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CNN Larry King Live

Interview With James Kim's Co-Workers

Aired December 07, 2006 - 21:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, the autopsy results of the tragic death and human drama that gripped America. James Kim's heroic efforts to save his snowbound wife and little daughters are now being called superhuman. And now in an exclusive first interview with James Kim's boss, we'll get insights into this man who hiked some 10 miles in his street clothes through freezing wilderness only to have his body found about a half mile from the car he left days before.
Plus, powerful personal stories from people who survived being stranded by snow in the middle of nowhere. It is all next on LARRY KING LIVE.

Good evening -- lots of guests tonight, covering lots of areas. If that launch goes, the space shuttle scheduled for 9:35 Eastern, 6:35 Pacific -- there you see it on the launch pad -- we will carry it for you live and go right to it. Right now they're saying OK with some weather threats in doubt.

Let's begin with our top story of the day. On the phone is Lieutenant Gregg Hastings, spokesman for the Oregon State Police. In Central Point, Oregon is Joe Hyatt, a member of the Volunteer Swift Water Rescue Team who participated in the search for James Kim. He's also a captain with the Rural Metro Fire Department in Grants Pass.

We'll start on the phone with Lieutenant Hastings. What -- Lieutenant, what was the cause of death?

LT. GREGG HASTINGS, OREGON STATE POLICE (via phone): Well according to Dr. James Olson (ph) of the Oregon State Medical Examiner's Office, the cause of death was determined to be exposure with hypothermia. There were no injuries to the body that would have been incapacitating according to Dr. Olson. And -- but he cannot determine at this point the approximate time that Mr. Kim died.

KING: Now he was found about a mile from where his wife and the kids were. Do you think he went further than that? How do you explain that close distance?

HASTINGS: Well it looks like just the route that he took, unknowingly brought him back towards -- about a mile within the car, but that would be in a straight-line. The -- for him to even get there, he would have had to climb about 1,000 feet in elevation just to get to the top of a ridge before going back down to the other side and in an area where the car was at, but it still would have been extremely challenging even if he would have been able to make that.

KING: And frankly speaking, Lieutenant, it is a terrible way to die, isn't it?

HASTINGS: Well, it probably is. This man went through a lot. You know he was trying to save his family. There is no doubt about that given the conversation he had with his wife before he left the car.

KING: Joe Hyatt, tell us about your part in this search.

CAPT. JOE HYATT, GRANTS PASS, OREGON, RURAL METRO FIRE DEPT.: We were called in due to the hazardous area. He entered in a deep ravine into the drainage. Both sides of the creek was a sheer rock wall. We're talking windfall, trees, very cold icy conditions. We still had snow on the bottom where he was located at. The other searchers tried to enter that area but were driven back simply because they would have had to have physically entered the water to continue. Our team had specialty dry suits that allow us to enter the water and continue to search. It's just a testament that it took us approximately an hour to go 500 meters. We would normally cover that distance in 15 minutes. It was just absolutely treacherous to get through there.

KING: Do you think his effort was superhuman, Joe?

HYATT: Yes, I do. I can only give -- a hero doesn't even begin to say what Mr. Kim did. I would only hope that I would have the same fortitude in light of trying to save my family. I just -- my prayers are out to his family and, again, superhuman, he is the definition of a hero.

KING: During the search, did you have hopes you would find him alive?

HYATT: Of course we did. That's what we're out there for is to bring somebody back home. Unfortunately it didn't happen this time. But we were able to recover Mr. Kim and at least hopefully give the family some closure.

KING: you found the body?

HYATT: No, I did not. I was in a different area than he was found. We were upstream searching what had turned up earlier in an infrared imagery as some hot spots in a likely area that he would be in.

KING: Lieutenant Hastings, did he leave any kind of note?

HASTINGS: I'm not aware of a note that he left with his wife. There was a lot of conversation that they had and someone said that there was a note that was found on the road but I haven't seen that. But he brought things with him to try to definitely help him mark his way. And there was some things that were left, whether or not those were intentional or not, we can only assume that. But he had a plan. He had a lot of time to think about it.

They talked it over for a few days while it was snowing very hard and they were barely even able to get out of their car just for minor things to take care of and try to get some berries off the ground, maybe get snow for water purposes. But he had a plan. He just knew he was headed somewhere. He was trying to find a road where he could maybe flag someone down.

