hites cove trail deaths
There was no suicide note. Northern California familys mysterious deaths, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Chart: Bay Area rainfall totals for this week, Northern California familys mysterious deaths on hiking trail: The official cause, Map: Familys route before they were found dead on California trail. 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Investigators briefly considered the possibility that the family may have been exposed to toxic fumes from nearby abandoned mines. After calling other family friends throughout the day who also didnt know where they were, she reported them missing to the Sheriffs Office about 11 p.m. that night and deputies began their investigation. Following toxicology testing, on September 30, 2021, the Mariposa County Sherriffs office confirmed that further investigations had meant that the following had been ruled out as a cause of death: Gun or any other type of weapon, Lightning Strike, Carbon Monoxide, Carbon Dioxide, Cyanide Exposure, Illegal Drugs / Alcohol, and Suicide. Winds light and variable. The Merced River doesn't look particularly deep and the water moves, which would make it hard for algae to build up and form algal blooms like it does in lakes, he added. Their dedication has allowed us to close this case and answer lingering questions the family had, bringing them a little peace, Briese said in a post. Read more in our, This Aug. 18, 2021, file photo shows a remote canyon area northeast of the town of Mariposa, Calif., that is reported to be the area where a family and their dog were found dead. The news sheds light on a case that has confounded investigators and the public and raised new questions about outdoor recreational activities in an era of rising temperatures and climate fueled extreme weather. The Mariposa County Sheriffs Office has revealed the phone data obtained from a young California family found dead after a hike in August 2021. its devastating to everyone. The already-outlandish theories of toxic algae or a gas leak from the mines below have even begun to lose weight. While there is still no evidence to suggest foul play, in the absence of any other explanation, County Sheriff Jeremy Briese said he had no choice but to treat the case as such. At 8:40 a.m., additional teams began down the Savage Lundy Trail. Investigators combed the lower section of the trail for unreported mines, but experts said it likely would take an exposure inside a mine shaft to kill a family. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. Tuesday, Aug. 17: 1:53 a.m., the family's car is located down Hites Cove Road north of Jerseydale. "So right now, we're treating the coroner investigation as a homicide until we can establish the cause.". Friends say the couple, recent transplants from San Francisco to the former Gold Rush town of Mariposa in the western Sierra foothills, were relatively experienced hikers out on a day trip with their infant and dog. After the autopsies, the deaths of the Gerrish family remained unexplained. ", "You have two healthy adults, you have a healthy child and what appears to be a healthy canine all within a general same area," he added. "I get more people calling me this time of year normally for pet or livestock deaths. A helicopter hovers over a remote area northeast of the town of Mariposa, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 18. Sheriff Jeremy Briese said the department is continuing working closely with a toxicologist, environmental specialist, the FBI and other specialists. Heat related deaths are extremely difficult to investigate, and I want to thank you all for being patient with us as we investigated the case, Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese said in the news release. There was no indication whether the family had been swimming, as they would have dried off by the time they were found. Just pray for peace for the families and keep your assumptions to yourselves.. Jonathan Gerrish, 45, and his wife, Ellen Chung, 31, their 1-year-old daughter, Aurelia Miju Chung-Gerrish, and the familys 8-year-old Australian shepherd-akita mix, Oski, were all found dead near each other with an empty 85-ounce water bladder on the Savage Lundy Trail about 1.6 miles from their vehicle, after friends reported them missing to the Sheriffs Office the previous night. The name honors John Hite, who discovered gold at the site. Residual water from the hydration bladder was also tested, and it was found to be clean, the sheriff said. Friends were unable to reach Gerrish or Chung and reported the family missing at 11 p.m. Jonathan Gerrish, 45, Ellen Chung, 30, and their 1-year-old daughter Aurelia, also known as Miju as well as their family dog Oski were found dead Aug. 17 in the Devil's Gulch area of the south fork of the Merced River in the Sierra National Forest, the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office said at the time. Abandoned mines can accumulate many different lethal gases, including methane, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide and toxic levels