JoCoSAR Blog

Another Shan Creek Callout

 A call to help find a missing 41 year old man came in about 12:30 a.m.Monday morning.  Approximately 14 SAR members sstaged at an address on Shan Creek Road in the rain to help the sheriff who had been driving the area roads without finding any sign of him.  The man had apparently left the house he was staying in at bout 8 a.m. for a "nature walk" he routinely took to see wildlife.  He usually returned after about 21/2 to 3 hours, but not Sunday.  Dressed in dark and camo clothes, neither his direction of travel nor destination were known. 

We searched until at 5:45 a.m. in small teams through thick brush using ground pounders, an air scent and a trailing K9.  The dogs had picked up a possible scent down near the start of Shan Creek Road, but further investigations yielded no solid clues or the man.  It was judged wiser given how poor the visibility was to resume the search at 8 a.m..  The searchers returned home for an hour of sleep or headed off to find breakfast.

The search resumed as planned.  Fortunately, the man was found before noon "on a mountain" in reportedly good condition requiring no medical followup. He was returned to the house he was staying in as a guest. 

More info if and when it becomes available.

SAR orange barely visible in the middle of the picture. 

OSSA Academy Starts January 8th

 Successful completion of this training is required for everyone wishing to join Josephine County Search and Rescue.  There is reciprocity between counties for this training, i.e., successful completion of the academy in Jackson County will satisfy the Josephine County requirement.  

This training is open to the public though space is limited.  If you plan to attend and haven't let Shari know it, call the SAR office after December 28, 2009 during normal office hours to save a seat.  474-5300. If you are considering joining SAR, this is a great opportunity to meet SAR members and learn basic SAR skills.

The 2010 Josephine County OSSA Academy will run two weekends with testing on a third weekend if needed.  The Friday night sessions run from 6-10 p.m. and the Saturday and Sunday classes run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m..  The enrollment fee is $10.00.  Bring your lunch.


Fri - Sun, January 8-10

 Fri - Sun, January 15-17

 Sat, January 23   (if needed for testing)

OSSA=Oregon State Sheriffs' Association

Double Fisherman's Bend (knot)

When the rope to reach someone isn't long enough, this is the way two rescue ropes are fastened together... no, it's not a square knot.  The fisherman's bend is a very strong know that will not come undone when you are counting on it.  Everyone in search and rescue should know this knot cold.  It is the knot used to make the invaluable Prusik.  We will soon be reviewing a great little book on personal rope safety.

Shan Creek Rescue: List of Posts to Date

Those requesting a consolidated list of the Shan Creek Rescue post— here they are in order: 

Two Icy Road Tragedies in 18 hours

A Personal Account of the Shan Creek Rescue

Shan Creek Rescue: A Rescuer' Perspective From Over the Cliff

Stress Debrief: Shan Creek Rescue

From the Heart:  Shan Creek Rescue

Obituary For Brian DaVault

 

The Oregonian on Search and Rescue

Josephine County SAR is specifically commended in this article.  Shoulder patch and underlining added.

Searching with compassion, surviving with grace

By The Oregonian Editorial Board

December 17, 2009, 5:05PM

If you're looking for courage, dignity and faith this holiday season, it's in plain sight with search-and-rescue teams and the loved ones of the lost 

 

Volunteer rescuers march into the darkness of a winter storm on Mount Hood. A Coast Guardsman leans out of a helicopter hovering over a burning fishing boat. A grieving father of a lost climber praises the dedication and compassion of those who tried to find his son. A mother and two children make a surprise visit to the rescuers who searched for them in 2006. 

Yes, this is a busy time, but it's worth pausing to think about these moments, these stories of people lost, and the courage, compassion and grace found within searchers and the families of those they search for. 

Imagine about how hard it must have been for the fathers of those lost climbers, Anthony Vietti, 25, and Katie Nolan, 29, to accept that their children had perished and could not be found. And yet, when the two fathers, John Vietti and David Nolan, spoke to the news media in Timberline Lodge on Wednesday, after the search was suspended, they were remarkably composed and gracious about all those who had aided in the search and supported the families. 

Last Sunday afternoon, the same day volunteer rescuers were struggling to find Vietti and Nolan on a stormy Mount Hood, Kati Kim and her two young daughters walked unannounced into Josephine County Search and Rescue's Christmas party. The Kims were making their first visit back to the mountains west of Grants Pass since they were trapped there for 10 days in the winter of 2006. James Kim died when he tried to walk out for help. 

When Kati Kim and her girls, Sabine, now 4, and Penelope, 7, surprised the Josephine County rescuers at their Sunday party, "It was a jaw-dropping moment," said Kate O'Connor, one of the team's volunteers. O'Connor wrote in her blog, "... there was a collective gasp, a split-second of stunned silence and then a standing ovation for them all. There were choked throats, laughs and tears ...." 