But unknowingly he was about 15 miles from Bear Camp Road, which was the main road he was trying to take over to get (inaudible) from Grants Pass. And then also there is some conversation that they had that he thought that he was about four miles from a small town called Gali (ph) and the Rogue River runs by that town. And he had made a comment that he thought if he followed the river he would get to a small town where maybe he could find help and quite possibly once he saw that creek down there, he may have thought that that might be the water that he could follow to try to get to that small town.

KING: So, he did, Gregg, apparently shed some clothing, serve as markers?

HASTINGS: Well that's what we were thinking. We don't know for sure. We know that given the finding of the medical examiner and the hypothermia that was a contributing factor it looks like in his death that as you know some will say that they will shed clothes while they're experiencing different levels of hypothermia. But they were placed and we found the first about a quarter of a mile down a very steep embankment, about 600 feet down to the creek that went and then -- or excuse me, it was about a half mile, about a 600-foot drop and then they found others about two miles along the creek, which I believe was the area that Joe Hyatt was mentioning where they went down into.

And some were spread out in sort of the direction that he seemed to be traveling over a combined area. And some of those things definitely were not clothing that he would wear.

KING: Joe Hyatt, we have an e-mail question from Carol in Ventura, California. If the Kims' car had OnStar, would searchers have been able to locate them?

HYATT: As my knowledge is of OnStar, it works off of cell phone. The cell phone coverage in that area was very minimal. I know that there was enough information that they were able to get at least an approximate location from a ping off of his cell phone. Actual OnStar communication, I'm not sure but doubtful.

KING: Joe, why do you do what you do?

HYATT: I have a family. I know what it is like to see tragedy. I've been in the fire service for 20 years. And if -- it is my responsibility, I feel, to help people out where I can.

KING: Gregg, how is Kati and the two daughters doing?

HASTINGS: Well, last I heard they're doing OK. We shared the information before we went public with it today as we've tried to do throughout this whole ordeal. And they were released from the hospital. I believe there were plans to return home. But all indications is obviously they've experienced a loss and they're handling it in their own way. And we're trying to help them any way that we can through this.

KING: You're doing noble work. Thanks, Gregg. Lieutenant Gregg Hastings, spokesman for the Oregon State Police. Joe Hyatt will return with us after the next segment.

When we come back, one of James Kim's colleagues talks about the man she knew and don't forget, just at the bottom of the hour, the launch of the space shuttle. Stick around.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It came on the fifth day in the search for James Kim.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Found it?

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The other ship just found him.

GUTIERREZ: Two rescuers were lowered to the ground.

(SOUNDS)

GUTIERREZ: It wasn't what they had hoped.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At 1203 hours today, the body of James Kim was located down in the Big Windy Creek.

GUTIERREZ: It was almost too much to bear for the man who led the rescue effort. A pilot had spotted his body in the dense woods, just about a mile from the car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was down in that drainage and he was about a half mile from the -- the Rogue River.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): The search had been grueling. One hundred teams combed this harsh terrain for five days, searching for clues. First a pair of gray pants, then pieces of an Oregon state map. Two gray sweatshirts, a t-shirt, a sock and a girl's blue skirt all laid out in some sort of a pattern, possibly an effort to help rescuers above.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was very motivated.

GUTIERREZ: Motivated by love for his family. (END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: We're back. Joining us now in San Francisco is Lindsey Turrentine, executive director of CNET, the technology media company that James Kim worked for. She was James' supervisor. He also owned -- they owned a business together, didn't they, he and his wife Lindsey.

LINDSEY TURRENTINE, JAMES KIM'S SUPERVISOR: Yes, they own two boutiques in San Francisco.

KING: How long had he worked for CNET?

TURRENTINE: He worked for CNET for about three years. Since he came from tech TV, which was a TV station that closed.

(CROSSTALK)

KING: What was his job?

TURRENTINE: He was senior editor for MP3 reviews at CNET, which means he did a lot of reviews of MP3 technology, digital music. He wrote a column. He did a pod cast -- he did a video pod cast. He was really visible on our site.

KING: Talented?

TURRENTINE: Extremely talented.

KING: How are the -- how are you and the colleagues coping today?

TURRENTINE: We're sort of speechless. We're really sad. We have all been on pins and needles for over a week now. And yesterday's news was pretty crushing for everyone. People who work with him and even people who didn't work with him were so invested and now are really sad.

KING: It is hard to go on. Look -- he looks like a terrific guy.

TURRENTINE: He was an unbelievable guy, really. Passionate about everything he did -- everything -- from work to his -- clearly his family, his stores. Even the small amount of time he had to do fun things I think he did those passionately too.

