# Father of snowbound car family in Oregon found **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 6, 2006, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135 "2006-12-06T22:43:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135/21 "2006-12-07T01:11:03Z")
[QUOTE=nyctea scandiaca] What a tragic and huge mistake. It’s just common sense to only stick to interstates and state highways in a snowstorm in a mountainous region. Wasn’t there a similar case within the past year that was discussed on the boards? It involved a family in a trailer or motor home? I remember thinking, what they heck were they thinking bringing a trailer that far onto a forest service road??? [/QUOTE] It wasn’t snowing when they went down the road though. ☹ The snowstorm came up suddenly. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135/22 "2006-12-07T01:14:42Z")
[QUOTE=nyctea scandiaca] Can any post links to articles from the past week following this? I want to get up-to-speed. [/QUOTE] The link that **teela brown** provided in the OP goes to [sfgate.com](http://sfgate.com) and links to all the recent stories (obviously, it has been a big deal in SF) are in the middle of the page, including [this story on the difficulty of finding people and how lost people can help](http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2006/12/06/MNGQFMQALJ1.DTL). ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135/23 "2006-12-07T01:21:27Z")
[QUOTE=Zabali\_Clawbane] It wasn’t snowing when they went down the road though. ☹ The snowstorm came up suddenly. [/QUOTE] However, it was November in high Northern mountains. A broken axle from a pothole could have kept them stranded long enough for snow to move in even if a meteorologist could have accurately predicted clear Oregon coastal weather for another day–an unlikely enough event as an alumna of an Oregon school should have known. I am not calling the Kims foolish. They had developed the same expectation that technology (from road building to car manufacture to meteorology to communications gear and on) would see them through their lives. I am only pointing out that they serve as a warning to those of us who are similarly unconsciously dependent. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135/24 "2006-12-07T01:22:45Z")
[QUOTE=nyctea scandiaca] Wasn’t there a similar case within the past year that was discussed on the boards? It involved a family in a trailer or motor home? I remember thinking, what they heck were they thinking bringing a trailer that far onto a forest service road??? [/QUOTE] Here’s a link to that case [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/21/national/main1428491\_page2.shtml](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/21/national/main1428491_page2.shtml) This also happened in Oregon not far from where the Kims got stranded. ---
**Author:** ![Klaatu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Klaatu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Klaatu)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135/25 "2006-12-07T02:17:56Z")
[here](http://outside.away.com/outside/magazine/0197/9701fefreez.html) is a well written and interesting article about being caught out in freezing weather ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135/26 "2006-12-07T04:01:26Z")
It’s been terrifically sad to follow this story. I feel terrible for those kids. ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135/27 "2006-12-07T04:22:15Z")
Add me to the chorus of people disappointed but not surprised at the outcome of this tragedy. Early this morning it was reported on TV that the searchers would try again with heat sensing equipment, but Kim had been exposed to the elements so long it seemed unlikely that they would find him alive. I went to work hoping that it was still possible. I’m saddened by the news. I’m really sorry for his family. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135/28 "2006-12-07T04:35:59Z")
I had been following the story too, hoping that he had beaten the odds and survived. It’s so sad to think that rescuers would have found them all if he had stayed with the car just a little longer. But, then, he had no reason to think anyone would find them after a week had already gone by without any help. In his position, I’m sure any loving husband/father would have made the same choice to try to get help for the family or die trying. Poor guy. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Surbey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Surbey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surbey)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135/29 "2006-12-07T06:05:56Z")
at 10:30 last night CST, my father ( **The Surb** ) and I heard that they had found a pair of his pants. As soon as we heard this, we both knew he was dead. Now, we didn’t realize at the time that he had 2 pairs of pants on, but once they found that, we knew it. I just felt, “If he’s loosing/ dropping/ removing stuff like this, then he’s probably not alive”. Any idea how long he lived out in the cold? Is there any indication of what he died of? Exposure or hunger? ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135/30 "2006-12-07T07:45:40Z")
