CNET's James Kim and family missing -- have you seen them?
By Ryan Block 
posted Nov 30th 2006 11:58PM
posted Nov 30th 2006 11:58PM
We'll have more information as we get it. If you have any information as to the Kim family's whereabouts, please contact the SFPD at 415-558-5508 during normal business hours, and 415-553-1071 after hours.
Update: Crave reports that James and his family are driving a 2005 silver Saab station wagon with license plate "DOESF." The official missing person report can be found here.
We've moved our updates after the break.
Update 2: According to Crave, officials investigating the case have narrowed their search to a stretch of Oregon's Highway 38, which is on the route that the family would most likely have taken to get to the Gold Beach motel where they had reservations.
Update 3: We've added a YouTube reel of recent James Kim footage to help identify him for those unfamiliar; we've also learned that state and federal officials have begun combing not only Highway 38 but the I-5 Interstate as well. Salem, Oregon officials have also set up a hotline if you have any information: 1-800-452-7888.
Update 4: According to the SF Gate, an aerial search is now fully underway; the National Guard, the California Highway Patrol, the Coast Guard, the Oregon State Police and Douglas County Sheriff's Department are focusing their search on Gold Beach and Bear Camp Road in Douglas County.
Update 5: Still no real news, but the Registar-Guard of Eugene, Oregon published an AP piece stating that authorities have determined the Kims have not used their cellphones or credit cards since the 25th -- last Saturday.
Update 6: Sightings and a credit card receipt have apparently last placed the Kim family at a Denny's in Roseburn, Oregon, north of current search efforts. The search is continuing further north into Oregon, and away from Hightway 42 and onto Highway 38. For fliers, info, and other ways to get involved, please also see jamesandkati.com.
Well when you are the Senior Editor of a division at one of the more popular gadget review sites on the web you tend to get the "Respected Member (of the gadget community)" tag. And he has earned it.
Anyway, i hope only the best for him and his family.
are u retarded or vegitarian. Only crazy animal/peta people care about other people eating animals. human life is more important. I dont see a cat typing up engadget blogs every day
I really hope you're not serious.
There are billions or trillions of poor E. Coli and various prokaryotic living things that you have killed in your stomach in your life.
Perhaps we should call you a mass murderer?
What an idiot.
Are you seriously comparing missing animals to missing humans? Please shut the hell up. Best wishes to the Kim family.... I hope they are ok.
I would search for no incentive. I care about him and want him to be safe. I think that is good enough.
Patrick – It's not about what isn't done for other families. The point is that a lot of people are really worried for and care about the Kim family. If you want to have a debate about what should be done for other families then perhaps you should go to a different site to have it. This is here for people to help get the Kims back to safety as well as to see the updates and share information. Thanks.
"Roseburn"? It's Roseburg; Roseburn is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Man, I hope they're ok...
Me too! I really hope they're okay!
This is sad. I hope nothing happened.
*Checks under bed*
Hope they're OK..
hope they are okay
makes me sad...
Get back home James. Everyone misses you and wants you and you family to be ok.
Get back home James. Everyone misses you and hopes you and your family is ok.
I really hope they're okay.
Damn, I've known of James from his ZDTV/TechTV days...to now at cnet.com and really hope he and his family are safe and ok. :(
All of you that joked about this in the comments are real jerks, get a life... James my thoughts are with you and your family, i hope everything turns out fine
matt
Wow thats weird. I have watched a lot of reviews that he has done on cnet. That sucks.
man, this sucks, Hope they find their way home safely.
you know its been snowing like crazy in SEA (isnt Engadget in SEA?) they are probably stuck in a hotel somewhere.
today the weathers better, so i bet you hear from them soon (saying please take our pictures off the intrawebs!)
Word from the hotel they were going to stay at is that they called and said they were on their way, but never arrived.
The weather in the Seattle area wasn't bad yet on Saturday, and apparently the Kims were already in Oregon.
