Kati Kim's Story

The Oregon State Sheriff's Association came out today with a massive report on the search for the Kim family after they went missing on their way south from Portland after Thanksgiving. Most of the attention will focus on the tension, backbiting and inefficiency among officials (and some citizens) in the two counties most involved in the search--Jackson and Josephine. But the piece of the report I find most fascinating is the first detailed public account from Kati Kim of what happened before and after the family stranded itself on a Bureau of Land Management road near the Rogue River.

When she was debriefed at a hospital in Grants Pass, immediately after being rescued with her two daughters, she said "things were very stressful" as the family's ordeal continued. The debriefer wrote that she "went on to say that the morning James left that 'he had a somewhat wild look in his eyes.' Kati was questioned further on this issue and she just went on to say it was stressful as she had been angry about James getting the family in the predicament they were in and that he was intent on 'doing something' to help."

The sheriff's association report says that Kati Kim called Klamath County Sheriff Tim Evinger, who coordinated the review of the Kim search, "to share her family’s story in an effort to help others from repeating their experience. " Here are excerpts from the report's account of her narrative:

"... Kati and her husband, James, did not see any indication that the roads to the coast from Merlin were not being traveled. There were several indicators that led them to just the opposite conclusion.

"The Kim’s stopped at a gas station in Merlin after exiting Interstate 5. After missing their exit near Roseburg, they pulled out an Oregon map that they carried in the car that showed a straight shot to the coast. James went into the gas station with his map to get some clarifications about directions while Kati stayed in the Saab with the girls. James came back to the car frustrated. He thought that the attendant gave “strange directions” and that the man was acting like he didn’t understand what James was asking. Kati felt that he definitely didn’t communicate that it was a dangerous route.

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"The Kim’s continued towards the coast following their map and the road signs. At first, it was very dark but the weather was dry and not even raining for the first part of their journey. Kati remembered seeing a snowplow parked along side the road as they continued and made a mental note that the road must be one that is maintained.

"Kati also noticed that the road was narrowing and thought that it might be challenging to pass an oncoming car with the amount of space available. They continued following small signs that directed them to the “coast.” She also remembers in this rural area seeing an olive green mailbox with a reflector on it. This made her think that there must be ranger station or some residents in the area. A short time later, they made a turn that went “up” and noticed a sign that stated “Road May be Blocked by Snowdrifts 6 Miles Ahead.” Kati advised that this was the very first indication that the roads they were on are not traveled like they initially thought.

"At nearly the same moment that they started past the sign, it began snowing and they ran across snow on the road. James wanted to turn around on the road but Kati thought it was too dangerous given how narrow the road was combined with the darkness and the steep sides. Both James and Kati noticed tire tracks in the snow but could not distinguish if they were fresh. Kati was certain that they were going to be headed down the coastal side of the range any minute, but then they ran across a hill that took them up into more snow.

"James opened the driver’s door of the car and carefully backed down the road to the intersection below the warning sign. It was at this point that the Kim’s attempted to call 9-1-1 on all three of the cell phones they were carrying. They were not able to get a signal on any of them. Two of them were their personal phones and the third belonged to James’ employer. They had it with them because it was believed to have better roaming coverage and service. It was starting to snow harder so they made a decision to take the road that went lower. Thinking that lower road would get them out of the snow zone, they continued on. The road became so narrow that turning around became more difficult. The paved road turned to gravel. The Kim’s initially took the road up to the left, backed down in the snow and then took the lower road down to the right. Both are paved at this point.

"At about 2 o’clock in the morning, the Kim’s knew they were definitely disoriented and chose to park their car at a “T” intersection. They thought there was a good chance that one of the plows might be by during the night or in the morning.

"When they awoke, it was raining at the altitude where they were parked. They knew that to get back out, they would have to go up through the snow zone. They could hear a noise in the distance that they believed to be snowplows at work. They later realized that is was the sound of the water in the nearby Rogue River. They used more of the remaining gas in the car to stay warm. They used the heater and turned on the heated seats in the Saab. Weighing the fact that they would have to travel back up in altitude and that they were lost in a maze of roads, they chose to stay put and conserve the remaining gas for heat. The Kims were confident that a ranger would be along soon. ...

"... No one showed up and the Kims stayed their first full night parked on the road. The Kims awoke Monday morning, November 27 th, to heavy snowfall. Kati described the snowfall as having “bent the tree branches nearly to the ground.”
Kati told of her survival plan that she made as soon as her and James knew they were lost for an extended period. She planned on having the food in the car last for two weeks, even if it meant “one mouthful a day”. In fact, Kati stated that there was some rice cereal left when they were rescued. Kati put snow into bottles and warmed them in the sun for drinking water and she breast fed the two girls. She also related the three rules that she and James agreed on while at the car.
1. No getting wet.
2. No getting hurt.
3. No getting sick.

"James and Kati moved all their belongings to the front seat and laid the seats down in the back of the car. They were all able to sleep together, keep each other warm and sleep more comfortably than in the seats. The Kim’s were able to listen to a distant radio station which they thought was out of Seattle. They couldn’t pick up any local stations as they tried to listen for weather forecasts. Kati stated that they only had household wall chargers for the cell phones with them.

"The Kims then worked on putting out signs and signals near their car. They would walk to the open gate to check on it about five times a day and they stomped out “SOS” in the snow. They thought of who might report them missing and worried about those back home who counted on them. Kati and James also honked the car horn often and yelled for help.

"Four days after getting lost and eventually snowbound, James and Kati were studying the Oregon map in their car. They noticed “a tiny box” up in the corner of the map that had the message: “Not all Roads Advisable, Check Weather Conditions." ...

"... The car completely ran out of the rationed gas by Thursday, November 30 th. Kati related that at this point, James was keeping a fire going everyday. They decided to take the spare tire out of the car and burn it on their warming fire in hopes of signaling help.

"James punctured the tire and put in onto the fire. The smoke was black but the trees were so tall that the smoke seemed to dissipate before it got above the timber.

"On Friday, November 1st [sic; actual date was December 1], Kati and James decided to build a bigger fire and burn more tires to again try to get someone’s attention. They first took two tires off the car and got a good deal of black smoke going. They then furthered their effort by putting the other two tires on the fire as well as finding anything “caustic” in the car to burn to create black smoke. Kati walked down the road a ways to get a look at the plume. She said that this time it was getting above the trees and might be visible to someone. Kati stated, “If they won’t come save us, maybe they will come save their forest,” referring to the rangers who still had not come by. The Kims were still expecting someone to be by in a four wheel drive “anytime.”

"The signal fire had just “fizzled” out when Kati and James heard a helicopter in the area. James frantically tried to relight the fire hoping those in the helicopter might see it. It was so damp and wet that he couldn’t get the fire going again. Kati describes that afternoon, near dark about 4:30, as one of the toughest moments of their ordeal. They realized they had another night in the car.

"James and Kati discussed a plan where James was going to set out on foot to look for help. Kati recounts “James left us with the belief that there was a town called Galice only about four miles from our camp. He thought this town would have amenities, and would be located next to the river. There were, in fact, signposts with numbers posted directly in front of us and to the right of our camp, but we could not discern the meaning of these numbers.” He had barely eaten over the past week, “saving the food for the babies”. James took lighters, scissors and extra colorful clothes with him. Kati remembers that he left at “exactly 7:46” Friday morning. James was going to cut strips of cloth and tie the strips to trees so that he could mark his way back to the car. James was to turn around by 1 o’clock that afternoon. He never returned. James had a watch on when he left. Kati states that it was not working when the watch was returned to her later, after James was found.