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Let's see... car gets stuck? Or just lost? Hmm... Let's go for a walk in the snow wearing running shoes... yeah, that sounds like a plan.

Please note that the wife and kid(s) that stayed with the car are just fine.

RIP... didn't have to happen :(

I saw on the news last night that the road they took is known to get snowed out during the winter, but many online map sites list it as the shortest route to where they were going. I guess they used one of these and not being familiar with the area the ended up in a bad place.

Personally I carry a few things in my car's trunk. I have a nice first aid kit that has some good stuff in it including a couple of those space blankets. I also have a bag that has a lighter, a wind up (no batteries needed) flashlight, jumper cables and a handheld CB walkie talkie that uses the CB channels and has a range of around 3-5 miles. I also have fresh, unopened batteries for it and a car lighter plug. I've never had to use anything but the flashlight and jumper cables, but I keep it just in case. Maybe if they had something like that it could have helped them contact help. maybe not though.

It is a sad story.

it is a sad story.
he didnt want to be know as the one who said idle doing nothing. he acts -- and pays with his life.

wtf was he doing in the ravine? why did he not walk the roads? why did he not WEAR A FUCKING HAT?

That's too bad. I was hoping for him. RIP :(

He will not die in vain, if people that are travelling during the winter by car will use his experience as a lesson and carry a bug out bag with survival gear in it. Make sure people know your plan, and you check in with them. The sooner people know you are missing the more likely they can find you in time.

I think the road was snowed out, and perhaps he could no longer find it.

As far as not wearing a hat, many people are not aware of how quickly you can die in the cold, or how much heat you lose through your head.

I also think when you are hungry and scared you can make irrational decisions. He decided to move, and running shoes is all he had.

Your sailboat capsizes, you and your family have hung on for a long time, now you decide to swim for help ...... same dumb idea ... the car is always found first or you are not really lost.

RIP james kim, thoughts go out to his wife and kids. He was an awesome writer

think of the shit he went through in the cold before he died

sucks to die like that

story is that he did that... he let his children think it was just a camping trip. He burned the tires from the car for heat and waited a week before setting out for help. The chopper supposedly tracked them through a cell phone signal but didn't find them until two days after the father had set out.

Of course with the ability to know the future rescue would come we can say he should have stayed at the car but given his situation there were probably many reasons he felt he needed to leave the car.

I hope he alive as well. There was a report that he was some what experienced with the wild, so .......I guess we'll see.

read the fucking thread next time jack off.

:1orglaugh

In the bitter cold shelter is the primary survival item. With a car, you have it. He died because he froze to death. Most people in these situations don't starve to death. You can live a long time without food. You can die in 5 minutes in the bitter cold with running shoes and no hat. He was desperate, and who knows what you would do in that situation. I would have a hard time leaving my car/shelter with my family in it.

This is a very strange statement, It is extremely hard to start a tire on fire, almost impossible without a propellent. Outside, the heat generated verse the outside temperature would make this a negative trade-off. Inside, the amount of smoke would be over-powering.

Extremely sad. I would have done the same thing. Nobody can doubt his determination or second guess his intentions under the circumstances. If only the car had been spotted a few days earlier. He must have been half dead through cold and frost before taking off into the wilderness.

I was a big fan of TechTV's Fresh Gear and remember seeing James as a regular. He'd do great reviews of the newest tech stuff, and seemed extremely nice and down to earth. While I'm extremely happy his family survived, his death is hitting me a bit hard.

sad end :(

Yeah, humans take a long time to starve to death, and even if the car was in the snow, I doubt that they would freeze to death. Water obviously wouldn't be an issue and it is #2 on the things to have to survive something like this.

what if everyone was found dead in the car? search team just wasn't fast enough. imagine what's going through your head. sit here and let my family die or atleast die trying?

people in these type of situations have died by staying put as well. sometimes you have to take action. fact is, there is no right move. you can't predict how something like this is going to unfold. staying put works, but what if no one is coming? read the story about the guy that cut off his arm to free himself after being trapped in a canyon for a week. he made a decision, and it paid off. he would of died had he sat there any longer waiting for help to find him.

Another good reason to stay in the car is snow should be melted before it is drunk, so that it does not make you colder.

Also, removing rearview mirrors, vanity mirrors and placing them outside at various angles will help attract attention in case of fly-overs.

It's really sad! I was impressed with the wife's smart idea to breastfeed both children. I guess I would have done the same thing. It's a good thing she was still nursing the baby at 7 months old.

I am really sad about the husband passing away. It was noble of him to look for help. I wish he would have made it.

I think it would be great if someone could start a fund to give money to the wife and children to help through such a time. Always tragic to lose someone , and he was fairly young.

The man was a Hero. He should get a 21 gun salute!

Point well taken!