KING: Were you surprised that what he did to try to get help?

TURRENTINE: No, not at all. James would leap up at a moment's notice to help anybody from the smallest thing to the biggest thing he could do.

KING: How are you going to remember him, Lindsey?

TURRENTINE: We're talking about a lot of ways we can remember him at CNET. I'm going to remember him by thinking about him every time I need to go out of my way to do something for my kids and my family.

KING: What kind of friend was he?

TURRENTINE: He was the kind of friend who would drop everything he was doing and run to you to give you whatever you needed. You know I would send out an e-mail that says I need, you know, a battery or a cable for my cell phone and he would be -- I have one and he would e- mail me and he'd run into my office and -- so those are the kind of little things he would do. He's the kind of friend who -- he stood in for me while I was on maternity leave. He organized a shower for me before I had my baby this year, right before he had his. He was, you know -- and he was so busy. He had very little time to do things like that.

KING: Were you surprised he went on this trip?

TURRENTINE: No. No. No. He had relatives in the Pacific Northwest. He -- it was a fun trip to take with his family. He was looking forward to spending some time with them, I think, outside of the busyness of city life. And I think they were planning on just enjoying themselves and taking a slow trip down the coast back home.

KING: Do you know his wife well?

TURRENTINE: I don't. I haven't met Kati, but I've heard so much about her from James. James talks about his family or talked about his family all the time.

KING: Thank you very much, Lindsey. And when we find out what you do as a tribute we would like to help.

TURRENTINE: OK. Thanks.

KING: Lindsey Turrentine -- Turrentine, rather, executive editor of CNET, the technology media company where James King worked -- James Kim worked. She was his supervisor.

A little later, a man who survived a wintry situation similar to the Kim family's and don't forget the launch of the shuttle scheduled for 9:35 Eastern. We'll show it to you live.

But up next, Dr. Henry Lee is here to talk about what exactly happens to a person as he or she freezes to death. Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the story of the Kims from San Francisco.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The body of 35-year-old James Kim was found today in a mountain creek.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The discovery comes just two days after Kim's wife and two daughters were rescued from their car.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's being hailed as a hero today because his actions helped rescuers find his wife and two young daughters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Search teams spotted his tracks in the snow. A helicopter crew followed his tracks back to the car, which led to the rescue of his wife and two daughters, daughters who will grow up knowing that their father died saving them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back. In this major story that has captured the nation, front cover of the new "People" magazine just out -- "Nine Days In The Snow, Amazing Rescue" -- a picture of the family. That's on the stands now from "People" magazine.

Joe Hyatt remains with us, a member of the volunteer (inaudible) rescue team. He's in Central Point, Oregon. Joining us in New Haven -- in West Haven, Connecticut is Dr. Henry Lee, one of the world's foremost forensic experts, author of -- host of Court TV's "Trace Evidence: The Files of Dr. Henry Lee", and distinguished professor of forensic science at the University of New Haven. And in Portland, Oregon, the very popular Lars Larson, host of the "Lars Larson Northwest Show" and the nationally syndicated "Lars Larson Show", both of course on radio.

Dr. Lee...

DR. HENRY LEE, FORENSIC SCIENTIST: Hi.

KING: ... tell us what killed our friend.

LEE: Well, basically he lost so much body heat to a point he lost the muscular and cerebral ability to function and died.

KING: And the final cause would have been what? What gave out? What finally gives out?

LEE: Finally it gives out because the body he lost so much he cannot function anymore and frozen to death.

KING: Is it a terrible way to die?

LEE: It is a terrible tragedy because the normal person, the body -- our temperature usually 98.6 degree Fahrenheit. So when we gradually lost heat, so we go through the stage. The first stage when the body temperature reach about 96, 95, 96 reading, that's called mild hyperthermia and gradually you start feel cold, chilly, so you start shifting, try to generate some more heat and your activities slow down.

However, once you -- the body temperature down to 95 to 92 region, that's medium hypothermia, now you start losing the touch. And you cannot function well. Sometimes you start doing things, for example, taking off the clothes, and doing things, you can't think normally like a normal person any more. Once the body heat lower to 92 to 87, that region, that's called severe hypothermia and a person cannot function anymore.

KING: Do you go to sleep?

LEE: Yes, you start loss activity, you cannot move. And you cannot think anymore. Your eyes start dilate. Your blood starts ceasing -- moving. You lost body heat totally because you cannot just -- you cannot muscular -- you cannot move anymore and you cannot think anymore.

