James Kim found deceased in Oregon wilderness
By Evan Blass 
posted December 6th 2006 11:02PM
posted December 6th 2006 11:02PM
More information at CNET.
Note: We've had an extraordinary amount of requests for information about donating to a James Kim memorial fund for his wife and two children. Please rest assured that you will be among the first to know when an official Kim-family sanctioned fund has been established. Thanks to everyone who's poured out their heart over this tragic, terrible loss.
being one who is not easily affected..i couldn't understand why this man (James Kim) and the terrible news of his passing continues to bother me, even now. After reading everyones comments i realize James wasn't just anybody he was somebody. Somebody, who will be greatly missed and thought about and talked of for many years to come. may the best and only the best be said about him. In Memory and with respect-James Kim-Goodbye for now..LRK
I saw a magazine the other day which was out of date, saying he was possibly still alive. I was showing it to my mother and she said, "Oh yeah, I heard about that! They found him dead."
I was shocked, and I kind of felt pain, no clue why. My prayers go to the family. :(
Wasn't he a tech editor??? Where was his pocket gps locator or other means of communication??? Why did he drive a saab in the first place?
A GPS would have saved the Kim family from choosing the wrong road. I wonder if they had one with them?
It's 5 days later and I still can't believe the news. Everything about the situation was terrible. From missing that turn and that lock being cut open to finding his body not long after he died. It just seems so much could have been done to prevent this tragedy from occuring. Sure, maybe a GPS would have helped or the search team could have been more responsive, but of course, they did try. Things just went wrong for him. When I first read about the story, I honestly didn't think much of it and they had just taken a little extra time to themselves, but as the days grew on, so did my fear. Anyone following this story was relieved when his family was found and was sure that he would be found as well.I guess, you really have to just be thankful that his family survived.
When James was on TechTV he talked about my web site and the software we give away for free. It was really exciting to see my site on live TV. I really appreciate him taking the time to do that. Thanks Jim.
he was a great man who wrote great reviews and who sacrificed himself for his family. what a tragedy. RIP
i was googling and ran into this:
http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2006/12/09/in-memory-of-james-kim/
thought it was a good read.
god bless the kim family. what a tragedy.
May your journey into the void be pleasant and joyful as we celebrate and grieve at the marvelous person you were, God bless you.
I'm sorry to say, but what an idiot. Why would you stray off the road in that type of weather???? On top of that, he wasn't even wearing appropriate clothing! R.I.P to him and I feel for his family, but c'mon now. To me, sounds like he got what was coming to him for not using COMMON SENSE. He worked for CNET, couldn't he have used a GPS instead of ghetto google maps???
i pretty sure the reason why he went down the wrong road was because he had a map that wasn't like the local one which would ahve said the road was closed in winter
To digital01, it is wrong of you to think you
have a right to judge him like that. You have
no idea what it's like to be cold for a week in
your car with your wife and two young children, to not eat so they will have food. To be so desperate for help that you set off after looking at maps, thinking you have a good idea but not really knowing where your car is, thinking a town is about 4 miles away. Then after walking for miles down a long winding snowbound road, thinking that going through the drainage would be a shortcut for help. Thinking that you were a young man and a devoted capable father who could handle what came your way and were determined to find help. Thinking that nothing will stop you - you won't let anything stop you - not knowing what hypothermia can really do to you. It's is easy for
you to think you can judge James Kim from the easy
warmth of your full belly and whatever heating system you have - but you have no idea - unless you have been hypothermic yourself - you cannot
even begin to imagine what he truly went through.
I have been in the beginning stages of hypothermia,
and I have also been determined, thinking I could handle more than I was able, so I have an idea what it's really like. In such cases, you try to
use common sense, but common sense becomes that luxury that time can't always afford.
and also he did have COMMON SENSE, they used fuel for heat, and then burned the tires for heat, and because they kept trying to use their cell phones the rescue team was able to find the family easier and seeing as how he was tech savy, to say the least, he probably had a good idea about what he was doing. he sacrificed himself for his family and should not be criticized
Kim probably could have been saved with a simple auto GPS.
I'm sure a Tom Tom or Garmin Nuvi crossed his desk in recent months...
I got lost in central florida at night, no one knew how to get to the interstate, strange, frightening people.
I went out and bought a Garmin C550 ASAP.
Knowing where you are can save your life.
Hope you are in a better place James.
I remember watching you when you first started with TechTV with Leo Laporte. I never knew you but it feels like I've lost one of my own. Thanks for the memories.
p.s. to digital01 Just because he worked for Cnet doesn't mean he would have every kind of gadget there is... He specialized in audio. It's not using common sense to judge someone because they don't have a global positioning system handy when they think they're going on an easy holiday vacation...
Also, importantly - it was freezing in the car as
well - his wife got frostbite on two of her toes
just from waiting in the car. (But they didn't need to be removed.) That was why he left.
It was too cold for them anymore in the car. It felt like they couldn't take it anymore. He
thought the town wasn't so far away, and he probably thought his body could handle the weather,
especially once he got out of the snow.
I'm living in belgium and I listened to the radio all day to hear for his rescue... but it never came. :(