So often the humanity of the rescuers and the people they look for is hidden from the rest of us, lost amid the clatter of helicopters and the careful parsing of information supplied to the news media. Too often we fill this void with second-guessing about the decision-making of those who are lost, or with overheated debates about mountain locators and who ought to be paying the bills for rescues. 

But what ought to be clearly seen and fully appreciated is the commitment and compassion of people who lead or belong to organizations such as the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Air Force Reserve's 304th Rescue Squadron, Portland Mountain Rescue, the U.S. Coast Guard and Josephine County Search and Rescue. Most of the people on Mount Hood this week, and most of those who spent many days looking for the Kims, were volunteers, there for no other reason than they wanted to help. 

Obituary For Brian DaVault

Obituary

Brian Roger DaVault

Brian Roger DaVault, 41, of Grants Pass died Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009, as the result of an automobile accident.  Services will be announced. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.chapel-valley.com.  

Contributions may be made to the Brian DaVault Family Donation Account at any branch of Umpqua Bank.

He was born Sept. 24, 1968, in Grants Pass to Maurice and Kathleen DaVault. In 1986, he graduated from North Valley High School.  He served in the Navy during the Gulf War for four years and was honorably discharged on Feb. 19, 1992. For 17 years, he worked as a drywall installer.

On July 22, 2006, in Grants Pass, he married Nicole "Nikki" Ford, who survives him.  He enjoyed hunting, football and being in the outdoors. He especially enjoyed spending time with his family and friends.

In addition to his wife, survivors include three daughters, Ciara, Alix and Gracelyn DaVault, all of Grants Pass; two sons, Brenden DaVault and Gabriel James, both of Grants Pass; his parents, Maurice and Kathleen DaVault of Grants Pass; a brother, Brad DaVault of Wellington, Colo.; and a sister, Janet Cappello of Central Point.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Visitation:

• Friday December 18 
  5:30 PM to 7:00 PM 
• Chapel of the Valley - L.B. Hall
• 2065 Upper River Road
• Grants Pass, OR
• View Map

Funeral Service:

• Saturday December 19 
  10:00 AM 
• Calvary Chapel
• 235 SE 7th St.
• Grants Pass, OR 97526
• View Map

"Returning, With Grace, to a Painful Place"

DECEMBER 17, 2009, 2:59 PM

Returning, With Grace, to a Painful Place

By MICHELLE QUINN

It is a story that still haunts, three years later.

A San Francisco family on a Thanksgiving car trip became stranded in the mountains of southern Oregon after having taken a wrong turn off I-5 and becoming caught in the snow. Search and rescue teams found Kati Kim and her two daughters alive, but James Kim, a technology editor at CNet, had left the family to seek help. A commercial satellite was rerouted to search for Mr. Kim; he was found three days later in Big Windy Creek, dead from hypothermia.

Last week, Kati Kim and her daughters, Sabine, now 4, and Penelope, 7, walked unannounced into the Christmas party for Josephine County’s Search and Rescue. The family, which was visiting the site where they were stranded for the first time, had been asked to come to the party as a surprise for the volunteers, some who had been part of the team who had looked for the Kim family.


The rescue volunteers gave the family a standing ovation, said a blogger on the group’s website.

Mr. Kim’s death led to increased coordination of rescue units and more signs along the route. An investigation by state authorities found communication gaps but concluded that Mr. Kim could not have been saved by better performance.

Kati Kim runs a boutique in San Francisco. A freelance writer, Kate Kotler, is working on a book about the Kim disaster titled “Nowhere Warm.”

Daily Courier's Story on the Kim Visit

Kim family makes poignant return to site of stranding

From left, Sabine Kin, Sara Rubrecht, Penelope Kim and Kati Kim gather at the Josephine County Search and Rescue building Sunday for a Christmas party.

By Jeff Duewel of the Daily Courier    December 16, 2009

Last weekend, James Kim's wife, Kati, and their two young daughters returned to the place where they were stranded for more than a week, and where he died trying to save them.

It was their first visit since the tragedy three years ago in the mountains west of Grants Pass, a 10-day-long saga that captured the nation.

"It was a long, emotional day for everyone," Sara Rubrecht, Josephine County EmergencyServices manager, said of the family's return.

No evidence of the tragedy remains where the Kims were stranded in their Saab station wagon, Rubrecht said.

On Sunday afternoon, Kati and the girls, Sabine, now 4, and Penelope, 7, walked unannounced into Josephine County's Search and Rescue's Christmas party. Some of the searchers had just returned from their second harrowing car-wreck rescue in two days.

"It was a jaw-dropping moment," said Kate O'Connor, SAR volunteer.

Rubrecht had contacted Kati about a month ago and asked her to come, as a surprise.

On the group's blog, O'Connor wrote:
"... there was a collective gasp, a split second of stunned silence and then a standing ovation for them all.

"There were choked throats, laughs and tears throughout the gathering as SAR members let themselves recall events and the emotions of December 2006," O'Connor wrote.