KING: Lars Larson in Portland, Oregon. How big a story for your listeners on the radio there?

LARS LARSON, RADIO HOST: This has been as big a story as it has been nationally. It's captivated people's interests, Larry.

KING: And why do you think?

LARSON: I think because we can all see ourselves in that situation. We can all imagine it. All of us who live in the Pacific Northwest and I think that people in other regions of the country can relate to this. We have all been on long drives through mountain passes. We have all driven places where there is snow or where there is ice. And we can all imagine that wrong turn down a road that leads us to a place where we simply can't escape.

KING: I don't know why, but we often think of -- don't think of Oregon as mountains and danger.

LARSON: Oh, there are plenty of mountains here. Not like the Rocky Mountains, but the Cascade Mountains are quite high and Mount Hood at 11,000 -- 11,200 feet. The coast range where the Kim family went through its ordeal is not quite as high but it is still very, very difficult. The road they were on in fact is a road that was so clogged with snow further ahead of where they stopped that the rescuers who tried to reach them from the coast side of this coast range couldn't even get through in sheriff's department vehicles equipped with four-wheel drive and all of the tools that they -- that they would normally get them anywhere you'd want to go.

KING: Joe Hyatt, is there a lot of rescue work going on there?

HYATT: Yes. We have at least a couple of rescues there when the snow hits. Even in the summertime on this dead-end road system, people get confused, lost. In the summertime they run out of gas and they walk out or we go in and get them. In the wintertime, unfortunately, it is a lot more severe and unfortunately this time fatal.

KING: Dr. Lee, this is old-fashioned term maybe, is the term freeze to death correct?

LEE: Yes. And, of course, you know, it all depends on a lot of people want to know how long take him to function and how long take him to freeze to death. It is all depends on -- there are six different factors. Of course, environment, whether or not snowing or wet, how he prepare. If he have a heavy jacket and boots and gloves, which (inaudible) know he only wear his sneaker and blue jean. And, of course that's really -- don't help him and especially the activity. He tried to rescue the family walking. That's exhaustion also. Speed up hypothermia.

KING: Dr. Lee, we always thank you for your information. You always add so much to this show. Dr. Henry Lee, we appreciate it. Lars Larson will be remaining with us. So will Joe Hyatt. We're going to spend another moment with Lindsey Turrentine, the executive editor of CNET.

Lindsey, what can people do who might want to help?

TURRENTINE: The family is working on setting up a couple of accounts in memory of James. And they're going to be posting them at the Web site for the family effort, which is JamesAndKati.com. It's James and Kati -- K-A-T-I.com. You can keep going to that site and as soon as those accounts are set up and the family has decided and given their blessing, those -- that information will be on the site and it will be on CNET.com too as well when we have that information.

KING: Thanks, Lindsey. Thanks for coming back and helping us. Lindsey Turrentine, executive editor of CNET. And that's James and Kati -- K-A-T-I -- JamesandKati.com.

When we come back, a man who survived two weeks in a snow bound jeep. Also in our next segment hopefully the launch of the latest shuttle mission. Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HASTINGS: The total distance that James traveled was 10.24 miles, about 10 and a quarter miles on foot from the car to his final location where he was found. The distance that he traveled from the car on the road that they had traveled on to the point of where he went over, down the steep embankment towards Big Windy Creek was 5.14 miles, a little over five miles. And then as he continued down here, about a quarter of a mile down is where searchers found a pair of the gray pants. And then it was approximately another quarter mile down to where he got to the creek.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARYL JANE, RESCUED FROM SNOWBOUND JEEP: Every time I look out the window, it is harder and harder snow coming down. So I just getting a little more worried each day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Each day, the snow piled higher on 37-year- old Daryl Jane's jeep, stuck on forest road 23.

JANE: Each day brushing off the hood, brushing off the roof, and then keeping that door so I can just open it and get some oxygen in. I just would get right back into my sleeping bag and just -- I would warm my fingers, warm my toes, because they were numb.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: By day seven, the snow was at five feet and climbing. He turned to meditation.

JANE: I get panicky. You know, because I didn't -- I felt like I was going to be buried alive.

On the eighth day, I wrote a goodbye note to everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: He was rescued this past Saturday. By the way, Joe Hyatt and Lars Larson remain with us.