of carbon dioxide. The trail begins off of Hwy 140 near Savages Trading Post in El Portal, and ends at Hite Cove. Jonathan Gerrish and his wife, Ellen Chung, knew they were in trouble. The Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese told The Fresno Bee that he didn't believe the deaths were connected to a nearby mine. As Ive mentioned, the Gerrish Chung family have been our top priority as we dealt with this horrible event.. Many were photos of the trail, the river and the family but the final photo, taken two hours after the last photo of a river, was a screenshot of the familys location from a trail app they used to navigate around the Savage Lundy and Hites Cove trails. The bodies were found on Tuesday on a remote hiking trail. The best way to get to Hites Cove is by hiking the Hites Cove Trail starting at Savages Trading post near El Portal on HWY 140. Family members of Gerrish and Chung released a statement included in the news release thanking the Sheriffs Office for the time and resources dedicated to the investigation into the deaths. Their baby sitter had found them gone when she showed up at their house that morning a Monday and had started contacting their friends to see if anybody knew their whereabouts. The body of Oski the dog was also examined by veterinary experts at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Eric Sergienko, who serves as health officer for both Mariposa and Tuolumne counties, was involved with the testing of water samples for possible toxic algae. She has a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Connecticut and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. At some point, the extreme heat and the steep climb became too much. In his October announcement, Briese said he hoped FBI analysts could glean more information from Gerrishs phone. Autopsies on the bodies were completed on Thursday, August 19. The vehicle was parked a mile and a half from where their bodies were found near the Sierra National Forest gate leading to Hites Cove in the Jerseydale area and was the start point for the popular Savage Lundy and Hites Cove Trails. Six more causes of death have been ruled out in the baffling case. In Portland, Ore. temperatures reached 108, 112 and 116 degrees over three consecutive days in June. "We have not found any old mine shafts near the area," the Sheriff said. They had not been seen since Saturday; their final social media post was uploaded at 6:45 AM Sunday morning: a picture of the baby backpack the couple carry their daughter in. One researcher told Live Science, that while possible, that scenario would be unusual. Some of the theories include a significant carbon monoxide leak from one of the mines deep below, or possibly even toxic algae, which can be caused a gas leak; hence the abundance of caution and the HAZMAT approach. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. The release said six separate laboratories helped with testing water samples from several locations of the South Fork of the Merced River and were positive for Anatoxin A, which can be deadly to animals but has never caused any recorded deaths among humans. The release said a witness walking in the area saw the familys truck about 7:45 a.m. Aug. 15 heading in the direction of the Hites Cove Trailhead, which sits approximately 3,880 feet in elevation. Theres also very little shade along that portion of the trail due to the 2018 Ferguson Fire, the release said. Fernanda Bray spends most Mondays over the summer hiking down to the south fork of the Merced River, on the northern end of Hites Cove Trail, along Highway 140, swimming, fishing and playing. Much of the route, inside the Ferguson Fire footprint, has little shade, and temperatures on Aug. 15 reached 109 in the area. "Human exposure when swimming is fairly low, we don't ingest tons of water.". However, the question why can never be answered and will remain with us.. Theres no obvious indicators of how it occurred . Briese also said investigators were considering toxic algae blooms as a possible cause, and that the U.S. Forest Service had recently posted warnings about toxic algae at the start of the trail near Hites Cove, where the bodies were found, according to the Fresno Bee. Its south-southeast orientation exposes it to constant sunlight, and the 2018 Ferguson fire left little vegetation capable of producing shade, Briese said. With fires raging across the state, the USDA Forest Service then closed all 20 million acres of Californias national forests to public access for two weeks beginning Tuesday, August 31, 2021, extending through at least September 17. The family had hiked along the Hites Cove Trail in the Sierra National Forest near the Merced River. These toxins can get into the body through ingestion, through the skin or even through inhalation. "This is a real tragedy," Mariposa County Sheriff-Coroner Jeremy Briese said Thursday at a press conference. By (61264) First Published: 11:29 AM PST, February 18, 2022. Contact Alex MacLean at amaclean@uniondemocrat.com or (209) 588-4541. "The fact that it was two adults, a