CA - Jonathan Gerrish, Ellen Chung, daughter, 1 & dog, suspicious death remote hiking area, Aug 2021

[Tower]

I assume at least a few people hike those per day? (this could be a bad assumption on my part). With that thought process, how long would we expect them to not encounter any one else?

RSBM
I looked only briefly at the map (so I don’t pretend to know much about their trail), but I have hiked very near this area. The west is incomprehensibly vast. I have hiked to peaks that have sign-in books showing less than a dozen people have summited in 10 years. I think it’s quite likely no one was hiking that trail this time of year due to the heat.

I also don’t think it’s particularly unsafe to hike a few miles with a fit mom and dad carrying a baby. It’s so incredibly unusual for both adults to be incapacitated, which is the reason we’re all following this story. I am deeply saddened by it, as I was by Philip Kreycik’s fate. Just outdoor people doing what they love. I hope I don’t find out any details about this case pointing to another fate. Jmo

 

[annpats]

I can't imagine that all four of them drank bad water and died that quickly.

Well, it depends on what was in the water, they drank, if anything.

It may have even been noxious gas trapped underneath and released into the air. So, toxic suffocation.

Or heatstroke.

But you would think any of these 3 causes would leave some evidence or clue on one of them....evidence of vomiting, marks in the ground that were more than just walking prints (crawling, staggering, dragging yourself etc.)
And to all die exactly at the same time in the same place? Man, woman, baby, dog.

LE is being economical in exactly how and where the bodies were found.

Exactly how close were they to each other? Did they appear in cowering or frightened positions? Had they been crawling incapacitated for help? We're they actually on the trail path itself, or slightly off, or very off?

I have so many questions!

 

[SuziQ]

The burnt trees that are in some photos, does anyone know if they have been part of some recent forest fires? I wonder if it was a sharp short fire, but again bodies not showing burns, such a mystery...

IIRC, it was a fire from 2018.

 

[RickshawFan]

I don’t know if they’ve addressed lightning specifically, but no signs of trauma. Wouldn’t lightning leave burns etc? I really don’t know.

Everything you always wanted to know about lightning strikes, c/o the federal government: Lightning Science: Five Ways Lightning Strikes People

I call "ground current".
And no, I don't believe there has to be evidence of burns.

This is lightning season in CA.

 

[Sunny Day]

Initial autopsy fails to reveal what killed family of 3, pet dog on California hiking trail
Update: "Initial autopsy fails to reveal what killed family of 3"

 

[RickshawFan]

Has to be a toxic gas IMO. Heatstroke and oral ingestion of many toxic substances would likely leave evidence of vomit/body fluids on at least one of the four.

I know many hikers wouldn’t take a child on this hike in August and some wonder if this was self-harm, but…plenty of people make less-than-ideal decisions with no intent other than having a pleasant outing. This applies even to experienced hikers. And - assuming they got both a dog and an infant to ingest something - there would likely be some fluids evidencing a poisoning IMO.

They might actually have thought they were on a different trail.

 

[dcfi224]

RSBM
I looked only briefly at the map (so I don’t pretend to know much about their trail), but I have hiked very near this area. The west is incomprehensibly vast. I have hiked to peaks that have sign-in books showing less than a dozen people have summited in 10 years. I think it’s quite likely no one was hiking that trail this time of year due to the heat.

I also don’t think it’s particularly unsafe to hike a few miles with a fit mom and dad carrying a baby. It’s so incredibly unusual for both adults to be incapacitated, which is the reason we’re all following this story. I am deeply saddened by it, as I was by Philip Kreycik’s fate. Just outdoor people doing what they love. I hope I don’t find out any details about this case pointing to another fate. Jmo

I truly appreciate your insight about the area, thank you!

Per All Trails, the hike is ~5.1 miles round trip, and I think someone up thread mentioned ~7 depending which way you go, so somewhere around there.

Do we know how far they lived from the trailhead? The picture of the backpack for the baby was posted at 0645, iirc. If they started the hike at 0800 they could have been done with the hike by noon or so if they hiked straight through, which makes me think less likely heat stroke. But again, I am only familiar with the east coast and appreciate the insight from those of you who are more familiar.

Here is the weather from that day from the closest location I could find to the trail (Wawona, CA).

 

[SophieRose]

The burnt trees that are in some photos, does anyone know if they have been part of some recent forest fires? I wonder if it was a sharp short fire, but again bodies not showing burns, such a mystery...

Burnt trees are from the 2018 Ferguson Fire, not a small fire. The trail was only opened at the end of last year.

 

[Deleted member 292879]

I truly appreciate your insight about the area, thank you!

Per All Trails, the hike is ~5.1 miles round trip, and I think someone up thread mentioned ~7 depending which way you go, so somewhere around there.

Do we know how far they lived from the trailhead? The picture of the backpack for the baby was posted at 0645, iirc. If they started the hike at 0800 they could have been done with the hike by noon or so if they hiked straight through, which makes me think less likely heat stroke. But again, I am only familiar with the east coast and appreciate the insight from those of you who are more familiar.

Here is the weather from that day from the closest location I could find to the trail (Wawona, CA).
View attachment 309597

The other thing (saying this as a mom of a toddler): babies nap. It’s possible they were going to have her sleep in the carrier, but it sounds from your timeline, and taking consideration babies’ schedules, like they would have planned to be home mid-morning, IMO.

 

[SophieRose]

Here is the weather from that day from the closest location I could find to the trail (Wawona, CA).
View attachment 309597

Yesterday and today were nice days, except for the smoke from the northern fires. Not reflective of Sunday's hot temperatures.

