http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/01/SFFAMILY.TMP SF family missing from Thanksgiving road trip Elizabeth Fernandez, Chronicle Staff Writer Thursday, November 30, 2006 10 03 PM A San Francisco couple who took a road trip with their two young daughters to spend Thanksgiving in the Pacific Northwest did not return as expected Monday and is now considered missing. San Francisco police are asking the public's help in locating James and Kati Kim and their two daughters, Penelope, 4, and Sabine, 7 months. The family was last seen in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday. "It is really unusual for them not to call,'' said Ryan Lee, a longtime friend who had brunch with the family Saturday in Portland. "I don't want to let myself think that they are hurt. Apparently, I was the last person who knows them to see them, which is freaky.'' The Kims told Lee that they planned to stop by a clothing boutique in Portland, then drive to Gold Beach on the southern Oregon coast. They told him they had a hotel reservation there for Saturday night, Lee said. "That was the last I heard from them,'' he said. It is not known whether the family showed up at the hotel. James Kim, 35, a senior editor at CNET, lives with his wife and daughters in Noe Valley. The couple owns two small stores in San Francisco -- Doe, a clothing store on lower Haight Street, and the Church Street Apothecary in Noe Valley which sells baby goods and organic skincare potions. Eva Kim, James' sister in San Francisco, said she last spoke to the family the day before Thanksgiving. She said the family spent Thanksgiving night in Seattle with James' uncle and aunt, Clint and June Youn. "We had a turkey dinner, everybody was happy,'' said Clint Youn by phone Thursday night. "I'm very worried, but I'm waiting for good news. I hope nothing happened.'' Two days later, the family met with Ryan for brunch in Portland. "I hadn't seen them in about a year, so we had a lot to catch up on,'' said Lee, a customer support representative who moved to Portland from San Francisco two years ago. "We sat around and ate brunch and played with the kids...Everything was fine. They seemed happy, they talked about someday moving to Portland, getting a change from San Francisco.'' Back in San Francisco, Charlene Wright, an employee of the Apothecary store who was housesitting for the Kims expected to hear from them on Monday. "Normally when Kati is out of town, she calls the store five or more times a day,'' said Wright. "But she didn't call'' on Monday. By Tuesday, Wright began to worry, and on Wednesday morning, she filed a missing person's report. Wright said that authorities have told her that the last outgoing calls from the Kims' cell phone was on Saturday around 2 p.m. "Everyone has a theory ranging from the not-positive to the overly optimistic,'' said Wright. "The prevailing theory is that they got caught in bad weather and can't phone.'' The Kims were driving a 2005 silver Saab station wagon with a personalized California license plate "DOESF.'' San Francisco police ask that anyone with information on the family's whereabouts contact Inspector Angela Martin of the Missing Persons Unit at 415-558-5508, or the operation center at 553-1071.
Damn...any updates... Edit...I pray for there safe return....It kinda reminds me of the movie with James Cann as a writer...meaning what if you just have an accident and no one can see or hear you...
Thought I'd post this picture of the Kim family I found at dapreview.net It wasn't until I saw the picture that I realized who this is -- I've seen him do quite a few video reviews of various products.
Good reason to have Onstar in your car I guess...to at least locate the vehicle. Otherwise, you can just disappear without a trace. Hopefully, they find them. I get the feeling it won't turn out well.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/04/missing.family.ap/index.html San Francisco family found alive, father still missing POSTED: 7:00 p.m. EST, December 4, 2006 Story Highlights• NEW: San Francisco family missing for more than week found, police said • NEW: Mother and children found alive in remote area of southern Oregon • NEW: Father is still missing Adjust font size: GRANTS PASS, Oregon (AP) -- Three members of a San Francisco family missing for more than a week were found alive Monday in a remote area of southern Oregon, police said. A search continued for the father. Investigators said a helicopter spotted 30-year-old Kati Kim waving an umbrella about 1:45 p.m. They also said they found daughters Penelope, 4, and Sabine, 7 months. They were airlifted to a hospital. There was no immediate word on their condition, but Oregon State Police said early reports were encouraging. Rescuers continued to look for Kati Kim's husband, 35-year-old James Kim. He left on foot two days ago to seek help, police said. The family saw friends in Portland on November 25 and then headed toward home after a Thanksgiving trip to the Pacific Northwest. They were last spotted at a restaurant that same day. They had reservations at a lodge, but never arrived. During the past several days, authorities combed highways and byways using snow machines and helicopters. They also tried to track the family by tracing their credit history and cell phone signals. The mother was found near the Rogue River in the area of Bear Camp Viewpoint. Roads through the area often are used as shortcuts to Gold Beach on the south Oregon coast, but can be impassible in the winter.
So they got stuck in the snow? Hope the dad is alright, but that's a long time out there in the winter.
That's somewhat good news. Hopefully they find James soon. I think most of us in that situation would've done the same thing and left to find help. That would be really sad if worse came to worst.