You certainly do leave your car if you haven't been found after a week and you've burned all the tires keeping your family warm. Obviously at some point you have to assume you're not going to be found. I know I would have left at some point. He was a very intelligent man and kept his family alive. It's sad that he died, but his wife and kids can be very proud of him.

I can't believe all the second guessing in this thread. It is not like he set out on foot 24 hours later, he waited an entire week. The mother was breast feeding both children to keep them alive, but she had no food for herself. Her milk would have dried up shortly. It takes a large number of calories to breast feed a child, add a 4 year old in the mix and it is taking a toll on your body when you are cold, have nothing to eat and are just drinking melted snow for a week.

The fact is, he did what he thought he had no choice but to do. I applaud him for that. If he would have got help everyone would have been saying "smart move, if he would have stayed his family would have never been found alive"

Let him RIP

Do you have a clue?

I'm not trying to be a dick, but reading that triggers this obvious reaction from me. What good does being a tech guy do for you lost in the winter in the forest? I'm sure he was resourceful, but as far as being knowledgable about wilderness survival, i'm guessing he didn't know his ass from a hole in the ground. I think EVERYONE should take the time to learn some basic wilderness survival skills, at the least...

first time im hearing about this, that really sucks :(

Read about this guy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aron_Ralston

Think he would of survived had he kept waiting for help to find him?

Three things, One I was referring to the poster who said they burned tires for warmth, how stupid. They correctly burned them as a signal for aircraft.

Two, your reference was a guy on a wilderness hiking trip in MAY. Yes this guy did the right thing. His car had nothing to do with his story.

Three, show me a reference ANYWHERE where leaving your car in a winter snow storm is advised.

Yeah I do have a clue and he did burn the tires, so what's your point? Tires burn very slowly and do provide warmth.

"burned all the tires keeping your family warm"

he saved his family... really sad story.... i was hoping he would make it....

terrible news. i was hoping he would be found.

L-Pink, maybe you should read before you make an ass of yourself.

This from the ABC news report.

When the gas ran out, the family began burning the car's tires to keep warm. They survived on baby food and berries. Kati breast-fed both children to keep them alive.

Where does it say they burned them as a signal?

Amen to that. Very tragic indeed. :(

Send a message to the family

http://www.jamesandkati.com//

:thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup

The family also burned some of the tires as a signal to searchers.

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps...D=200661205017

To get close enough to a tire for warmth, in that weather would place you in the middle of too much smoke. Nasty burning petroleum based smoke.
Much better-off in the car.

Not trying to be a dick, just amazed at the counter productive advise and comments about survival that are being posted.

Prediction, When details become available we will find out the family was following a yahoo type map ... not showing the route is closed in the winter due to weather like an actual map would. :2 cents:

The right thing to do is to stay with the car statistically. Ask any survival expert how people in these situations die. They leave and freeze to death.
I may have made the wrong decision too, in fairness to the man.

If the guy didn't cut his arm off, he would have either bled to death or died of exposure. What he did was the right thing to do. Nobody would say, if you get trapped by a boulder, it crushes your arm, you are probably going to bleed and or freeze to death, to "stay with the boulder." He wasn't lost, he knew where he was, he was injured and going to die if he didn't leave. Completely different situation. This guy's mistake was by going hiking alone. Don't do it, it is a big mistake.

You originally compared the situation to being lost at sea. Isn't that entirely different than this situation as well?

Show me anywhere where cutting your arm off and attempting to run 8 miles to your truck is advised. He survived because someone found him while he was bleeding to death attempting to get back. He would not of made it alone. He was lucky to be found attempting to get back and got out in a helicopter.

Say James Kim finds some snowmobilers and everyone is saved? Then it would of been the right call. Analyze the two situations, i'd say James had a better chance of survival than Aron Ralston. It's easy to say what the right decisions would be after the fact.

Would it have been a suprise to anyone had they all been found frozen to death in the car? Nope. Then we'd hear people saying he should of tried to get help rather than sit and die.

NO! Just stay on the road and travel hard. He only went 7 miles.
I can run 7 miles in 57 mins. Any idiot can walk 12 miles in 4 hours; did it many times in the army with total lame asses making it.

Most likely his death started with a fall that happened when he got off the road.

... [initial post deleted....]

....

Much hope and hopeful fortune for his family.

1 week?

By the looks of this thread, L-Pink and his family (toss in a 4mo old baby) would have survived for 2 whole weeks in the same situation

I think the same

Further proof that you should just stay put when in such a position. The human body can go for weeks to months without food, and since they had an ample supply of drinkable water dehydration would have not been an issue. Very foolish decision by him, albeit a brave one... can't really say I wouldn't do the same if my family was in (or at least I thought they were in) jeopardy.

As popular/well known as James Kim was there was no doubt an air search would take place. The search is always for the vehicle first, always over roads. He was not dressed correctly and physically was probably not ready for the bad conditions.

This was also not a case of trying to make it back to a house or gas station they remembered passing. They were lost.

I think you're the dumbest person on GFY.