"The Kim's experience had a profound effect on our SAR unit and it still is a powerful motivational force. Many of our members joined SAR right after that search, because they wanted to become part of the solution when someone needed to be found or rescued. "

James Kim was a well-known San Francisco journalist who took his family on a trip to Portland and Seattle for Thanksgiving of 2006.

On the way home, the Kims got lost while trying to get from I-5 to a lodge in Gold Beach.

They were the latest of many to run into winter problems on Bear Camp Road, a winding, one-lane road that climbs to more than 4,500 feet and is normally snowbound in winter.

In a snowstorm, the Kims turned down a remote road and drove 22 miles into the Wild Rogue Canyon.

More than a week later, helicopter pilot John Rachor spotted Kati and the girls near their car, but three days later, James was found dead from hypothermia in Big Windy Creek, after he tried to walk out for help.

The disaster created increased coordination of rescue units, and more signs along the route. It also launched an investigation by state authorities, who found gaps in communication, but did not conclude James Kim could have been saved with better performance.

Today, Kati runs a boutiquein San Francisco, Rubrecht said.

"The girls are amazing," Rubrecht said. "They miss their dad tremendously. I don't know if I can give you the words. Sabine is the most amazingly beautiful, healthy, happy little girl and Penelope is protective and smart. Kati is strong and full of energy and incredibly intelligent. She has things figured out."

The Kims were accompanied this time by a freelance writer, Kate Kotler, who is working on a book about the Kim disaster, "Nowhere Warm," and by family friend Scott Nelson, who helped get the search started from San Francisco.

Rubrecht, Rachor, the Kims, Nelson and Kotler all piled in a truck to make Saturday's trip, which included a snowball fight and the girls making a snowman.

Kotler had high praise for searchers and county officials in a computer blog entitled "Northern Adventure."

"These people are nothing short of heroes. Basically, they willingly put themselves into very, very dangerous situations on a regular basis for no other reason but to help others.

"I was honestly blown away -- emotionally, intellectually -- by every single person I met this weekend. These are honest, good, caring people who helped to restore a little bit of my faith in humanity into my bitter jaded heart."

Please Give to Support Our Work!

 We've had lots of extra traffic in response to recent events.  We are glad you came and hope you return often to see what we do. You can help us do what we do through your donations.

Rescue gear and training cost a lot of money.  We depend on donations from our friends and the community--who recognize that the search, rescue, and emergency services we provide 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, is worth their investment.  We help anyone in need, but we need your financial support to do it.

Please donate what you can.  Search and rescue is an expensive but vital endeavor! The ropes used in the recent rescue cost $4,000--and that's nothing compared to the cost of our specialized vehicles and other equipment. And it all has to be maintained and replaced -- after a major rescue, for example, ropes cannot be reused again safely because of the strain placed on them.  Your donation--however large or small--can make all the difference.

Please consider making a donation to support our work.  Hit the PayPal button and make a secure online donation or send check to "Search and Rescue," P.O. Box 814, Grants Pass, OR 97528

We are an all-volunteer, non-profit organization (501(c)(3) so your donations are tax deductible. 

Correction:  The cost of two 600 foot 11mm ropes would be closer to $1200.

From the Heart: Shan Creek Rescue

We are a small, fairly close-knit community here in the Rogue Valley.  There is a lot of mutual aid when we have an emergency.   It was just 3 years ago this month that we all felt with all our hearts for the Kim family.  How eerie it was for the rescuers to have, again, a nice family of 5 undergo a tragedy in this area that cost them their dad and husband.  

Here are some of the comments from readers about the Shan Creek Rescue:

Angela Nannenhorn said:

THANK YOU TO ALL INVOLVED! My six year old nephew is one of the children you saved that night! Although he is still in ICU recovering from his internal injuries - he would not be here now if not for all of you! Every one of you is a hero and will always hold a special place in my heart for saving him, his mother and sisters, and for fighting so hard to save his step fathers life! You all risk your lives every time you are called out and every person in OR is extremely lucky to know that you all are there, waiting for that call when they will need it most! Kisses, hugs and a very Merry Christmas wish to all of you from me and my family!!! Thank you again!

Catherine said:

I am the mother of the teenage girl and her name is Ciara. I thank all of you so much for what you did. I thank you so much for being with her down there when I could not be with her.It gives a little bit of comfort to know she had you all there helping and comforting her. She is now home and recovering from her injuries.She is devistated by the lost of her father.Brian also has two other children not with him that night. They are just trying to come to grips with it all.It is going to be difficult through the holidays but some how we will all get through this.I just wanted you to know that we give much thanks and love to all of you who helped that night and no matter what you say you are indeed HEROES!!!!!

Tony said:

Thank you!!! Thank you!!! Thank you!!! I'm Tony James the uncal of gabrial, the 6 year old boy you saved. I live in Seattle now and this has been so hard not being there. With tears in my eyes, You were there! My brothers son is not out of the woods yet but he is on the road and not over the cliff. I send all of you love, light, and protection in all you do. Thank you.