He's Daryl Jane, rescued after surviving two weeks in a snowbound jeep en route to help with the search for James Kim. He was en route to help for the search for James Kim when he heard the news that Kim had been found dead.

All right, what happened? Where were you going? What is the story, Daryl?

JANE: I was headed to a place called Trout Lake for a sky watching event. And I got stuck in about a foot of snow, about 25 miles in.

KING: In other words, the car drove into the snow?

JANE: Yes, I drove -- it was a beautiful blue, sunny day. I started to see a little bit of snow, an inch here, couple of inches there, and I started to look for a place to turn around. And I came around a bend, and that was about eight or nine inches of snow.

I had a four-wheel drive, but no chains, no snow tires. So I was looking to turn around, and it was too late, I got stuck. So got out of the jeep and tried to get myself unstuck. Wasn't possible. Figured I would be there for a day or two until someone came to get me.

KING: Have a cell phone?

JANE: I did have a cell phone. I tried it. I was out of cell range. Every day, I tried 911, different numbers, but no dice.

KING: How long were you there?

JANE: I was there for 14 days.

KING: How did you eat?

JANE: I had -- I stopped for some supplies on the way in. I had about three-quarters of a gallon of water, had some rice cakes and some banana chips.

After the snow started coming Monday night, I just chucked my food aside, because I was just worried about water. So I didn't really start eating until after I found water on the eighth day.

KING: This was in Oregon, right?

JANE: This was actually in Washington.

KING: The border state?

JANE: Right.

KING: What did you do? Did you walk? What did you start to -- what was your plan?

JANE: Well, once the snow came, my plan was just to bunker down and wait it out. I figured the storm might be three, four days tops. Stretched into 12, 13. I couldn't believe -- I had never seen that much snow in my life. I was afraid I was going to get buried alive.

KING: You spent all the time in the jeep?

JANE: Twenty three and a half hours. I only got out in the morning to brush off the snow from the hood and from the roof, because I was hoping a helicopter would fly over and see me. But as soon as I'd get done brushing it off, I would look down, there would be two more inches on the hood. So I'd just hop back in the sleeping bag, try to stay warm, and hope for the best.

KING: Did you try to walk at all?

JANE: I did on Sunday. I got trapped on Saturday. And I tried on Sunday. I got about 500, 600 yards from my jeep and realized I was 30 miles from one town, 25 miles from another. And I had on, you know, not the type of clothes -- I just had tennis shoes and cargo pants and a light jacket. I figured my best bet was just to stay with my car.

KING: Tell us what goes on mentally.

JANE: Well, I was frustrated. I kept expecting a helicopter or something to come over. But once that snow started falling, it was relentless. I mean, I realized there was no way, even if they could get a chopper up, they probably wouldn't even be able to see me, the snow was so heavy.

About the eighth day is when I ran out of water. And that's when I wrote the goodbye note to my family. I said, hey, I've got to get out of here and look for some water, or I'm going to die of thirst. So if you don't find me in the jeep, I'll be near this mountain.

And I got on my hands and knees and crawled out of the jeep, and I crawled about 30 feet away and fell down this ravine, about five feet and I landed in this pool of snow melt. Had a little trickle. It must have been coming from the top of the mountain.

I couldn't believe it. I mean, I just couldn't believe it. It was like an oasis in the desert. So I was able to take my jug, and I had a little styrofoam coffee cup, and I just filled my jug up with water, crawled back into the jeep, and I knew I could wait it out for a few more weeks with water. I mean, without water, I was doomed.

KING: A few more weeks?

JANE: Yes. I was ready to, you know, wait as long as I had to. I knew my family was going to be looking for me. I knew they wouldn't give up until they found me.

KING: Have a radio in the jeep?

JANE: I did have a radio, but I didn't want to play it. I didn't want to waste my battery. I was able -- I had about half a tank of gas, so I was able to run my defrost six or seven minutes each morning. All I had was leather gloves, and my pants would freeze every morning. So I just ran the defrost to sort of thaw those out, and I could get out and do the whole wiping of the snow off.

KING: How much sleep do you get?

JANE: None. I didn't sleep at all.

KING: What...

JANE: At night, I was too nervous. I was getting buried. So I'd have to open up my driver side door, and sort of -- I had this little snow scoop, and I'd scoop out the door. It kept piling up. The whole rest of the jeep is buried in snow. All I could get was that driver's side door open a few inches. And so I was just nervous that if I fell asleep, it would bury me.

KING: Lars, how do you explain people like this and what happens to people under these kind of circumstances?