 

[RickshawFan]

It reminds me of a case here, in Australia, where a couple were found dead near a river.

Bogle–Chandler case - Wikipedia

The Bogle–Chandler case refers to the mysterious deaths of Gilbert Bogle and Margaret Chandler on the banks of the Lane Cove River in Sydney, Australia on 1 January 1963. The case became famous because of the circumstances in which the bodies were found and because the cause of death could not be established. In 2006 a filmmaker discovered evidence to suggest the cause of death was hydrogen sulphide gas. In the early hours of 1 January an eruption of gas from the polluted river bed may have occurred, causing the noxious fumes to pool in deadly quantities in the grove.

Well, that's one of the juicier things I've read lately.
My problem with this theory for our current case is that the gas seeks low spots. The couple who died were almost right on the river, in hollowed out spaces, among mangroves, etc. They were dead within seconds.
We haven't heard yet where exactly our family was found, but if they were only 1 1/2 miles or so in, then they weren't at the bottom.

 

[RickshawFan]

Continuing on my lightning hypothesis.... I wonder if the adults were using trekking poles? When I was thru-hiking and trying to outrun a storm, I had fork lightning flash half a block away. It seemed almost at my feet. It did occur to me that my trekking poles might be a VERY bad idea. I quick dropped them.

 

[Andreee]

Initial autopsy fails to reveal what killed family of 3, pet dog on California hiking trail
Update: "Initial autopsy fails to reveal what killed family of 3"

Just heard about this latest update, as I read your post re. no clues during initial autopsy, kind of shocking. I wonder if this was indeed due to the algae, if there should be an indication of that from this initial autopsy or from clues at the scene? If it is due to gases, same question. This makes it even more pertinent to hear the toxicology report, hopefully it will be pushed asap! It sounds like the public with be privy to those results too, especially due to the location it happened at. I sure as heck would not want to go on that hike or any near it till this is solved. Worst case scenario? That there never would be an answer to this, which seems ludicrous in this modern day and age. The poor family, sorry they have to go through this not knowing, on top of losing their lovely family.

 

[Andreee]

Well, that's one of the juicier things I've read lately.
My problem with this theory for our current case is that the gas seeks low spots. The couple who died were almost right on the river, in hollowed out spaces, among mangroves, etc. They were dead within seconds.
We haven't heard yet where exactly our family was found, but if they were only 1 1/2 miles or so in, then they weren't at the bottom.

Judging by the description and the photos, I got the impression the family were on some kind of pathway on a ridge and a bit away from the river when they were discovered.

 

[Andreee]

Has to be a toxic gas IMO. Heatstroke and oral ingestion of many toxic substances would likely leave evidence of vomit/body fluids on at least one of the four.

I know many hikers wouldn’t take a child on this hike in August and some wonder if this was self-harm, but…plenty of people make less-than-ideal decisions with no intent other than having a pleasant outing. This applies even to experienced hikers. And - assuming they got both a dog and an infant to ingest something - there would likely be some fluids evidencing a poisoning IMO.

Yes, and not only that, if you were going to get those around you to ingest anything, you would think that would not take place on a hiking trail itself, but more off of it, at least a little ways!

 

[Andreee]

Has there been any discussion about their financial situation? I read that they had recently purchased 2 homes. I believe one was a rental property.

Well, one article said that they purchased 2 houses, plus had a nanny and another household employee, and that the husband was able to work from home, so it doesn't seem like they were troubled that way, and sounded like a happy, loving family.

 

[Lexiintoronto]

Judging by the description and the photos, I got the impression the family were on some kind of pathway on a ridge and a bit away from the river when they were discovered.

If you can easily find the photos and information, could you please post them? I looked at some blogs and photos of the trail, but I don’t have a good idea of where they were.

 

[SophieRose]

Well, one article said that they purchased 2 houses, plus had a nanny and another household employee, and that the husband was able to work from home, so it doesn't seem like they were troubled that way, and sounded like a happy, loving family.

They also had a new Ford Raptor truck, plus owned a bnb in Mariposa, in addition to the two other properties.

 

[azure]

I own a horse business, and we recently came to bring a client horse (teenage, super healthy looking, spoiled to death, regularly seen by the vet/farrier/chiropractor/massage therapist) in from night turnout only to find he'd suddenly passed during the night. This had never happened before, and his body was pristine, without a scratch on it. Our vet came out and said a sudden death could only be caused by an acute heart problem or lightning. She further said that not all horses who pass from lightning strikes have any visible damage to their bodies and that a necropsy would likely not be definitive as to whether the death was caused by lightning or a heart attack.

Obviously horses are very different from humans, but I'm inclined to say either this was heat stroke and everyone passed at different times after becoming unable to seek help, or there was a lightning strike which caused their deaths. I just can't get behind gas or algae for experienced hikers in an open area. The dog is still the wildcard here, as I think s/he'd be more likely to survive extreme heat. I'm guessing that necropsy was inconclusive.

ETA: my vet also said if the horse ingested any sort of toxic substance, he would be alive but symptomatic, instead of having dropped dead. In this case I'm not entirely sure how long this family was unaccounted for, but if they all dropped dead in the same place at the same time, I'd put ingestion of substances low on the list. Unless they were intentionally ingested earlier...

 

[Wild Rose]

We live on an iron ore body. Lightning hit the ground next door, blew up a rock, traveled underground, making a trench and went under my neighbors' house. The only damage was a six pack of beer on the cellar floor literally blew up. The dog by the beer was fine. No burn marks anywhere. But a 1 foot deep trench thru the yard for 20 feet or so then went back underground toward the house. It was like a huge shock but no burn. All my pictures blew off my walls.