Stuck in snow with now help in sight; what do YOU do?

[NVP5White]

Tragedy struck the Kim family as the body of James Kim, CNET.com editor, was found in Big Windy Creek in southern Oregon. It appears that the Kim's made a wrong turn onto a logging road and became stuck in the snow on November 25th. James Kim left the family to find help when they ran out of gasoline to heat the car and food for their two young children. It appears that Kim made a desperate 7 mile hike that ended when he became stuck in a part of the creek that was surrounded by very steep and rocky terrain.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/07/MNGH6MR3191.DTL

When I read something like this, I immediately say to myself "what would I do in that situation." We try not to think about such life and death situations, but the fact of the matter is, it can happen to anyone and the decisions you make can save your life.

So, with a 3/4 full tank of gas, a station wagon of unknown make, a wife and two young children with just three days of baby food, what do you do?

 

[tviera]

Eat the kids and try to make more with the wife to keep warm. Its a win win situation.

 

[genericuser]

I usually keep a small bag of kitty litter in my trunk during the winter.. it usually helps get some traction.

 

[Boosted03MSP]

I wouldnt be dumb enough to drive in that situation. I would drive on the highway like a normal person. not taking twisty backroads to save time, and cut threw a snowy mountain. But hey thats me...LOL


I say eat the kids and upper half of the wife. Save her lower half for keeping warm. hahaha. Just kidding...or am I. lol

 

[Tengo]

I say eat the kids and upper half of the wife. Save her lower half for keeping warm. hahaha. Just kidding...or am I. lol

that is sooooo wrong, but funny, lol

 

[VividMP5]

Man, that's sad! I'm suprised that they didn't have a cellphone with them. Also, it would of been nice to have a GPS in the first place so they wouldn't have gotten lost. Nontheless, it's a terrible tragedy.

 

[NVP5White]

Man, that's sad! I'm suprised that they didn't have a cellphone with them. Also, it would of been nice to have a GPS in the first place so they wouldn't have gotten lost. Nontheless, it's a terrible tragedy.

They did have cell phones but dd not have a strong or consistant signal. The police used a 'ping' from one of their phones to narrow-down the field of search.

On another note, you would think that an editor at the internet's most popular gadget review site would have a car or hand-held GPS device...maybe a GPS enable phone or Blackberry.

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

they had a cellphone. thats how they were able to find them. The signal was too weak to make a call but they were able to track a weak cell signal in that area and thats how the mother & kids were found...

Man, that's sad! I'm suprised that they didn't have a cellphone with them. Also, it would of been nice to have a GPS in the first place so they wouldn't have gotten lost. Nontheless, it's a terrible tragedy.

 

[Boosted03MSP]

I could keep a s*** load of fireworks in my trunk in case that ever happened. Or eat my family so i can survive, as stated above. I can always make a new family...lol

 

[GreyMan]

They did have cell phones but dd not have a strong or consistant signal. The police used a 'ping' from one of their phones to narrow-down the field of search.

On another note, you would think that an editor at the internet's most popular gadget review site would have a car or hand-held GPS device...maybe a GPS enable phone or Blackberry.

maybe cnet doesnt pay their editors enough? eh? some companies dont pay editors s***. i know this from expierence.

 

[Donas64]

I'm sorry but I just can't joke about this case. One of the saddest things I've heard in a long time. The man died trying to find help for his family.

But on the topic on what would I have done: I'd have run the car periodically to conserve gas and run the heater. I would have stayed put though and hopefully had some sort of container to melt the snow and have a steady supply of water. If I'd left the car at all, it would have been to try and get a better signal but I would not have gone out of visible range of the vehicle. This is just a tragic tragic case.

 

[Donas64]

CNET tribute to him

http://news.com.com/2009-12-6141617.html?tag=cnetfd.ld1

 

[justanotheradikt]

from that tribute, it seems that he would have had some type of gps...any idea why he would have gone down that road?


oh and thank god i dont live anywhere where it snows...so chances of me being in that situation are slim....not really sure what i would do. i guess just not go out of sight, but this is a horrible thing.

 

[1Sleepy93]

So, with a 3/4 full tank of gas, a station wagon of unknown make, a wife and two young children with just three days of baby food, what do you do?

Car was a Saab.

I personally question how they got so stuck they couldn't get out of there for the time they were missing. But lets say conditions were just that bad and there was no hope to get the car moving no matter what. What I would do was mentioned earlier and only run the car when needed to keep warm. I'd probably also scout for some wood or something and make a fire instead of trying to solely rely on the car as a source of heat. Once I got to a 1/4 tank of gas I'd probably try to make a better shelter around the fire. Ultimately though I'd probably try to find a better location for cell reception.

 

[tviera]

The cure all

 

[awsmp5]

that is sad... but you'd expect him to have gps or sumthing niffty like people said

 

[NVP5White]

For the record, if I werein this position once I determined that the situation was 'act-now-or-die' I would have tapped the fuel tank, gathered as much wood as possible, and lit one hell of a forest fire. Screw trees, I want to live.

BTW, if he continued down the logging road 5 miles he would have come to a hunting lodge, or somethign. While the lodge was closed for the winter it was checked several times by search crews. They would have found them in no time. I suppose when push comes to shove, a person is going to take drastic measures that may not always be the best option for finding help.

 

[Chiguy_2002]

It is a sad story indeed. Hopefully I would never get stuck in that kind of situation, makes me want to bring along blankets or survival gear in the car just in case. I would have ran the car occasionally to keep warm, and only left to see if I can get a better signal, but stay within site of the car. Chances of survival would be better if you stayed near the car. Depending on how long it would be, also gather up wood to make a fire to keep warm, and somehow make a shelter, if need be.

 

[Donas64]

I just pray that none of us ever finds ourselves in that situation. I mean this guy had his whole life ahead of him, loving wife, 2 beautiful kids, only in his early thrities, had his own small business and was doing a job he loved. Stories like this remind us that life is precious. This guy has my FULL respect for giving his life in an attempt to save his family. Many of us talk the talk, this guy walked the walk.

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

(werd)

I just pray that none of us ever finds ourselves in that situation. I mean this guy had his whole life ahead of him, loving wife, 2 beautiful kids, onlt in his early thrities, had his own small business and was doing a job he loved. Stories like this remind us that life is precious. This guy has my FULL respect for giving his life in an attempt to save his family. Many of us talk the talk, this guy walked the walk.