Member-only story
The Kim family tragedy
How one man saved his entire family from certain death
When the Kim family was returning home from their vacation, the last thing they expected was to be trapped in freezing cold weather, stuck in their car with several bears walking around. With no food and no heat, how could this family possibly survive?
About the Kim family
James and Kati Kim loved their two daughters more than anything. James was known to bring his seven-month-old and his four-year-old daughters to work with him at a tech company even when he wasn’t supposed to. Kati worked full-time to run their two boutique stores located in California and spent much of her time with their daughters as well. The family was very happy and they had everything that they needed.
How it all began
The Kim family decided to spent Thanksgiving of 2006 with some of their family in Seattle. While this trip was for family time and fun, it also served another purpose. The Kim family had been looking for a new place to live and they thought Seattle would be a good fit. They spent the holiday with their family and then on November 24th, 2006, they began their drive home.
The family made a quick stop in Portland so that Kati could have lunch with one of her friends. They spent the night in a hotel.
The original plan was for the family to drive all the way back to their home in San Francisco, California. Kati suggested that they stay in Portland for part of the day, drive halfway home and then stay somewhere else for the night instead of driving all day. James thought it was a good idea too and they pulled out a road map. They found a nice spot for them to stop that was basically right between where they were and their home. The family-friendly spot that had found was called the Tu Tu’ Tun Lodge and it was an inn located near Gold Beach.
The Kim family left Portland later that afternoon and began driving South. At about 9:00 pm, the family grew hungry and pulled off the road to get some late dinner at a Denny’s. From this restaurant to the lodge was about a two-and-a-half-hour drive.
However, when they were about two hours into their drive, James realized that he had missed their…
