Found Alive OR - James Kim, 33 (deceased), Kati Kim, 30, & two kids, Roseburg, Nov 2006

[englishleigh]

http://news.com.com/Road+search+unde...tag=cnetfd.ld1

Aerial search under way for missing CNET editor

from the article:

While some Saab models come equipped with the OnStar vehicle security and communications system, the model the Kims were driving did not offer OnStar as an option, said Mike Weinstein, a detective with the Portland Police Bureau's Missing Persons Unit, who said he also confirmed that information with OnStar using the Kims' vehicle identification number. The car did not have a LoJack car security system either, Weinstein said.

[Alice253]

Originally Posted by Buzzm1

They had stopped and had a breakfast/lunch, or maybe a brunch, with a friend in Portland?--they showed the place where they met to eat--it didn't look like much from the outside.

Depending on what time they left that restaurant, and based on the 5:45PM phone call, LE should have a good idea of the area they need to search. The name of the place they were supposed to stay was mentioned, but I don't recall the name. I would like to know exactly where it is located.

http://news.com.com/Road+search+unde...tag=cnetfd.ld1

Now there is a new confirmed last sighting.

Those fruitless efforts, combined with news of the Denny's sighting in Roseberg at about 8 p.m. on November 25 gives Lt. Dennis Dinsmore, of the Curry County Sheriffs' Department, "no indication in any way that they every reached" his county.

"We're going to start backing away from the investigation," he said, adding that the hunt will shift to roads off state Highway 42 instead of Highway 38. Both are common routes taken to get from Interstate 5 to the Oregon coast.

Officials from Douglas County, where Roseburg is located, could not be immediately reached for comment, but are expected to release a statement later today. Dinsmore said the family's stop at Denny's had been corroborated by employees and a credit card receipt.

Here's an amendment with Roseberg added to Buzz's map
http://maps.yahoo.com/broadband/#q3=....544567&mag=10

[Shadow205]

Originally Posted by Lurker Steve

According to this link, he planned to take Highway 38 (presumably from I-5) to Highway 101, the coastal road that would take them to Gold Beach.

101 does cross many rivers as it winds down the coast. It's also hard to get lost - it's the main road on the Pacific coast.

The report indicates that Kim called the inn around sunset, and the innskeeper expected to see them sometime before midnight. It's about three hours from where 38 hits the coast to Gold Beach, and the sun sets pretty early during the winter, so I'm guessing he was on 38 when he called. The police seem to think that, too.

Unfortunately, if they did go off-road in the mountains, it may not be good - there was significant snowfall in the Northwest a day or two later, and also very cold. I'm not sure how it was in this part of Oregon, but I know Portland was hit relatively hard.

I don't think that he took Highway 38 west to Highway 101 from I-5.
There is a confirmed sighting of the family at a Denny's rest. in Rosebrug, OR. at about 8:00pm on Saturday night. From Roseburg to Gold Beach, the route to take west to reach Highway 101 would be Highway 42.
It is 140 miles from Roseburg to Gold Beach.

Isn't this the same route that the family in the motor home disappeared on earlier this year? They were found safe and had gotten stuck in the snow on a fire road or something?

http://news.com.com/Road+search+unde...tag=cnetfd.ld1

[FACE-IT]

Here's the map just from Roseburg to Gold Beach:
http://maps.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTEx....811522&mag=10

Roseburg Temps 11/25/2006
7:53 PM 42.1 °F Calm Calm

[Shadow205]

Anyone know what this section of highway is like? Is it isolated, populated, wilderness?

[FACE-IT]

Originally Posted by Shadow205

Anyone know what this section of highway is like? Is it isolated, populated, wilderness?

It's a remote area.

[scandi]

Hi Shadow, I think it is the same route But that couple were in a motor home with some room and had enough food and water. Is that the couple who were both on the lam and were arrested after they were found?

Here's another article from today: http://www.examiner.com/a-432415~Sea...Northwest.html

I've never gone to the coast that way, only from Eugene across to Hwy 101. It has some bad areas too if one was driving in the inclkememt conditions this family were. With those conditions I wonder why Mr Kim didn't decide to stay in
Roseburg that night. It was already 8pm and they could have started out in the morning to see the coastline, which is evidently what they wanted to do.