I wonder what's driving the police to narrow their search to Hwy 38. There are many routes to the coast and most of them are through very sparsely populated areas, so it may be a manpower issue. Hopefully it's that they have more information than has been mentioned so far. Personally, my family probably would've cut over to the coast on Hwy 126 between Eugene and Florence to see more of the dunes.
I sure hope they're safe and found soon!
Im a last summer born Cnet.com fan and I've really loved reading this product reviews, hearing his Podcasts w/ Veronica and even seeing his VodCast on the Crave blog. I really pray he and his family are ok, thats just unsettling to read.
I sure hope everything is fine and they get back home safe and fast.
One thing I should wonder. Why does Cnet not have a posting on their page? I mean would it not be possible for them to not only be business but also post a small section noting this situation.
Damn this is really upsetting. I hope everything is ok. I always enjoyed his reviews/video reviews on cnet, my thoughts and prayers go out to his family. That really is insane for a whole family to go missing like that.
I'm fairly sure they got stuck in the snow somewhere. We (seattle residence) just had a big snow flurry come in over the past couple of days. All the roads and all the highways were like parking lots because of all the ice that had accumulated on the roads. It has been impossible for people to drive on the highways because it's like driving a big sheet of ice. It got so bad that people parked their cars on the side of the road and walked to the nearest hotel, or they just slept in their cars overnight.
I hope he and his family are doing okay.
Yes i agree
Hope he comes back alright
it was on crave blog isnt that cnet owned ?
http://crave.cnet.com/
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9666094-1.html?tag=head
The do have a story on it:
http://news.com.com/2061-10801_3-6139875.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-5&subj=news
Let us know if they come home safe.
wow.... of all people
but srsly, i hope he's alright, i really respect the guy
That sucks, hope they are ok!
we're thinking o you James, hope you and your family gets home safely!
You should keep this at the top until they are found. If people want to see the latest and greatest they shouldn't mind scrolling down.
My prayers are with you guys.
Godspeed, Kim family!
This is terrible! A person as connected as him (geeky with lots of telecommunication devices) going missing isn't good...
I remember James from TechTV. He always had very good reviews.
Please keep this up to date!!!
Best of luck to them, hope they're alright. And as a previous poster said, please let us know if they're heard from.
Ryan, do you know their license plate number and what kind of car they were driving in? That really sucks.
It was a 2005 silver Saab with license plate DOESF (they had a store in San Francisco called "Doe").
its weird that i don't see anything on their homepage cnet.com
why didn't they send geek squad? just kidding
good luck James, hope they will come back home safely.
I watch this guy everyday over at cnettv. I hope he's fine. he's really good too at what he does... again hopefully he and his family are allright.
All the idiots who are talking sh!t, listen up! It doesnt matter if someone's a "respected member" of some "elite group", or just another normal dude.. if someone's in trouble people hope for their safety.. If something terrible happens to one of you guys, I'm pretty sure Everyone who'd know will hope for your safety.. think about it man.. This aint no joke.. these ppl are missing for real!
yeah some of u ppl are real jerks. Somone could be in danger and u ppl make a joke out of it. I hope he is ok bc he was really good back in the Tech TV days.
In Touch With The Real World,
James
Your`e disgusting. James that is not appropriate at all. There is a very strong chance there not dead. Even if they were dead that is disrespectful. In Touch is a self obsessed emo pos. Two young children. Babies. You don`t care if they are dead?
Do you posses any redeeming qualities? There is no reason for you to live.
http://news.com.com/2061-10801_3-6139875.html?tag=nefd.top
From CNet news section^^
God Bless Kim Family!!!!!!!!!!!!
ben
to mr "real world"
One day you may go missing and im pretty sure you woulnt appriciate it if everyone forgot you because of something they didnt like about you. Grow up and show some concern for a fellow human being, or just dont say anything at all.