LARSON: People react differently, Larry. And Daryl is a good example. Having the stick-to-it-itiveness to say I'm only going to run the defroster for seven or eight minutes, because he knew how much gas he had, he knew that he might be there for weeks, and only run the gas -- run the engine long enough to charge his battery up, to defrost the window, and to get his roof cleared off, and know that the thing that was going to save him was to be able to have somebody from the air see that jeep.

That's what happens. But people react very, very differently. Some people panic. Other people keep their heads.

KING: Joe Hyatt, how do you explain Daryl?

HYATT: Well, again, he just has that strong desire to live. He brings up a really good point, in the fact that if you're going to go out into an area, such as we live in, where there is frequent winter storms, you've got to let somebody know where you're going and an expected travel time. A lot of times, we get a phone call that somebody is overdue and we don't even specifically know what route they took. You're searching literally the state of Oregon trying to get some clues as to where they went.

So always go prepared. Know the weather. Know your route. And most of all, give somebody a timeframe of where they can expect you.

KING: We'll take a break and come back with Joe Hyatt and Lars Larson and Daryl Jane and more about how he was rescued.

We're hearing from NASA that the space shuttle mission has been scrubbed for tonight. The window of opportunity is closed, so it will be rescheduled, and we'll be back with more on the James Kim family story and others right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: OK. Daryl Jane, how were you rescued?

JANE: Well, on the 14th day, it was a Saturday morning and it was the first morning I was able to look out. And I had blue sky. I didn't have to brush the snow off the hood. So it was really cold, though, that morning. I almost froze that night. I think because the clouds cleared, I must have dropped like 20 degrees.

It was first night my water jug -- I had this much water left, and it actually was mostly frozen. So I just wanted to kind of stay in my sleeping bag and try to stay warm. So it was about 10:00, 10:30 -- and I was listening for helicopters that whole time, because my plan was if a helicopter came, I had an umbrella. I was going to open my door and signal with an umbrella.

And so I'm laying there and I hear this high-pitched sound, thinking it's a helicopter coming for me. So I flip open my door, look out and here comes Jim Bezelo (ph) and in his super snowmobile right up the hill. He was about three feet above me. And we just started pumping our fists and screaming, high-fiving. He was as happy and excited as I was.

KING: And I understand he had lost someone? One of the reasons that drove him on to find you?

JANE: That's right. He had actually gone up there with five of his -- four of his buddies. There were five snowmobilers altogether. Four of the guys couldn't make it. There were 20, 25 trees fallen on this road, eight feet of snow on it. It was insane. But he said that -- he got me on the back and as we were headed, he said, I've got to tell you, a couple of years ago, I lost my son in a car accident and he was on the back of my snowmobile with me, telling me, just keep going dad, you're going to find this guy, just keep going. And he did.

KING: And then you went to look for James Kim?

JANE: Yes. Yes. I -- I got back Saturday and got out of the hospital Sunday and I heard about the story on Monday. And I won't go in a lot of details, but there were just parallels there I couldn't believe. And I just felt compelled. I had to go down there and see what I could do.

KING: So where did you go? What did you -- how did you get? What did you -- how did you travel? JANE: I hopped in my van. I live on Bainbridge Island, that's right off of Seattle and I just -- it was straight shot down the 5 to Grants Pass and I got about an hour away when I heard the news.

KING: Are there any repercussions from your ordeal? Any health problems?

JANE: No. I got lucky, Larry. I came out fine. I don't even think I got a cold.

KING: Lars, this story is incredible, isn't it?

LARSON: It's absolutely incredible, Larry. But it's also -- you know, most of these situations that people get into are very, very preventable. And that's -- the real tragedy is that people die in the Northwest and other parts of the country almost every year because they take themselves into situations. They fail to prepare. They trust maps and satellites and Onstar and cell phones way too much. And they end up in conditions that are literally life-threatening, like the Kim family found itself in.

KING: Joe Hyatt, would you agree?

CAPT. JOE HYATT, GRANTS PASS FIRE DEPARTMENT: Most definitely. We try as much as we can to advertise on the routes that this is a problem, that the road may be blocked by snow. But people just simply aren't familiar with the area, get a little bit overconfident in their abilities and they become stuck.

KING: Dan Simon is our CNN reporter. He's in San Francisco, outside one of the Church Street Apothecaries that Kati and James Kim own. That's their business.

What's been happening there, Dan?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Larry, as you know, San Francisco by its essence and nature is a very tight-knit, loving community. And we've really seen evidence of that tonight.