I pray for them but can so easily see them slipping off a road and plunging down into a cravass or into river. I only see one spot where they pass over the Coquille River by Myrtle Point, but #42 goes through some pretty remote area, in fact there is a town named Remote half way to the coast. The shorter road from Coquille over to Bandon on the coast looks quite treacherous. In fact late at night in inclement weather that whole route looks darn dangerous to me.

I have free long distance if anyone wants me to call to find out anything in particdular and I'd be happy to.

Buzz, I would think they could fly a plane over that route to Bandon and see if a car has gone down off the Hwy with sensory equipment they might have. Am I too much off the wall in thinking that?

Scandi

[FACE-IT]

Originally Posted by scandi

Hi Shadow, I think it is the same route But that couple were in a motor home with some room and had enough food and water. Is that the couple who were both on the lam and were arrested after they were found?

Here's another article from today: http://www.examiner.com/a-432415~Sea...Northwest.html

I've never gone to the coast that way, only from Eugene across to Hwy 101. It has some bad areas too if one was driving in the inclkememt conditions this family were. With those conditions I wonder why Mr Kim didn't decide to stay in
Roseburg that night. It was already 8pm and they could have started out in the morning to see the coastline, which is evidently what they wanted to do.

I pray for them but can so easily see them slipping off a road and plunging down into a cravass or into river. I only see one spot where they pass over the Coquille River by Myrtle Point, but #42 goes through some pretty remote area, in fact there is a town named Remote half way to the coast. The shorter road from Coquille over to Bandon on the coast looks quite treacherous. In fact late at night in inclement weather that whole route looks darn dangerous to me.

I have free long distance if anyone wants me to call to find out anything in particdular and I'd be happy to.

Buzz, I would think they could fly a plane over that route to Bandon and see if a car has gone down off the Hwy with sensory equipment they might have. Am I too much off the wall in thinking that?

Scandi

An air search is the best bet at this point in time Scandi; with the snow, depending on how much there is, it may hide the car pretty well. If it is typical CA/OR mountain roads, the canyons can be pretty steep, especially along rivers, plus the moisture from the rivers can freeze pretty quickly, and create black ice.

[FACE-IT]

If they were in a Denny's in Roseburg at 8:00PM; that's a terrible time to begin a drive through the mountains over to the coast, especially on roads you aren't familiar with:

Map from Roseburg to Gold Beach:
http://maps.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTEx....811522&mag=10

[scandi]

Originally Posted by Buzzm1

If they were in a Denny's in Roseburg at 8:00PM; that's a terrible time to begin a drive through the mountains over to the coast, especially on roads you aren't familiar with:

Map from Roseburg to Gold Beach:
http://maps.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTE...2.811522&mag=10

I agree Buzz. They must have been having fun, fun, fun. The kids never had seen snow probably and they were exploring. Unfortunately they had no idea how treacherous driving late at night as it gets colder and dips down to and below freezing. An unknown road.

I think investigators will look at #42 and look for treacherous points along that road and also the one from Coquille to Bandon. #42 does not follow the Coquille River, and you only cross it close to Myrtle Creek. But at that point and on to Bandon, as the river winds to the sea it curves, and though the road is straight that means nothing, It means there are going to be drop offs where the river has cut through the soil and rock for thousands of years running and the road might not be cut in the middle of a flat plane of ground. So you might have a field on one side of the road and then very little at all on the other or river side.

Too bad it's a Saturday. I have a friend in Cottage Grove OR who is high up in the Dept of Forestry. He'd know these roads like the back of his hand as they do cross over State forestlands in the mountain range that seperates the Willamette Valley from the Coast.

Scandi

[FACE-IT]

See if this works:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e....1698&t=h&om=1

Topo Map--Mountainous
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=...ad27&layer=DRG

[scandi]

Excellent Buzz Thanks. I got down pretty close to where I can define #42 and looks like its a mite desolate, right!