James and family, hope your all ok and you get back safely!
Hope James and his family guy are Ok, hope they got home safe and sound.
My heart goes out to him and his family. Here's to hoping that they turn up completely safe.
My fingers are crossed that this turns out to just be some sort of misunderstanding and everyone is alright!
I kinda know him from cnet. because of his reviews, but thats terrible they dont know where him and his family is. i really hope hope hope he is okay, that its just terrible.
Oh no! (no sarcasm)
This guy is the rockstar of cNet, IMO. I hope he, and his family, are alright!
From
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9666094-1.html?subj=Crave&part=rss&tag=feed&tag=cnetfd.blog
"...2005 silver Saab stationwagon with the personalized California license plate "DOESF"..."
Hopefully they turn up OK.
So it's been four days since they were since they were supposed to be heard huh?
What do you people suppose happened?
Is there a good chance that they're safe?
I sincerely hope that they are.
Like all of you, my prayers for James, his wife and children. And my hopes and prayers to his family back home.
I hope they're OK too.
Wow, I'm truely worried for him and his family.
Stuff happens to celebrities and pseudo-celebrities, and I never really give a crap.
But here I find myself very worried and afraid for his family.
I really hope everything is okay.
My best wishes goes out James and his family, I hope its just some big misunderstanding and that him and his family are fine.
Holy shit. This is not good. They've been missing since Saturday?! I hope to God they're okay. I've been watching him every week on the Crave video blogs (CNET's version of Engadget).
I live in Seattle. We've been having some mild winter storms up here, so maybe they stuck somewhere.
I have posted this story as well as another picture on my own blog. Maybe someone will see it and call the police. I hope they are ok.
Could you guys sticky this post? I'm really sad and upset that him and his family are missing.
James is a nice guy, I met him up a few times through some mutual friends and his wife is really nice and his kids are really cute and sweet.
I hope they turn up today or tomorrow...the sooner the better.
Probably delayed because of snow and ice at higher elevations. On Tuesday some friends of mine drove over the pass on I-5 between Shasta and Medford. It was nasty with lots of snow and ice. There were people skidding all over.
I prey For him and his family that they are ok .
And for those making joke trust me no one is laughing.
except you in your sad pitiful shallow world
I'm not a conservative but people like the above poster who compared human life to cattle makes all the liberalists look bad.
If you're going to start comparing human life to other mammals, why stop there? Why not the fish? Why not the insects? Fungi? Plants? Prokaryotes? Viruses?
Where do you draw the line?
What a freakin retard.
thank you to everyone is concerned, we are hoping to hear some good news soon, so please keep james, kati, penelope & sabine in your thoughts.
and to everyone who thinks this is funny or finds some reason to make a joke, please get a life. you have no f'ing clue what this is like for the people that are close to them. so disrespectful.
Andy, why would we have to stop living in the Netherlands?
I do hope he and his family are fine.
Whoa!! OMG! I could not believe the title, I re-read it like 5 times. Man, I have been a cnet user since about 1999, I remember most of his reviews by heart.. I remember. Please be ok James! You are in my prayers.
oh man this sucks, i felt a sinking feeling right when i read this. This is the first time i am posting on this site, usually i just lurk.
please be ok!
Oh man. Keep us updated engadget! I'm worried now.
hope they are ok, they are probably stuck in snow. the artic front just passed, the highways are now open again, they should be ok. now the weather is fine in washington, so oregon should be fine soon. but anyway hope they are ok...
I hope he's alright, I like his reviews
I hope he's alright. He and I share the same name!
I really dont like cnet but i like james kim, hes really one of the only people worth watching on there ,im really praying him and his family are alright.
And can we please take all the assholes off the board like the stupid peta kid. I thought it was a joke peta cared more for animals than people!
I honestly do hope the Kim family is alright. But it does seem strange, even if they were just trapped by the snow, that they wouldn't have called anyone or something after all this time.