kid and a dog," makes this a really unusual situation, he said. Hyperthermia is abnormally high body temperature caused by the failure of heat-regulating mechanisms. He had worked for Google for 15 years, starting in the London office in 2006. They were found about 1 miles from their car, apparently having completed about 6 miles of their intended route on the Hites Cove and Savage-Lundy trails. Record-breaking "heat domes" hit Oregon and Washington killing at least 100 people, but likely far more. While the average since records began is 41 fatalities per year, the trend has been sharply decreasing from the 1940s and 1950s, when several hundred died annually. From there, they walked 1.9 miles to the Savage Lundy Trail, then ended up on a steep incline where temperatures reached 107 to 109 degrees due to a lack of shade and high elevation. Gerrish and Chung were experienced hikers who had recently moved to Mariposa from San Francisco after falling in love with the area. California News | Explore the most popular trails in my list YNP. Mariposa County sheriffs investigators had already ruled out several potential causes: a gun or any other weapon, a lightning strike, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, cyanide, illegal drugs, alcohol or suicide. While algal blooms are not attached to anything, algal mats cling onto the bottom of water, such as on rocks. John studied at Newcastle University before working in London before his move across the Atlantic. After a friend reported the family missing, searchers discovered the bodies of John Gerrish, Ellen Chung, their 1-year-old daughter Miju and their dog, Oski on Tuesday (Aug. 17) in Mariposa County, along the Hite Cove Trail near Devil Gulch. Yasemin is a staff writer at Live Science, covering health, neuroscience and biology. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. It's a rare event that may get more routine, experts warn, given rising temperatures from human-caused climate change. Scott Adams faces 'consequence culture' as U.S. newspapers drop Dilbert, Tom Cruise's 'ditching' of Suri showcased by Judd Apatow's 'co-parenting' joke, ex-Scientology exec says. About 1.5 miles down the switchbacks, around 11 am, the team found the family in the middle of the trail. The bodies were found on the Savage Lundy Trail near Hites Cove, an unincorporated community in Mariposa County, California. It is located on the South Fork of the Merced River, 4.5 miles west-southwest of El Portal, at an elevation of 1578 feet and accessed via Hites Cove Road. Those details support the findings of a heat related incident.. According to the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office, the area is reported to be where a family and their dog were found dead. Their bodies were found on a hiking trail near Hite's Cove on August 17. There's just still so many that we can't rule out. A California Highway Patrol helicopter was also requested to assist. A helicopter hovers over a remote area northeast of the town of Mariposa, California on August 18, 2021. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said illnesses from extreme heat are the deadliest weather-related health outcomes in the United States and kill an average of about 658 people each year. In the mid-19th century, an area around Hites Cove held a hard-rock gold mine, where certain techniques are used to extract "hard" minerals holding metals like gold, according to The Associated Press. Despite being experienced hikers, the family had taken to the trail on a day where temperatures reached as high as 109 degrees; the route had little-to-no shade, having been stripped bare of foliage from a 2018 fire. Lightning strikes were eliminated, and investigators considered suicide and drug or alcohol use before moving on. Gerrish only entered way points, or point-to-point mapping, which the Sheriffs Office said does not calculate the exact mileage and elevation changes on the trail. The family, from Mariposa, were reported missing by a family friend on Monday night. Tuesday, Aug. 17: 1:55 a.m., a search and rescue mission is initiated. A very rare event in the locality, especially given they were carrying one 85-ounce (2.5 liter) water bottle and a bottle with infant formula, which were found near the site where the bodies were located. The family were regular weekend hikers, taking Miju with them in a baby-carrier on their backs. Harriette Cole: I don't want the neighbor's kids at my house, Dear Abby: My wife said she doesn't like it, but it's part of my life, Ask Amy: I feel guilty for not speaking up about my co-worker's activities, Ask Amy: I'm your cabin housekeeper, and you apparently have no idea what I do. The official cause of death still leaves many questions and remains a puzzling outcome for the families, especially as they seem to have succumbed to the heat all at the same time, including the dog. The Fresno Bee that he did n't believe the deaths were connected to a nearby mine 2021! News, Live events, and exclusive reporting warn, given rising from! 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