Scandi

[englishleigh]

I'm so worried about these poor people. I really think this won't have a happy ending and it just breaks my heart. I pray to God they are alive and have found some way to find food or something. Maybe they had food in the car for snacks for the trip...oh, Lord, please let them be found soon!!!

[FACE-IT]

Originally Posted by englishleigh

I'm so worried about these poor people. I really think this won't have a happy ending and it just breaks my heart. I pray to God they are alive and have found some way to find food or something. Maybe they had food in the car for snacks for the trip...oh, Lord, please let them be found soon!!!

Like you englishleigh, after all this time, I can't help but envision the worst. I only hope that foul play didn't have anything to do with their disappearance. I've taken the roads across the mountains to the coast here in CA, in quite a few different areas, and most all of them have steep dropoffs on one side of the road, and are slow and difficult driving. From the map, 42 looks treacherous, and would be especially so at night. What a bad decision to try and drive it after 8:00PM.

[englishleigh]

Originally Posted by Buzzm1

Like you englishleigh, after all this time, I can't help but envision the worst. I only hope that foul play didn't have anything to do with their disappearance. I've taken the roads across the mountains to the coast here in CA, in quite a few different areas, and most all of them have steep dropoffs on one side of the road, and are slow and difficult driving. From the map, 42 looks treacherous, and would be especially so at night. What a bad decision to try and drive it after 8:00PM.

I know...it's just so sad. I keep seeing the faces of those precious little girls.

[scandi]

This article is outdated as it is frrom the 1st, yesterday around 3pm, but I was so touched to read this from a corporation:

http://www.gadgetell.com/2006/12/ale...amily-missing/

They said CNET is asking for your prayers and any help you can provide. They really were an outstanding couple, and as an executive at the company I think they will do all they can to help find them. I bet they have been in constant touch with the LE agency leading the search and just wish they could get some air planes searching. I know in Iraq they have a special plane that can find anything on the ground - could it be a type of sonar Buzz?

Scandi

[FACE-IT]

Roseburg to Gold Beach:
http://maps.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTEx....811522&mag=10

Hybrid Map:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e....1698&t=h&om=1

Topo Map--Mountainous
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=...ad27&layer=DRG

Coquille, OR Weather Saturday, November 25, 2006
9:15 PM 44.6 °F Mostly Cloudy
9:35 PM 44.6 °F Mostly Cloudy
9:55 PM 44.6 °F Scattered Clouds
10:15 PM 44.6 °F Mostly Cloudy
10:35 PM 44.6 °F Overcast

Search efforts had been busy in Curry County, where Gold Beach, the family's reported destination for last Saturday evening, is located. But after a multi-agency search involving snowmobiles, a Sno-Cat and helicopters including a UH-60 Blackhawk, there's still no sign of the Kims' 2005 silver Saab 9-2X station wagon with California personalized plates of "DOESF."

Douglas County sheriffs have already done an extensive search of area roads, including Highway 42 from the Winston area to Myrtle Point in neighboring Coos County, according to the statement. Further search options are being explored.

Inspector Kim Lewis of the San Francisco Police Department's Missing Persons Unit said the SFPD has received approximately 10 tips and is pursuing all of them. "We have been having leads coming in with regards to sightings," she said. "Whether or not they are valid, we don't know."

Dozens of tips have also come in to a Pacific Northwest call center set up in Salem, Ore., she said. That number is 1-800-452-7888.

Ryan Lee, a longtime friend of the Kims, told the San Francisco Chronicle that he had brunch with the Kims in Portland Saturday. The Kims told their friend they planned to stop by a clothing boutique in Portland before driving to Gold Beach, where they said they had a hotel reservation at the Tu Tu Tun Lodge for Saturday night.

