioned to focus on. For example...they will be sure to check the Nitrox tank in perfect procedure and yet allow themselves to be "led off" to Pelelui in deteriorating, dangerous weather conditions by someone that they have never met before and have no knowledge of their decision making history.

People from urban areas are accustomed to roads as legitimate ways to "get somewhere" and don't question where they might lead or think of them in terms of "unmaintained".

The psychology of survival is extremely fascinating and worth examining in the context of the modern urbanite in the natural environment.

I heard on television someone ask the question about why the tire smoke was not visible form the air?

 

[Kayla]

Al, thats an excellent post. What he was thinking, we will never know, but there was obviously a serious lack of knowledge of the area. We see it here a lot too, but usually never to this extreme. I also have been around that area, and I can see why no one goes there. It can be very dangerous if you dont know what you are doing.

The only thing ANY of us can do is just remind people not to put themselves into situations that are over their heads, and then hope for the best.

 

[Dave Zimmerly]

In this day and age, it amazes me that he didn't have a cell phone, especially traveling with his wife and children.

Dave (aka "Squirt")

 

[Cacia]

It seems as though the park service or game warden would put something up that said "dangerous...road closed".

really? no cell phone? I just assumed he had it but there was no service.

 

[Kayla]

Condsidering the area, a cell phone may not have even had service. They become pretty useless when you aren't in range.

 

[Kayla]

It seems as though the park service or game warden would put something up that said "dangerous...road closed".

really? no cell phone? I just assumed he had it but there was no service.

I dont know about this case specifically, but most of the time around here when there is a problem, there WERE signs, but they were disregarded.

 

[Hoosier]

In this day and age, it amazes me that he didn't have a cell phone, especially traveling with his wife and children.

Dave (aka "Squirt")

Yes, in this day and age, it is amazing that the major service provider's cell phone signal used to be faded even in the Big Ten University Campus town in U.S.