I just hope I'm wrong and that nothing bad's happened.
Oh wow, this is sad news. James Kim was da man. I love his reviews. I hope he and his family are alright. I hope they just decided to take an extended vacation. Get home safe J K.
Hurry home Kim's!!
i watch james's cnet videos a lot, and i have a lot of respect for him. best of luck to them finding home safe and sound. besides, i love those mp3 reviews!
Go "Anonymous," you self-centered prick. Instead of thinking about what could possibly go wrong with the guy and his family, you're thinking of a small petty incentive for a GOOD DEED.
A PS3/Wii/XBOX360 is absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. Please go outside and learn to recognize and value the importance of human life.
Furthermore, Engadget posted this message to inform the community about something very serious. The editors here, too, are concerned. Should CNet be awarding them a prize for aiding in the search?
Good deeds don't need to be repaid. You shouldn't expect something for an extension of kindness.
This is sad.. I seen James on CNET and I think he was also on TechTV and ZDTV back in the day.
I know he is a tech guru, maybe he has some piece of technology that the police can trace.
hope the kim family is ok!!!
i've been a fan of that guy since tech tv.
Whoa... crazy. I remember buying him some Blue Label at CES a few years ago. I hope that they're all okay.
Man I hope he is ok, I live around Portland Oregon so ill try to keep a look out. I always enjoy his reviews
god speed to his family and friends
I live in seattle and because of the snow many people are stuck on the highways and there are no hotels available and no tow trucks everything is crazy. But like someone said earlier even if they were stuck why wouldn't they have called, anyways best wishes to the kim family.
There are plenty of curvy, treacherous roads in Oregon, especially near the coast, and in Northern California. I wonder if there are any search and rescue helicopters up there checking embankments below curves, looking for a silver station wagon.
What bothers me is if they assume there is foul play, then the authorities may overlook this simpler and more likely slid-off-the-road possibility, and they will lose precious time failing to do an aerial search.
tater tot,
That is an incredibly racist comment. I hope you're in some kind of mentally disabled state, otherwise you're just a pathetic low life.
Oh, and if you had clicked the link, you'd notice that his wife is actually white.
Man, that's awful. Hope and pray that he and his family's ok.
OMG I have driven that before. It is beautiful to be sure, but highway 1 is DANGEROUS. Hundreds of miles of cliffs to your left, dropping down to the sea. Hundreds of miles of sharp turns, with idiots driving up on you faster than hell. With low traffic and clear weather, it's the most beautiful road in the nation. Add a small amount of rain, fog and a few morons, and it's absolutely terrifying.
I sure hope they're OK, maybe just staying in one of the scenic motels along the route.
I hope their ok. He does very great reviews for mp3 players.
I hope hes ok too. Especially his family as well. I hope they just have a flat tire or something Iono. I hope theyre ok
Best of wishes they have a safe passage home.
hope they find him soon... keep us posted on engadget!
Reading this was a little shocking too, and like many other comments, I too hope that the family is ok. I frequent the Crave blog often as well, and live in Seattle so I know that the snowstorm was a little harsh on transportation. Hopefully it was just some fluke that caused them to not have access to communication. Hope the family is well.
wishing them all the best. May they all come home safely.
I really liked his MP3 player reviews =[
Man! Hope they're safe and healthy.
That's horrible! I hope they're ok...=(
God bless him and his family; and i hope all is well. He deserves the best, he's brought cnet to a new level.
On a lighter note...
Apple prob. took him and his family away because he gave the Zune a good review. I'm sure they saw him as bad for business. Apple-fanboys; GIVE HIM BACK!!!
I really hope they`re all right too...
One of the few fellow Asian husband, Caucasian wife families out there, plus in the spotlight.
I seriously hope it is all some sort of misunderstanding, but it`s hard to think so. If they were simply in a hotel somewhere, surely they would have called someone.
I hope someone finds them soon.