Tututun Lodge
96550 North Bank Rogue River Road, Gold Beach, OR 97444
(541) 247-6664



http://news.com.com/Road+search+unde...3-6140118.html

[Ca-Sun]

Originally Posted by scandi

This article is outdated as it is frrom the 1st, yesterday around 3pm, but I was so touched to read this from a corporation:

http://www.gadgetell.com/2006/12/ale...amily-missing/

They said CNET is asking for your prayers and any help you can provide. They really were an outstanding couple, and as an executive at the company I think they will do all they can to help find them. I bet they have been in constant touch with the LE agency leading the search and just wish they could get some air planes searching. I know in Iraq they have a special plane that can find anything on the ground - could it be a type of sonar Buzz?

Scandi

Thanks for the link, Scandi. There was an updated link in that article: http://news.com.com/Road+search+unde...3-6140118.html

The article mentioned planes had been searching, and the model of the vehicle the Kim's have does not have OnStar. It didn't have LoJack, either.
They have been missing for so long... Somehow, I pray they are found alive, all 4 of them.

[fran]

I lived on the Oregon Coast for 8 years. I've never been on the 42 or 38, but I've been on several others leading inland and they're all treacherous, especially in bad weather. Believe me, we made a few trips late at night that I prayed we would make it home at all!

From the Sunset Highway to the 20, I've traveled them all day and night. they all have desolute areas, curvey, and dangerous even if you know where you're going.

I pray this family is found safe. I just checked any news I could and couldn't find anything since earlier today. They're still looking.

JMHO
fran

PS.........I wonder if they have their cell phones on?

[englishleigh]

The cell phone thing is a scary thought to me. Unless they are in such a remote area, or so far down a ravine or something that they can't get a signal, or the weather is a problem...the fact that they have not called for help when the obviously had cell phones is frightening.

[FACE-IT]

Originally Posted by scandi

This article is outdated as it is frrom the 1st, yesterday around 3pm, but I was so touched to read this from a corporation:

http://www.gadgetell.com/2006/12/ale...amily-missing/

They said CNET is asking for your prayers and any help you can provide. They really were an outstanding couple, and as an executive at the company I think they will do all they can to help find them. I bet they have been in constant touch with the LE agency leading the search and just wish they could get some air planes searching. I know in Iraq they have a special plane that can find anything on the ground - could it be a type of sonar Buzz?

Scandi

Scandi, in that terrain, they are probably relying on sight; if there has been snow, it probably obliterated any evidence of a car going off the road, or evidence of car going down an embankment through the trees--in warm weather they probably notice large broken branches, or scars on the trees, as well as the skid marks, etc..

[Texana]

I'm worried, too, about this family. Hard to believe they haven't been found, but it's a big country and the location is rugged.

Let's all continue to hope and pray for their well-being.

[FACE-IT]

I'm believing that James Kim was a careful driver, and would have slowed down on the winding road, and not taken any unnecessary risks. Having said that, I can't begin to tell you how many times I have run across "rednecks" on the mountain roads at night; admittedly they know their roads but they are frequently about three sheets to the wind, and they drive the roads way too fast, and can easily run other people off of the road.

[Lurker Steve]

They'd be crazy to think they could drive from Roseburg to Gold Beach in that time. It's dark, those roads aren't great anyway... plus unless they had a really good reason to stay on the beach, just common sense would keep them on the Interstate, where it would be easy to find a place to stay. I can almost see adults driving that late, but with kids?

Looking at the Google map, I wonder if they took the road that leads directly from I-5 to Gold Beach - the road has a number of different names (NF-23, NF-33, Agness Road, and so on.) If you didn't know anything about the road, it would be very tempting to "make time" on I-5 and then cut over. But that road is probably in worse shape than the others, and is likely even more desolate. It looks like BLM land.

I hope that road is being searched; it would be very easy to get lost on it.

[Lurker Steve]

Originally Posted by englishleigh

The cell phone thing is a scary thought to me. Unless they are in such a remote area, or so far down a ravine or something that they can't get a signal, or the weather is a problem...the fact that they have not called for help when the obviously had cell phones is frightening.

Cell phone service in that part of Oregon is extremely spotty. Many of those roads don't even have towers. There just aren't many towns between I-5 and the coast.

I remember driving a what must have been a 30 mile stretch of highway - a US highway - in eastern Oregon without seeing a gas station.