Behind me you can see this makeshift memorial that folks have set up here for the Kim family. Incredible outpouring of support. Most of the people coming by this shop did not even know James Kim or his family.

And we're seeing evidence of that over at CNET, where Mr. Kim worked. We've also have seen flowers and candles over there. And just the outpouring of support is tremendous for this family, Larry.

KING: Thanks, Dan.

Dan Simon in San Francisco.

I want to thank you, Daryl Jane. And we congratulate you on your extraordinary feat of hanging in.

JANE: Thank you, Larry. KING: And Joe Hyatt and Lars on will remain for our remaining segments, as well, as we meet other people involved in being saved, incredible stories.

Right now, let's go to Anderson Cooper, the host of "AC 360". He'll host it at the top of the hour.

What's up tonight, Anderson?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Larry, at the top of the hour we're going to talk about the tragedy that took James Kim's life, as well. We're going to do it a little differently. We've actually sent our Rick Sanchez into the mountains with a survival expert to spend the night and experience firsthand not only what it's like to feel those temperatures drop, but also what steps you can take to increase your chances of survival.

We'll also bring you the continued fallout on the "Iraq Study Group Report" and why some in the White House still insist we are winning the war in Iraq.

All that and more, Larry, at the top of the hour.

KING: You've sent Rick Sanchez to spend the night?

COOPER: Yes. He actually spent last night out in the wilderness with a survival expert and has been filing reports. And so we're putting them together and we'll talk to him in about 15 minutes.

KING: Why not you, Anderson? Why didn't you go?

COOPER: You know, I was down in Washington and, yes, you know, you know how it is. And, yes. Maybe next time.

KING: All right.

Anderson Cooper at 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific at the top of the hour.

When we come back, another amazing survival story from a man who hiked 50 miles through a snow covered desert to find help for his family. It's next on LARRY KING LIVE.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At 12:03 hours today, the body of James Kim was located down in the Big Windy Creek.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Against all odds, Jennifer Stolpa and her family survived. Along with her husband James and five month-old son Clayton, Jennifer spent eight days lost in the snow of northwestern Nevada.

James hiked for two days before finding help and sending search teams to rescue his wife and son in a cave where he left them Monday morning.

JENNIFER STOLPA, SURVIVOR: I'm just very happy and relieved that we're OK and that Jim made it. And I've never been so much happier to see people in all my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Joe Hyatt and Lars Larson remain.

Joining us now from Milwaukee is Jennifer Repetti. Fourteen years ago he -- she and her then-husband James Stolpa and their infant son became stranded in their truck during a snowstorm in northern Nevada.

James is with her. He hiked more than 50 miles through a snow covered desert to the find help for Jennifer and their baby son.

This remarkable story of survival became a highly-rated TV movie called "Snow Bound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story". It was also recounted in an episode of "I Shouldn't Be Alive", which airs Friday on the Discovery Channel.

Jennifer, I -- what, are no longer married?

JENNIFER REPETTI, SURVIVOR: No. Not anymore.

KING: OK. Now, what happened that night, James? You were where? What happened?

JAMES STOLPA, SURVIVOR: We were living in central California. We were on our way to a funeral in Idaho. And the main highway was closed. We decided to find an alternate route to make it to the funeral on time and wound up on a really deserted road in the middle of nowhere that was closed. But we didn't know it was closed and ultimately just got mired in snow.

KING: And so what did you do? You left -- you left them to look for help?

STOLPA: No, actually, the three of us sat in the truck for a couple of days. And then all together we left, bundled up as we could to find what we thought was a main highway nearby. And when we didn't find it, that's when -- and Jennifer's body started to give out after, you know, having just given birth five months before this, couldn't go on anymore. So that's when we split up. She stayed with the baby and I went off for help.

KING: Jennifer stayed where?

REPETTI: In a cave that we had found in an outcropping of rocks.

KING: A cave? REPETTI: Yes. It was the only way to be out of the snow and wind.

KING: Was it cold in the cave?

REPETTI: Not as cold as it was outside in the wind, so it was a little -- it was small enough that it helped keep our bodies warm, I think.

KING: And you had to cuddle the baby all that time, right?

REPETTI: Yes, I did.

KING: Where did you go, James?

STOLPA: I basically followed our footsteps back to the truck that we had gotten stuck in and then just followed our truck tracks, hoping to get to the last tunnel we passed through, which was 50 miles away.

