In checking the repeater director, it looks like there were several repeaters in reasonable proximity to where the Kims were stranded. But without having the exact location of the repeaters I don't know whether or not there was a line of sight from where they were to the repeaters.

From the location of the KIM vehicle, I doubt they would have been able to get out with a HT (portable) radio to the local ham repeater. They may have had some limited success if using a mobile (shoulda..coulda..woulda..)

From my point (near the upper end of the Big Windy Creek drainage) I was not able to get out with a portable to the repeater. Some local search crews were using the repeater for coordination (along with local public safety channels). Almost all of the search crews were using portable radios for coordination and of course, mobile radios.

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Consumer electronics are inheritly under-powered and have short runtimes at full power. Using an electronic means for rescue, besides a PLB or Satellite Phone is not the best method of trying to be rescued. Radio requires a transmitter and receiver to both be matched up to receive a signal. If you don't have this match, you don't communicate. You need to be on a frequency that is known to be monitored 24/7, or at least monitored in a known regular fashion like a wilderness protocol. You also have to have enough juice in your transmitter to effectively communicate. Otherwise, you'll hear them, and they won't hear you.

Visual communications are better since no electronics are needed between the source and your eyes. Flares and signal mirrors can be detected in peripheral vision, where as radio signals don't have such a benefit of peripheral vision, except at close range.

In a disaster or rescue situation, don't think digital, think analog.

It seems very dependant on brand, model, etc also. Remember these were deisgned to be point to point communications so each maker tweaks the design a bit so they work best within their own brands. Comms like HAM or CB were designed to broadcast to anyone listening so they tend to be more standardized.
I was showing my handheld CB to someone and they kept asking where the other one was and couldn't get it that there doesn't need to be another one paired with it as it was designed to talk to anyone not another single one.

most any scanner should be able to scan through all those frequencies assuming its programmed for them.

We have some hand held two-way radios . They work on 4-AAA batteries. I used regular batteries and my friends used rechargable batteries. I have the radio on all the time we were hunting, but only used once in a while during the day. We hunted for 3 days and my batteries were ok, but my friends with rechargable batteries have to charge them everyday. I carried with me a set of spares just in case but I did not needed them. We kept the radios on at all times for an emergency situation but used only once in a while if we going to change places.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. I think I am going to skip installing the CB and stick with the cell phone plus the GMRS, at least for now. I'll probably spring for a PLB eventually, especially if they get cheaper.

Some electronics won't work with rechargables as they don't like the lower voltage. With 4 batteryes your 1.2v lower (6v compared to 4.8v). Christmas eve we needed some C batteries which nothing prep/survival related takes so I don't keep spares for those. Pulled some out of the little radio/cd player my wife has in the bathtub and checked it first to make sure it worked so I assumed they were good then popped them in the to and nothing. Went to a Pharmacy that was open and bought some C cells and poppend them in and it worked fine. My older digicam is like that too, even though it came with NiMH AAA batteries I can get more pictures from lithium AA. It could just be that those radios don't like the lower voltage and think the batteries are discharged too soon. The old walkie talkies we had when I was young had two dummy batteries you placed in two of the 8 slots when you used alkaline or you could take them out and use 8 NiCad. My new walkie talkie works the same way buy it has removable packs that hold 6 and 8. Your 4 cell radios would probably last a long time if they had an extra slot to run from 5 rechargeables so the start voltages matched.
I'm still testing my new radio on rechargeables, it was designed for 8 nicads but I don't want to have to stock another type (have alk, nimh, lithium already) so for now I'm charging 8 NiMH's outside of it and topping them off monthly to take care of the self discharge. I want to do a test comparing freshly charged cells with cells that had sat for a month to see if the self discharge makes much of a difference and if the NiMH will work then bypass the simple NiCad charging circuit and buy/build an external NiMh charger,

If they know you have a radio with you, they may be able to find you that much quicker as well. I have a CB & FRS radio in my jeep, as well as my cell. I agree that the more, the better. No one WANTS to be in a survival situation (for too long, anyway), and, the faster the rescue, the better. The more ways to contact someone, the better as well.

I just found this site:
http://www.wilsonelectronics.com/ListProducts.php?Type=11

They manufacture cell phone power amplifiers. They can pump out up to three watts of raw, untamed cell phone muscle (about ten times the power of a small cell phone). They cost in the $250 to $350 range, though (you can froogle the model numer for prices). Not too much cheaper than a PLB, but still pretty neat.