Oops. Missed the post from yesterday. Looks like the wife and kids have been found and they are trying to track the dad, who took off in search of help. Searchers keep up hunt for CNET editor in rugged terrain By Greg Sandoval http://news.com.com/Searchers+keep+...or+in+rugged+terrain/2100-1028_3-6140676.html Story last modified Tue Dec 05 11:44:41 PST 2006 A full-scale search is continuing Tuesday for CNET senior editor James Kim, who left his family's stranded car in snowy southwest Oregon Saturday to seek help. Kim's wife and two young daughters were found alive and well Monday after surviving more than a week stranded in the wilderness. They have since been reunited with family. Rescuers are now searching for James Kim in a 5-mile stretch of a narrow canyon a few miles from where the car was found, Josephine County Undersheriff Brian Anderson said at a press conference Tuesday, adding that "it is a very rugged, remote area; the teams are having some difficulty because of the terrain and conditions." Even so, searchers are well-acquainted with the area. "We have done several (searches) over the years in that area. It's not uncommon," Anderson said. Weather conditions in the area where Kim is believed to be have been "clear and cold," Anderson said, with temperatures at night dropping to the high 20s and low 30s Fahrenheit. Asked about the dangers Kim faced of exposure, Anderson said, "That is a concern of ours. He didn't have a hat, and you lose a lot of body heat that way. He left wearing tennis shoes, blue jeans and heavy jacket. He did have a lighter with him." Approximately 100 individuals are involved with the search, which is focused on the Big Windy Creek Drainage, about 30 miles northwest of Grants Pass, according to Oregon State Police. Efforts currently involve four helicopters, two rafts floating down the Rogue River, Sno-Cats, four-wheel-drive vehicles and at least a dozen searchers on foot, Anderson said Tuesday. Dog and horse patrols are on standby, but it was determined that the terrain is not conducive to those types of searches. Anderson said the search will continue through Tuesday night and Wednesday. Another press conference is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. PST. "He's a resourceful guy, and we're hoping for the best," Mike Weinstein, a detective for the Portland Police Bureau's Missing Persons Unit, said of James Kim on Monday. Video: Rescuers continue search for James Kim Kati Kim, 30, and daughters Penelope and Sabine--4 years and 7 months, respectively--were treated at Three Rivers Community Hospital in Grants Pass. Sabine was held overnight for observation, and Kati and Penelope stayed overnight with Sabine, though not as patients, hospital officials said. Sabine will likely be discharged Tuesday, officials said. The lost family had "minor provisions" and stayed warm using the car heater, then burned tires when they ran out of gas, authorities said. Kati Kim also nursed the girls. "James set up camp for them, just like it was a camping trip for them, to help them get through it. They had the store of things that they would normally have for the girls...bottled water, blankets," Sandy Fleming, Kati's mother, said Tuesday on the ABC program Good Morning America. After searches in Oregon's Curry and Douglas counties, cell phone signals narrowed the search back to the Bear Camp area in Josephine County, according to reports. Authorities said search teams, including a helicopter equipped with night vision capabilities, worked through the night Monday to locate James Kim, whose footprints are visible in some spots. Trackers had been following his footprints, Anderson said Tueday, but that got more difficult as they reached areas of dirt and rocks. "We have two Forest Service officers that are following the footprints the best they can. We will be out all night, and we will be working 24/7 until we bring him home," a sheriff's representative said. "The weather has been cold at night, but the family that was found today is in good shape. They did well for nine days." At about 1:45 p.m. PST on Monday, rescuers were notified that a vehicle and a female waving an umbrella were spotted by a helicopter search crew near the Rogue River in the area of Bear Camp Viewpoint off Bear Camp Road, according to a statement from Oregon State Police. The location is a 3,500-foot mountain pass in the Siskiyou National Forest. The helicopter that spotted the trio was reportedly a private aircraft contracted by the family. "We are not a very wealthy county; we can't afford helicopters," Anderson said. "We do have access to National Guard helicopters in certain situations. That area that the Kims were found in was an area that we had our Sno-Cats in." Authorities have not yet released details of how the family got lost. Rescue efforts Monday shifted back to the Bear Camp area in Josephine County after information surfaced that a cellular tower received a signal from one of the family's phones. Authorities credit an employee of Oregon cell provider Edge Wireless with creating computer models to triangulate the phone's location. Messages of support CNET readers, who have posted hundreds of messages of support and concern on the site's boards in the last few days, were quick to express their relief. "Now that Kati and the kids have been found, it won't be long (before) James will be found," one reader wrote. "This is incredible news for the Kim family." Messages of encouragement were also pouring in to a Web site set up by family and friends. The Kim family left their home in San Francisco two weeks ago on a Thanksgiving road trip to the Pacific Northwest. They had been last seen on the Saturday after the holiday in Portland and later at a Denny's restaurant in Roseburg, according to the San Francisco Police Department's missing persons' report. The family was expected to return to San Francisco on Monday, November 27. When both James and Kati failed to show up for appointments on Tuesday, November 28, co-workers began to worry for their safety. The Kims are known for keeping in touch daily with their friends and co-workers, either by phone or e-mail. In a search-and-rescue mission spanning multiple counties, state and federal personnel began searching highways and remote area roads by land and air for the family's silver Saab station wagon. Some of those roads are difficult to travel, described by authorities as narrow and curvy, with steep bordering embankments. Sno-Cats have been assisting with the search in sections covered with up to 6 inches of frozen snow. http://news.com.com/2102-1028_3-6140676.html?tag=st.util.print
