3 out 4 Missing found by rescue workers

kr1 said:
Actually I thought the news report said the map was marked that the road may not be suitable for travel in winter.

KR
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The news story I'm looking at said this about the maps:

However, it wasn't clear whose map the couple used. The 2005-2007 state highway map distributed by the Oregon Department of Transportation has a warning in red print, inside a red box: "This route closed in winter." A Rand-McNally map did not have a similar warning.
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So maybe the map they looked at didn't warn them.

Still.

I grew up in the north country. I've been there. Out in the winter, car camping, poking my way off the highway, looking down a snow-covered road leading into the woods. And every time I was at that road, I just said no.

Of course, I was driving a Honda Civic in those days with all the ground clearance of a millipede. :D

Frequently survival scenarios occur because the "victim" made a series of small mistakes that, combined, resulted in a giant problem. Looks like that's exactly what happened here. I like what Boats said about the guy continually doubling down. I bet that's the real thing that drove this guy into a survival situation.
 
Guess I can throw my 2 cents in on the subject...

Map...Hwy 97 goes up through the middle of Oregon and Washington on it's way over Blewett pass. The Internet mapping programs tell you to turn onto a two lane road and go over the pass. Problem is you are turning off the main road and turning onto the old Blewett Pass road. The road is two lane at best, not traveled and totally impassible during the winter. There is a small restaurant just before the old road and they posted a sign telling customers NOT to take that road for all kind of reasons. But people still followed the Internet directions. State police travel it during the summer to look for stranded motorist.

Car: I agree that the car is a ready made shelter and I wouldn't leave it. That said...how do you intend to get the airbags out? They are loaded with an explosive that will hurt you if you don't know what you are doing. Did he (or you) have the tools in your car to disassemble it as you mention? Using the oil to get a fire going or for signaling is a good idea. How are you going to get it out? Remember...he is up to his wheel wells in snow. Getting to the oil drain plug is not that easy. Doable yes...but not easy. That is the reason I carry a tool kit, tarps, blankets, water, food, small shovel, etc...(my survival kit) when we travel here in the Great Pacific Northwest. You never know what you are going to get into during the winter.

Have any of you ever been stuck out in the middle of No-Mans-Land? I have. We were stationed in Iceland back in 87-89. We took a trip towards the center of the island in January to see a frozen waterfall. I was driving a Jeep Cherokee and our friends a Chrysler van. I hit a patch of ice and was flung into deep snow. It took twelve of us three hours to get my Jeep out of the snow. I say deep snow....it was only about 24 inches deep...if that. I had an 8000# winch mounted on the front with nothing to hook to..useless. I had a shovel that I used to dig out the packed snow from underneath but it was slow going. I jacked-up the wheels to put rocks in the holes but finding unfrozen rocks took up the majority of the time. We made it out but it was a real struggle.

My take...after nine days he did what he thought was the best to save his family. Unfortunately it looks like they are saved and he might be lost.

In His Service,
Reid Allen
 
Sounds like you live in or near North Bend?
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Just west of Fall City actually.

And today they found a man who had been missing near Mt. Adams for close to two weeks. (link)

He survived that long in freezing temps because he stayed with his vehicle.
 
CNN - breaking news- The dead body of James Kim -- who left his wife and children in a snowbound car while he went for help -- has been found in the Oregon wilderness, law enforcement officials confirm.

Really very sad.


KR
 
Speaking only for myself, yes, I carry a rolled up wrench set under the bench seat in my Cherokee, and so could substantially dismantle my rig.

Since it wasn't continually snowing, excavating the underside of the car would not be a monumental chore. The oil filter is usually way more accessible if the drain nut is not. As for airbags, I know where the sensors are on mine, the tricky part would be seeing if I could deploy them with a local impact by a wrench or something. Thieves manage to steal airbags out of certain models of cars, I am sure I'd have plenty of time to contemplate the problem of airbags over a few days.
 
kr1 said:
CNN - breaking news- The dead body of James Kim -- who left his wife and children in a snowbound car while he went for help -- has been found in the Oregon wilderness, law enforcement officials confirm.

Really very sad.


KR
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Damn. I was hoping for a better result. :(
 
Macclint said:
Sad new indeed.

Some of you have been wondering how such mistakes can be made...


Here's a really good book on the subject....

http://www.amazon.com/Deep-Survival..._bbs_sr_1/104-2475406-1331947?ie=UTF8&s=books


-Clint Hollingsworth
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Yes,

Very good book.

Also as was mentioned. Just like aircraft crashes almost all disasters start with a chain of events that are all relatively small and if any event in the chain can be broken often the disaster would not have occurred. This is such an important concept to be aware of.

KR
 
skammer said:
Until we all own crystal balls.
SKam
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It has nothing to do with crystal balls. Did anybody know where they were going? Did anyone expect them? Were they supposed to arrive somewhere at a certain time? These are the things that determine whether or not somebody would probably come looking for them. If they are off on some bush road that is not normally used in the winter, and nobody misses them or if they did, would have no idea (even in which state) where to look, they could be there till spring. Besides, if you were as properly prepared as most should be on this forum, hiking out would, then, only be a hike out.

