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

[annpats]

The wild card here to me, is the dog. What type of dog was it?

A golden retriever.

 

[annpats]

At least now we know the dog was a Golden Retriever.
They're quite big with a hairy coat, so that definitely would've been a negative in the heat. Especially as dogs can't regulate their temperatures through sweating like humans can.

Entire family reported missing, later found dead in Mariposa County

@mickey2942

 

[Quiet Time]

I'd like to add that we are experiencing fires up there in the mountains. I'm down here in the valley.
And they have been advising us to stay indoors, due to the poor air quality.

Something abt the particles getting in to our lungs while breathing.
I wonder if that could have played a part in their deaths, a long w/heatstroke.

jmo

 

[happyday]

The wild card here to me, is the dog. What type of dog was it? All four, just dead? No apparent cause? Was there vomit in the area? That would be significant.

Vomit would be significant, but they could have vomited somewhere else before they got to where they stopped and ultimately died?

 

[JJ Ray]

Late to this party....down in Phoenix, AZ and involved in Daniel Robinson disappearance. Sorry if I'm repeating but;

A) Temp was 97 last Sunday.
B) looked at map, virtually entire trail is NOT shaded (maybe old Forest Fire damage? I see lots of felled trees at odd angles.
c) Elevation change to South Merced River is approx. 1400 feet, not an easy trek back up with baby.
A+B+C = Heat stroke. Can sneak up fast (personal experience last couple summers as I've aged). If you don't get you body temp down with shade or some type of cooling your body temp can get out of control.

At this point I believe I'm supposed to use the MOO acronym...
Dog is throwing me off but what if it was the dog that drank the water out of the river. Became ill on way back up, group stops, trys to help, expends time and energy?

I can also see the baby succumbing and becoming non-responsive. Couple is distraught? Father holds baby and wife tries to start up but also is to over heated.

Reminds me of a Japanese (?) couple who got lost at White Sands, NM 2 years ago. Middle of summer, 100+ I believe. They gave water to their son who was found the next day alive but husband and wife died of heat stroke.

 

[JJ Ray]

For those of you that think heatstroke is the cause -- what do you think the reason is that law enforcement hasn't said something to the effect of, "Due to lack of other obvious causes, these are likely a heat-related fatalities, but we aren't ruling it as such until we complete our investigation," rather than saying, "We've never seen anything like this..."

editing to add specific quotes:

Mitchell said:

"We've never seen anything like this, and I don't think this is a typical case that any agency throughout the nation has seen.

"When you come across, like I said at the beginning, a family, seemingly healthy family, and you come across mom, dad, dog, and baby all deceased, that's not normal."​

Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese said:

"I've been here for 20 years, and I've never seen a death-related case like this.

"There's no obvious indicators of how it occurred.

"You have two healthy adults, you have a healthy child, and what appears to be a healthy canine all within a general same area. None of the bodies had physical wounds such as gunshots or signs of trauma, and no suicide note was found," Mitchell said. "It makes for a very unique, very strange situation," she said. "I think it's going to be a very long and in depth, thorough investigation because it isn't as clear cut as what some cases are."
​

So, again I ask, for those of you who think heatstroke -- you think that local law enforcement with more than 20 years of service has never seen people succumb to heat related death before?

I had not seen any reporting that the LE or the family had desert hiking experience. All I can tell you is from personal experience, you get very dizzy and lightheaded, and in my case have "white outs" (everything becomes supper lit up). You need to get your blood pressure up (it drops as you get dehydrated) and cooled down. Fortunately I have water, and you need to apply that to the neck and get some breeze on your skin. I have never vomited during these episodes.

I don't think it occurred to them because like many involved in the search for Daniel Robinson, you come on a scene and you process it as you see it "one point in time". These deaths could easily be spread out over 1, 2, or even 10 hours. And maybe not all are heat stroke (dog may have drunk from river-if they made it to the bottom).

