James Kim, a CNet.com editor that went missing, was found dead at 3:00 p.m. ET Wednesday. His family had been found alive after they went missing November 25, 2006. The Kim family went on vacation to the Pacific Northwest, but got lost when they were returning to Portland. Searchers found Kati Kim, 30, and their 4 year old and 7 month old daughters, Penelope and Sabine. The family was airlifted to a hospital in Grants Pass. All three were in good condition, but James Kim was still missing and found dead today.
Search teams have been looking for James, who was on-foot after leaving his family in their car for help. He was wearing tennis shoes, pants and a heavy coat, but no hat in Oregon’s snowy coastal mountains. Dr. Jon Jui, professor of emergency medicine at Oregon Health and Science University, said that James Kim could suffer from severe hypothermia after search teams found a pair of gray pants. His cause of death has not been determined.
Kim’s body was found in an area near where searchers earlier found his clothing, perhaps an effort to mark his trail. “That was some of our frustration; we could never seem to get ahead of him,” Brian Anderson, Undersheriff of Josephine County said. “He was at the bottom of the drainage, within a half mile of the Rogue River.” Kim’s body will be examined at the state crime lab. “Most of us have breathed and lived this for days, and yeah, we do take (Kim’s death) personally,” Anderson told CNN. Our hearts go out to his family and the staff of CNet.