[QUOTE=Surbey] at 10:30 last night CST, my father ( **The Surb** ) and I heard that they had found a pair of his pants. As soon as we heard this, we both knew he was dead. Now, we didn’t realize at the time that he had 2 pairs of pants on, but once they found that, we knew it. I just felt, “If he’s loosing/ dropping/ removing stuff like this, then he’s probably not alive”. Any idea how long he lived out in the cold? Is there any indication of what he died of? Exposure or hunger? [/QUOTE] The expectation is exposure. They’ll be doing (IMHO) a largely unnecessary autopsy tonight to confirm. As for the pants, they just had a cold weather survival expert on the news saying that hypothermia seriously messes with your brain and one of the end-game effects is that you feel hot, and will then have a desire to take clothes off. They also mentioned that he’d walked in a nearly complete oval and was found floating in a creek in an area where the creek was bordered on both sides by cliffs, so the only way through was in the water. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135/31 "2006-12-07T13:06:50Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] (Mind you, I have violated several of these lessons, myself, but never more than one at a time and never with my wife and kids along for the ride.) [/QUOTE] Was/is your life insurance up to date :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135/32 "2006-12-07T13:58:52Z")
Heartbreaking. I knew they wouldn’t find him alive, but it still floored me when I heard the news. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135/33 "2006-12-07T14:13:28Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] Lessons: There is a reason why the authorities prefer that pilots file flight plans. Once a plan is “filed,” stick to it. (How much sooner would they have been discovered on National Forest 23/33 instead of three miles up one of the dozens of snow-covered gravel trails? Their last call to say they were still coming should have included the route they intended to take–and they should have been on it.) [/QUOTE] Where I live if you are a few miles from a well traveled road in summer and get stuck or have a breakdown you are in trouble unless you know a few things. When traveling along in your air conditioned car the desert doesn’t seem bad at all, but it’s the same old desert and dehydration comes rapidly. The advice when going off road is always tell someone where you are going and that you will call them upon return in (estimated time) hours. And then go there and nowhere else. If you have trouble, stay with the car. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135/34 "2006-12-07T14:53:24Z")
Aw, damn. I was really, really hoping they’d find him alive… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135/35 "2006-12-07T15:26:14Z")
I hadn’t heard and I saw this post and thought Hot damn he made it out! ☹ Not so. Aw shit can only learn from their mistakes. I imagine they made an adventure out of the decision to take the _pass_. And then to turn on a logging road,they continued, was there no way to turn around? So I feel they must’ve had an adventurous spirit to continue and to feel a false sense of security, that they would not be harmed by their vacation misstep. I imagine it was grim situation when the gas in the car ran out. Cannot imagine the hours they passed dealing with the reality of real danger. Mr. Kim’s father, dropping care packages in the wilderness for his missing son, might’ve helped if Kim was better prepared. this is bad bad news. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135/36 "2006-12-07T15:37:44Z")
This just breaks my heart. I’m a 50 year old man and I damn near cried when I heard about it. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135/37 "2006-12-07T15:56:07Z")
I did cry. Between this and the [death of DeVena’s cat](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=399003&goto=newpost), I’ve been snivelling all day. ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135/38 "2006-12-07T16:14:19Z")
[QUOTE=PoorYorick] This just breaks my heart. I’m a 50 year old man and I damn near cried when I heard about it. [/QUOTE] I am there with ya, Yorick. You hear about people dying all the time. For some reason, it really bothered me on this one. Poor guy. Poor family. What a sucky thing to happen. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135/39 "2006-12-07T17:15:10Z")
Very, very sad, especially for his wife and kids. He gave “the last full measure of devotion” to try to save them. May he rest in peace. ---
**Author:** ![MrFloppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@MrFloppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFloppy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135/40 "2006-12-07T17:22:00Z")
He was great on the old TechTV shows with Leo and Patrick. Something wierd going on though. Google now shows a different route to the resort from the one given before this incident. Presumably, being a techie, he had a GPS or used Google maps. Both use a common map source ‘Navtech’ that routed him across a ‘summer’ road. Now it will route you across Rte 42 which is to the north. Good news I suppose for anyone else trying to get somewhere similar. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-of-snowbound-car-family-in-oregon-found/383135.md?page=3)