As some have pointed out, it is not uncommon for couples to expire at roughly the same rate or there is the naturally tendency to stay with them in the hopes they will recover and you can both get out. By then too late. And if baby didn't go first, and couple went, then baby goes soon after. MOO

 

[Razz]

I'm unfamiliar with the area but could all of them taken a dip in the water to cool down?

 

[Rguycali]

This article is behind a paywall (San Francisco Chronicle), but here it is:

'Not one clue': The mystery is only deepening around the family found dead on a Sierra trail

and the quote you're referring to:

"When the deputy found the truck, a search-and-rescue team hiked down the steep and straight road with flashlights and found shoe and paw prints similar to what you’d expect from a family of that size with a dog, Briese said."​

ROAD, so that means they didn't hike this 9 mile loop like some people are assuming. Which I never thought they did to begin with. They went down the back side down the road to the trail.

 

[Lexiintoronto]

On March 18, 2020 Jonathan mapped Hite's Cove Trail, but at that time it was still closed.
Jonathan Gerrish

But here it's checked as completed? Are the pictures on the post generic?
https://www.alltrails.com/members/jonathan-gerrish/completed

Cool old mine, some views, big climbs in places.
View Jonathan's activity

https://www.alltrails.com/members/jonathan-gerrish/photos

Ellen has a profile as well https://www.alltrails.com/members/ellen-chung-2

From your links above I took screenshots. According to his All Trails log, Jonathan previously completed part of the loop they did on Sunday (as per the SFC article). It’s an ‘out and back’ that is about 10.5 K and takes about 3 hours and 17 minutes. So, just that 1/3 or so of their route would have taken about 1 hour and 40 minutes. Then they trecked east and south, making a loop. In terms of time, this seems like a very long hike, IMO. It seems to be at least 5 hours. (?) (Correct me if I’m wrong, I’m just going by maps.)



ETA: Map from the SFC article with suspected route:'Not one clue': The mystery is only deepening around the family found dead on a Sierra trail

 

[RickshawFan]

I am still leaning towards a situation that created cardiac arrhythmias in them all. You won't necessarily see this in an immediate autopsy. And there might not be external markers. Electrical current or toxins. If they ran their water through a filter, it doesn't mean they eliminated certain toxins. They were all found dead, but might have died in short intervals after being incapacitated as well.

Lightning. It travels underground as well as at ground level. If this was an area of mines, the terrain likely has a sizable metal component. There could have succumbed to more than one lightning bolt. Many lightning victims have no sign of burns.

 

[annpats]

I'm unfamiliar with the area but could all of them taken a dip in the water to cool down?

Yes. This has been discussed at various points over the last 28 pages.

 

[RickshawFan]

Other theories we have considered:
- toxic algae (I’ll see what articles I can find but algae isn’t an instanteanous death; it might have incapacitated them enough to make them vulnerable to the elements, dehydration, etc., but onset is not that fast in adults).
- lightning (cool theory, but wouldn’t you have marks on the body? If anyone can find a case of lightning strikes not leaving a mark, that would be helpful. Otherwise I think this is ruled out).
- CO - No. The nearest mine was 3 miles away and a carboxyhemoglobin test would be back by now.

Snipped for focus
Regarding lightning....

The thing is, the bodies weren't found right away. It was, what, 2 days or so later? They're out there in the baking sun, presumably. And then, they also stayed an extra night watched over by 2 LE.
This would surely change what the body composition was? The skin? Marks might be only temporary anyway, but with decomposition, maybe lightning marks would be occluded.
Also, not everyone gets marks when struck by lightning.

Everything and then some, about lightning: Lightning FAQ

 

[JJ Ray]

I originally was looking at the same info but from an early post quoting sources...It is not Hite Cove Trail they were on, it was a trail at the end of Hite Cove Road. It runs from the south through Jerseydale. The end of the road is at Savage-Lundy Trail that goes to Devils Gulch. Downstream is Hite's Cove. I have the truck parked at 37.606276,-119.836556 with the trail having an elevation change of 1400 feet and a distance one-way (with switchbacks) of about 3.5 miles. I think the post ws on the first or second page of the thread.

