Maybe it comes from a lifetime of digging people out of the holes they dug themselves in, but I have no problem stopping, turning around, asking directions, etc. My wife and I like to take our little 4WD out onto forest service roads, many of which are in really nasty shape. I have lost count of how many times we have been tooling happily along some beat up road, come upon a really nasty spot, and made the decision to turn around. It is much easier to do that than to spend hours/days/the rest of your life trying to get out of that hole you just put yourself in. It has nothing to do with macho, bravado, or any of that crap. It is called common sense. Something that seems to be in short and shorter supply...

Once they got into the situation they did, he did a herculean effort to try to save his family.
But perhaps the biggest take away is that your greatest resource that you have with you is your brain. Once you get into a bad situation, then your preparedness may determine the outcome. But if you are thinking that it is dark, there are no other cars, the roads are not plowed, I have to stick my head out the window just to see; then no event on the other side is too important, no reservation deposit is too great to have to push on. Stop, re-think the situation, and determine how to get back to a familiar or safe or stable situation. Turn around, but if the conditions don’t improve at find a safe place to wait it out. If anyone else can learn from that, then Kim will have provided more than just education on MP3 players.

As always clothes appropriate for conditions, maybe not always artic sleeping bags but at least snow boots and appropriate jacket. You may not be prepared to be lost, but at least be prepared to at least change a tire.

Just wanted to pass along a link to "The Oregonian" newspaper which has an extensive article this Sunday, 12/17/06:

"Confusion hampered search for Kims"

There seems to be some blame and finger-pointing from both sides of the fence. I suspect this tragedy is going to manifest itself into a lawsuit on the part of the family.

That article made me ill.

" suspect this tragedy is going to manifest itself into a lawsuit on the part of the family. "

Which will drain $ from the state and national forestry and parks service budget so more state/national forests and parks will close.

"I suspect this tragedy is going to manifest itself into a lawsuit on the part of the family."

And why should it not? The authorities there have freely admitted that people seem to die there all the time (a slight exaggeration), and nothing seems to change.

No wonder that law enforcement (et al) consistently fails to coordinate their communication: they can fall back on the old, timeworn excuse when they fail because of their egos and lack of competence.

Let the lawsuits drain Josephine County right into oblivion... maybe the taxpayers will finally revolt and insist that they get their pathetic act together.

For what we pay in taxes, why do we have to rely on volunteer civilians to get the job done?

It's been FIVE YEARS since the WTC went down, there have been decades of hurricanes, and law enforcement hasn't changed one iota. They feed their egos at the expense of people's lives.

Sue

With the canceling of the "O&C Funds" (Federal payments for public land that can't be used to collect taxes, generate revenue, etc.), many rural counties are already broke. Thriving timber and logging operations used to generate money in the communities -- but no longer. A lawsuit can't tap into what doesn't exist.

Being short on money and short on staff makes it a requirement to rely on volunteers, especially for search and rescue. Without them I doubt most places would even have a search and rescue team. I agree with you though, taxes should be spent wisely. But in rural areas we'll never see a fully-paid SAR team. There just isn't enough overhead.

I respectfully disagree as far as punishing the taxpayers of the county -- that isn't the answer. Holding individuals accountable for their actions is; and that includes everyone involved, both the Kim family (poor decisions) and the authorities (poor communication and/or coordination).

Hmm. Interesting article. Sad, certainly.

I take away a different perspective tho. I think that if we really want to see a SAR operation like the one needed to find Kim and his family in time, we need dedicated professional team at a higher level like the state level.

To expect a county to be well versed in a large scale, complex SAR operation is just too much IMO.

You need people who spend their time studying these types of operations, learning and planning.

Let's think about all the things needed in order for this to go right...

1) They would have to have clear understanding of their resources, both government and civilian.
2) They would have had to have a very good chain of information flow and processing.
3) They would have to have good understanding about technology, or at least resources to call upon to help them.
4) They'd have to have a clear command authority for resources.
5) They'd have to have reasonable amounts of the right kinds of resources.
6) They'd have to have good planning and procedures.
7) They'd have to have good planning for cross jurisdictional interaction. Even with state wide authority, you'll still have cases that cross state lines, etc.
8) The managers of these operations need experience.

This just isn't going to happen at the county level IMO. Heck, we'd probably be lucky to do it at the state level.

-john

Sadly this is not all that uncommon. Several years ago, in the area where I was working, several people saw a bright flash and brief fire on a mountainside one night. Two people, one the editor of the local paper and a long time resident of the area, took compass sightings from three separate locations, and reported them to authorities. No search aircraft were avaliable that night. The next day, a plane was reported missing on a flight that would have passed thru that area. The local county authorities did not have their own aircraft, but got the use of a military chopper. But they completely discounted the sigthings reported, and searched an area far away. Another person, a private pilot, heard the story and reported that the "flash" probably occured on the flight path between two VOR sights (aircraft navigation aids). Still the authorities searched in an area far away. Finally two locals got on their dirt bikes and went to the area reported, finding a smoking hole containing the remains of an aircraft and its occupants. And where was this smoking hole? Take a map, draw in the lines of the three compass reading provided, and the line between the VOR's, and there it was, right where the lines cross. Sometimes the people in charge seem to get so impressed with their own importance that they refuse to listen to anyone else

I suspect it is more of a case of tunnel vision.

-john