Dec 12, 2007 10:09 pm US/Central
1 Year Later, Climbers Still Missing On Mount Hood
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
A year ago, the nation watched as rescue teams frantically searched for three missing climbers stranded on Mount Hood in Oregon. Two of the climbers were from Dallas.
Despite a valiant effort, including help from the National Guard, Kelly James, Brian Hall and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke did not survive.
"The beautiful thing I've learned this year is that love transcends death," said Karen James, Kelly's widow.
It was one year ago when Karen was waiting on a cold mountain in Oregon. For nearly a week, Karen held out hope that rescue teams would find her husband and the other two climbers.
"When I would look at the weather, I would say, 'Honey, I know you can hang on. You can do one more day,'" she said.
Five days of horrible weather made it impossible for searchers to find the three climbers.
"I can't look at that mountain and see beauty," said Karen. "I only see a beast."
When the weather finally cleared, Kelly's body was found in a snow cave near the summit. The bodies of Brian and Jerry have yet to be found.
"When your life falls out from underneath you, it's amazing how faith is the only way our family could have made it through it all," Karen said. "We never felt as though we had been done wrong."
The first few months following Kelly's death were obviously tough on the family.
"Sometimes I want to be able to talk to him and ask him questions, and I can't do that," said Ford James, Kelly's son.
But it was Kelly's spirit that inspired his wife and his four children to move on.
"Either I was going to curl up, or I was going to start looking for blessings. So I decided to do what I know Kelly would want me to do," said Karen. "That really stabilize things for me and that's when the roller-coaster pretty much ended."
"I want to live my life in a way that I can make him happy and make him smile," said Katie James, Kelly's daughter.
But the family is only human. And on this one-year anniversary, it's hard to forget.
"It's been a lot harder than I thought it would be," said Karen. "When the weather starts to go cold and the rain starts to come in, we're transported back to Mount Hood."
The James family says they're closer than ever. It's proof that love truly does transcend death.
"He's gone in body now, but I know he's never left me, and I hold on to that," she said.
A special candlelight ceremony for all three of the climbers will be held this Sunday in Dallas at Park Cities Baptist Church on Northwest Parkway. The hour long service begins at 4 p.m.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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