 

[mickey2942]

Vomit would be significant, but they could have vomited somewhere else before they got to where they stopped and ultimately died?

Yes. I am interested in the dog. And exactly what the position of the bodies was. The significance of the dog, is that a Golden Retriver is more likely to have stayed with the family, especially the baby, if the parents had an issue with heat. The weather is crazy this year.

 

[RickshawFan]

It was reported that he was sitting and the baby was next to him, so, out of carrier. The wife was a short distance away farther up the hill.

The baby might have been sitting next to him, but IN the carrier. You can pop the legs out of standard carriers so they stand stable on the ground. The baby won't tip, either.

 

[JJ Ray]

From your links above I took screenshots. According to his All Trails log, Jonathan previously completed part of the loop they did on Sunday (as per the SFC article). It’s an ‘out and back’ that is about 10.5 K and takes about 3 hours and 17 minutes. So, just that 1/3 or so of their route would have taken about 1 hour and 40 minutes. Then they trecked east and south, making a loop. In terms of time, this seems like a very long hike, IMO. It seems to be at least 5 hours. (?) (Correct me if I’m wrong, I’m just going by maps.)
View attachment 309823
View attachment 309824

ETA: Map from the SFC article with suspected route:'Not one clue': The mystery is only deepening around the family found dead on a Sierra trail
View attachment 309827

Here is the Fresno Bee article section that explains more in detail where the trail and car were. My other post was to be directed to you as well. I have the truck parked at 37.606276,-119.836556 with the trail having an elevation change of 1400 feet and a distance one-way (with switchbacks) of about 3.5 miles.

"The family was found dead Tuesday on the Savage-Lundy Trail in Devil’s Gulch near Hites Cove, a popular hiking destination. Briese said the family was located a couple miles from the south fork of the Merced River and about 1.5 miles from their vehicle, a gray truck, parked at a trailhead down Hites Cove Road past the Jerseydale Sierra National Forest station and community of Mariposa Pines.

 

[SophieRose]

The trail they took was the Hites Cove OHV trail, different from the Hites Cove trail, and trailhead is right off Hites Cove Road. I think when they hit the river, there is no real trail and they just walk until they hit Savage Lundy.

Actually looks like road goes along river. Here's a video of it. Video taken in 2017, most of those trees would have burned in the 2018 Ferguson fire.

 

[Lexiintoronto]

I originally was looking at the same info but from an early post quoting sources...It is not Hite Cove Trail they were on, it was a trail at the end of Hite Cove Road. It runs from the south through Jerseydale. The end of the road is at Savage-Lundy Trail that goes to Devils Gulch. Downstream is Hite's Cove. I have the truck parked at 37.606276,-119.836556 with the trail having an elevation change of 1400 feet and a distance one-way (with switchbacks) of about 3.5 miles. I think the post ws on the first or second page of the thread.

I’m not quite following your coordinates (my inability, this is out of my depth). I’d need to see a map to understand. Do you think they did an ‘out and back’ down the switchbacks to Devil’s Gulch and tried to return?

The SFC reporter wrote this about the map and route he made that I previously posted:
Matthias Gafni
@mgafni
·
Aug 20

With the help of the Mariposa sheriff, we were able to create a more accurate map of the suspected hike the family took. And sadly where they were found.
https://twitter.com/mgafni/status/1428907517019516928?s=20

I understand where the truck was parked, and where they were unfortunately found. I’m trying to get a sense of how long the hike took based on the suspected route.

 

[tarabull]

RSBM...

With the help of the Mariposa sheriff, we were able to create a more accurate map of the suspected hike the family took. And sadly where they were found.
https://twitter.com/mgafni/status/1428907517019516928?s=20

 

[Lexiintoronto]

I'm unfamiliar with the area but could all of them taken a dip in the water to cool down?

Yes, but we don’t know if they did as their clothes were dry when found. There apparently is toxic algae in the river so they may have tried to avoid it.