Saturday, December 09, 2006
James Kim
James Kim, a 35 year old internet journalist was found dead near the Rogue River on Wednesday. An editor for CNET, he was desperately searching for help for his wife and children who stayed lost in their car. A US Forest Service road that had been gated and locked in November had been vandalized and opened. This deceptive opening was the beginning of a series of tragic errors when the Kim family became lost in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. That road allowed them access in a place where access is limited by snow and unsafe driving conditions. They were stopped in their tracks as they realized that they were lost on an impassable road. After waiting it out for a week, burning through their gas and tires to keep warm and eating the only food they had, James finally left his wife and children to look for help. His goal was to save his family and yet, he tragically lost his life to hypothermia.
The rest of the family was found when helicopters traced footsteps in the snow back to the car. The terrible ironies are many as the story unfolds. The road that they were on was diverted to a vandalized, unlocked gate, then the detour road ended at a hunting and fishing lodge with firewood and provisions that they never reached, and James died just a mile from the car after looping around helplessly.
The tragedy did not need to happen. Whoever vandalized that gate allowed an unknowing victim to drive through and tragically die. Gates and locks are vandalized throughout the Forest Service and State Park systems and now this proves what consequences can happen when an access is illegally opened. We hope full prosecution occurs if and when they find the vandals. Their actions caused the death of James Kim and we hope that a district attorney will prosecute them fully.
The rest of the family was found when helicopters traced footsteps in the snow back to the car. The terrible ironies are many as the story unfolds. The road that they were on was diverted to a vandalized, unlocked gate, then the detour road ended at a hunting and fishing lodge with firewood and provisions that they never reached, and James died just a mile from the car after looping around helplessly.
The tragedy did not need to happen. Whoever vandalized that gate allowed an unknowing victim to drive through and tragically die. Gates and locks are vandalized throughout the Forest Service and State Park systems and now this proves what consequences can happen when an access is illegally opened. We hope full prosecution occurs if and when they find the vandals. Their actions caused the death of James Kim and we hope that a district attorney will prosecute them fully.
# posted by W.E.T. River Trips - raftWET.com @ 9:02 AM 