I am saddened to hear of his death.

Doc
 
They were expected and missed. Most of the rescue crews were privately hired (probably by his parents), good thing they had some money. If they had more supplies and knowledge, they could have continued to wait. That said, if he had brought a PLB, they would have been found in hours, not days or weeks... Sad situation for the family.
 
sodak said:
They were expected and missed. Most of the rescue crews were privately hired (probably by his parents), good thing they had some money. If they had more supplies and knowledge, they could have continued to wait. That said, if he had brought a PLB, they would have been found in hours, not days or weeks... Sad situation for the family.
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Hey sodak,

Actually, I was generalizing in my post. It was not specific to this case. And yes, a very sad situation.

Doc
 
sodak said:
They were expected and missed. Most of the rescue crews were privately hired (probably by his parents), good thing they had some money. If they had more supplies and knowledge, they could have continued to wait. That said, if he had brought a PLB, they would have been found in hours, not days or weeks... Sad situation for the family.
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Where did you hear that most of the Rescue Crews were Privately hired??

Most Sheriffs Offices here in the Pacific NW won't even look at private people, we have far to many volunteer SAR teams, Coast Guard, AF, and Army.. Once the Sheriff calls it off, then the Private guys can come in..

I'd love to know where you got that little tid-bit of info..
 
It was reported that the Kim family did hire in three additional helicopters, but all of the boots on the ground were Sheriffs personnel or volunteer SAR folks from hither and yon.

It's tremendously unlikely that any private SAR organization from anywhere I am aware of is going to have the local geographical know-how or be able to amass a variety the skills and equipment to mount as effective a search effort as the formally organized one like just mounted.

The problem here was having to play catch up on the timeline. If only Kim had stayed put, he'd be very much alive.
 
Rescue Mike said:
Where did you hear that most of the Rescue Crews were Privately hired??

Most Sheriffs Offices here in the Pacific NW won't even look at private people, we have far to many volunteer SAR teams, Coast Guard, AF, and Army.. Once the Sheriff calls it off, then the Private guys can come in..

I'd love to know where you got that little tid-bit of info..
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Go to www.equipped.org. As I re-read it, they state that the helicopters were privately hired.
 
Quite a few years ago, I owned and trained bloodhounds for tracking. I was not a member of an official organization that conducted searches, but was called in many times as a private volunteer with my hound. I also knew the terrain better than most of the LEO searchers. Success was 100% but... it was wooded hills and riverbottom, swamps and pine plantations, not deep wilderness, or even National Forest. It was the Mid-South, not mountainous terrain. I am sure a lot has changed since those days in the way SAR is conducted. Personel are beter equipped and better trained for one thing. Back then, my only qualifications were woodsmanship, the hound, and previous military SAR training and experience. This was before cell phones had been invented, radios were vehicle mounted.

It is sad the way this turned out. Others have already stated the coulda-woulda-shoulda, so I'll not comment on that, except to say that by placing yourself in his situation, examine what YOU could do now that would have made a difference if such a string of unlikely events befalls you.

Codger
 
Codger_64 said:
It is sad the way this turned out. Others have already stated the coulda-woulda-shoulda, so I'll not comment on that, except to say that by placing yourself in his situation, examine what YOU could do now that would have made a difference if such a string of unlikely events befalls you.

Codger
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And that is one reason i posted this initially, becasue it made me think, here as December rolled in, and it got colder, did I have all the right gear packed for the season?
Whether it be an extra mil-surplus wool blanket, frie starting material, etc.

I have a cardboard box I throw in the back of my car in the winter.
My pac boots with extra socks stuffed down inside them, my rain gear jacket and pants, a blanket, etc etc.
Mostly I don't think of it for me, but, should I happen on a stranded motorist, I have jumper cables, a small shovel, and would be able to put on my boots, and not freeze my toes off while helping.

So, as Codger points to, take a few moments to think about your own safety, your family's safety, and perhaps some poor soul who is caught out in the cold, wind, snow, rain ....with a dead battery, flat tire, or stuck ....that you may be able to help.

My Pac boots are now in my car for my daily travels.
 
In winter I carry, snow boots, warm socks, poly balaclave, BDU coat and liner, gloves, juice packs, nabs and hard candy, fleece blanket and wool blanket, and a small shovel all in back seat of my truck-- I live in Virginia but grew up rural enough I had to walk home a time or two to get help/vehicle.

After 9 days of waiting, I would have gone for help as well. Actually after 4 days with kids in car and mother nursing them to keep them warm. Mom is going to dehydrate trying to keep the babies alive and dehydration brings on hypothermia even faster. Waiting is fine but if you wait long enough, you may not be strong enough to make it out.

Bad decisions put him in a bad spot but I read little detail that makes me question him striking out. Obiously he had no way of knowing rescue was close at hand.
Bill
 
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