KING: How far did you walk?

STOLPA: I think together we walked probably 30, 40, 50 miles. And then it was another 20 or 30 miles that I walked, until ultimately finding help.

REPETTI: I think he walked a little further than that but...

KING: Who did you find?

STOLPA: I actually ran across a gentleman named Dave Peterson (ph), who lived real close to where I ran into him. He was actually home for lunch that day. And I basically stumbled across him.

He was leaving home after lunch and I was walking right toward him and he had thought I was a cow or some other animal that had gotten out of its pasture. So he was coming to investigate and was quite surprised when it was a person.

KING: Like Kati Kim, did you breast-feed your child, Jennifer?

REPETTI: Yes, I did. As long as I could. Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of water with us. So I -- after I while, I began to feel like I wasn't really producing much breast milk. I wasn't really having -- intaking very many fluids. So then I began melting snow and dribbling it into his mouth like a baby -- like a baby bird.

KING: Once again, Lars, the human ability to cope.

LARSON: It's an amazing ability, Larry. And what we need is, I think we need more of that in this country. We need people who are prepared to take care of themselves when they go into situations like this. I mean, I try to warn my family members to make sure they have on board in their vehicles everything they might need if they ended off on a side road. This is what happens when you go out into areas where you're going to get stuck and nobody knows where you are and they're unlikely to find you. It's a real risk, even many in a civilized country like this where you'd think we're within ten minutes of a gas station and within cell range just about anywhere. And in this country, there are still a lot of very remote places, Larry.

KING: Joe Hyatt, why do you think people do those things?

HYATT: Why do they do those things?

KING: Yes.

LARSON: I think they get a sense of invulnerability, Larry. We've got automobiles and technology that wrap us up with what makes us feel invincible. We can drive anywhere. We can navigate with on board systems. We can pick up the phone and call the other side of the planet. There's always enough fuel. There's always enough everything. And there's always a restaurant or a gas station five minutes down the road.

The fact is you have to be ready to feed yourself and take care of yourself for a good long time if you're going to go through the mountains and the wilds of America.

KING: Joe Hyatt, do you think we just don't think?

HYATT: You know, it's easy to become complacent, like you said. Lars pointed out, we have everything kind of given to us now. We're in a totally different society than it used to be. You know, even though people show the fortitude to withstand all these -- getting lost in the wilderness -- one of the other things that people can do that have been lost or are watching this and want to do something, all of the teams that came in all over the state of Oregon, the majority of them were volunteers, non paid. A lot took time off of work, paying -- buying their own equipment to come look for the Kims.

And in most of the cases, the other searchers were doing the same thing. If you can't give money, give your time, check your local sheriff's department. And we need help. We need volunteers. We need funds. Most of us do not receive a lot of state funding, if any at all.

LARSON: Larry...

KING: We'll take a break and -- hold on, I'll pick up with you, Lars. We'll take a break and be back with some remaining moments.

Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After five days of waiting to be rescued, Jim and Jennifer are hungry, cold and scared for their kid. They can't sit there any longer. But what they decide to do next is incredibly risky. Leaving their only shelter is a calculated risk and soon they are at the mercy of the conditions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Jennifer Repetti and James Stolpa, we thank you so much. You're extraordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. Even though you aren't together anymore, you're obviously still friends.

REPETTI: Always we'll love each other, no matter what.

STOLPA: Yes. Thanks for having us and our hearts go out to the Kim family.

KING: That's very nice.

And Lars, you wanted to add something?

LARSON: I was just going to say that we should remember it was a private helicopter pilot who wasn't even hired to do this who got up in the air and spotted the car. He deserves a lot of credit.

KING: Yes. These are the people, the unsung heroes, aren't they, Joe?

HYATT: Yes, they are. This is what America's all about. When somebody's in need, we step up to the cause and do whatever we can to help them out.

KING: Joe Hyatt, Lars Larson, Jennifer Repetti, James Stolpa, thank you all.

We thank all of our guests for joining us tonight. And of course, our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of James Kim.

If you'd like to send your thoughts their way, there's a place you can go. It's online. Go to www.jamesandkati.com. Jamesandkati -- all one word, Kati is K-A-T-I. Check that site for updates, too, on efforts to help the Kim family.

And for a whole lot more on this extraordinary story, tune in Monday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern for "Stranded: The James Kim Story". It's a CNN special report hosted by Paula Zahn.

Now we head to New York, Anderson Cooper and "AC 360" -- Anderson.

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