CA - Jonathan Gerrish, Ellen Chung, daughter, 1 & dog, suspicious death hiking area, Aug 2021 #3

[Auntie Cipation]

MOO

Being new to these threads, I took a lot of the numbers about temperature and where they would be on the trail that were mentioned in various places at face value. I just assumed they were accurate.

But since I have absolutely no life, I found time to run through all that data. And if they did a straight hike as many believe, I don’t see how any of them would have encountered temperatures over 100 degrees on that trail, let alone 106 or 109.

To judge times on the trail, I used the standard Naismith’s Rule for hikers, hill walkers, etc., which is 1hr for every 3mi, plus an additional hour for every 2000ft of climb.

The route from the trailhead on Hite Cove Road begins at 3900ft elevation and drops down to the river at Nutmeg Gulch (1800ft) covering 2.5 miles. (Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5344035.pdf )

The level route on South Fork Trail from Nutmeg Gulch along the river to the base of Savage-Lundy Trail is 3.1 miles. (Source: Hiking on the Savage Lundy Trail | Sierra News Online )

The hike from the signpost on the South Fork trail up Savage-Lundy Trail is 3.0 miles and an ascent of approx. 2100ft. (Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5344038.pdf )

The relevant temperatures on 8/15/21 at the Jerseydale weather station (elev. 3900ft) were:
8am: 82F
9am: 84F
10am: 89F
11am: 91F
Noon: 94F
1pm: 95F
Source - Jerseydale California

The relevant temperatures that day at the El Portal weather station (elev. 2050ft) were:

8am: 85F
9am: 92F
10am: 99F
11am: 103F
Noon: 107F
Source - El Portal California

They’re seen approaching the trailhead at 7:45 that morning. If they start the hike at 8am, it would be 82F where they are at the top. They would be down at Nutmeg Gulch on the river by 8:50am before the temperature got to be 92F. Then they would cover the level 3.1 mile trail along the river in an hour. But I’ll be conservative and add in 10 minutes for water breaks and maybe a diaper change.

So by 10am, and they would conservatively be at the base of Savage-Lundy Trail, ready to head up back to the truck. The temperature would be 99F.

Up to that point, they have only hiked for 2 hours, with breaks, on downhill or level terrain. The temperature over that time has spanned from 82F to 99F. And they’ve had immediate access to the river if anyone wanted to quickly dunk in or wet their clothes.

So far, that’s a mild to moderate hike on a hot California day with a cool river nearby.

According to Naismith’s Rule, it should take them 2 hours to hike up the 3 miles of switchbacks (3 miles plus 2000ft ascent). But it’s hot and sunny, so I’ll be extra conservative again and tack on an extra hour just for very frequent stops to rest and hydrate and snack. That is a generous 3 hours to hike 3 miles.

They would be halfway up, at elevation 2900, at 11:30am. The temperature at the top of the trail (3900ft) would be 92-93F at 11:30. The temperature at the bottom where the started the climb would be 105F at 11:30. The temperature in the middle would again be around 99F. And that’s presuming a very leisurely stroll of 1 hour of hiking intermixed with an additional 30 minutes of nothing but stopping, resting and hydrating along the switchbacks.

The last 1.5 miles would take another conservative 1.5 hours with stopping and hydrating along the way, arriving at the top by 1pm.

The temperature at the top at 1pm was only 95F. So during the last 1.5 miles of hiking to the very top, they would have been experiencing cooling temperatures as they went.

What am I missing? How did we all think they would have been on the trail down below during the times it was over 100F?

MOO

Well, one way would be if they lounged for hours at the river like you speculated earlier.

Also, I haven't looked at the differences in location and environment between the El Portal station and the Jerseydale station, but since all of those readings (if they are official weather stations) are data from IN THE SHADE, I have been assuming it would be several degrees warmer on an unshaded trail than what was observed at the official stations. I'm also wary of such large differences in observed temps between El Portal and Jerseydale without understanding why, and determining which station most closely approximates the conditions they might have experienced. MOO

 

[woods]

Didn’t LE say toxicology might be back as early as today? I guess not yet because I can’t find any updates.

On September 2nd, Sheriff Briese said that the toxicology results were back for some of the individuals, however, they still don’t have an exact cause of death yet.

 

[moslym3]

Honestly, following this case and taking in all the details, I come from the perspective that there was nothing "survivable" about what might have been their least aggressive plan. Even just a few mile hike, with that level of grade, in the middle of the day, with no shade or relief in that climate is unsurvivable as far as I'm concerned. Add to that a baby and a dog? Would anyone in this forum take their dog out on a hike in the middle of the hot sunny day with no cover? I can't imagine any dog owner I know who would do that to their dog. The weather that day was very similar to the weather of all the days before it. HOT

Essentially a mid-day desert hike in August? You don't even step out on your patio for more than a few minutes at that time of day around there.

They must have been lulled into underestimating the demands of the hike, or didn't realize the fires had burned away any shade. They may have had their doubts but carried on, thinking they could cool down and rest at the river. But what lay ahead was a several miles of switchbacks in pure sun at the height of the day's temps. In my mind the dog stopped moving first and had to be carried. What a tragedy.
All my own opinions.

 

[happyday]

Hey guys!

My husband of all people brought this case to my attention so I haven't yet read the whole thread. I'm about to go read starting at post 1 but just a quick question if y'all don't mind indulging me... do we know if LE has inspected the home? Also, could this be a murder suicide using some offbeat chemical? It's okay to throw some tomatoes at me but not too hard (or rotten) please.

Certainly there is an explanation that just hasn't yet been found but in the meantime it's quite the mystery. I look forward to seeing all your theories! Off to read now...

Hi MsMarple!
Have fun reading through all of this haha. It’s a lot of head scratching. Honestly this is one of the few cases where there are SO MANY good and plausible theories. One is almost as good as any other, and people are making such good cases for their theories. I can’t commit to one, but I still lean toward the heat. It’s strange.

 

[NSamuelle]

Didn’t LE say toxicology might be back as early as today? I guess not yet because I can’t find any updates.

I hope so - I have no idea. I know toxicology can take weeks, but LE said they expedited it so I would hope they could at least speak to the deadly algae rumors.

The public should be notified ASAP if there’s a strain of algae out there that kills healthy adults. And the media is running with the deadly algae hook because it’s all they have, stoking fears that may not be warranted or that may be more appropriately focused on heat/planning/preparation.

One shrewd poster here noted that testing for that algae is not a straightforward process, but it’s been 3 weeks …

 

[Lucy Locket]

Hello again. Thank you for the warm welcome to WS! I just wanted to post a link to these articles:

AAAS

HEAT IS KILLING MORE PEOPLE THAN EVER. SCIENTISTS ARE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO LOWER THE RISK (title of article)

This article discusses how complicated heat exhaustion/heat stroke is/can be. It is more difficult to determine than I first thought.

Apparently air conditioning/reliance on it is problematic for heat acclimatisation. It's better to use a fan to cool down it says. Furthermore,
internal body heat regulation is the crucial thing it seems...heat exhaustion etc may depend on how much weight you are carrying/how fast you are going etc. (even at lower external temperatures)...

It also mentions the effects of the heat re:deforestation and being thirsty/dehydrated. Also another point: the effects of fitness; being overweight or unhealthy; the differing effects of ethnicity. Fascinating article.

Re: the dog...aussie shepherd/akita - apparently - very energetic. Perhaps it was able to go a large distance and then succumbed to the heat...

I also thought about the chances of being struck by lightning but apparently the chances of a direct hit are only 3/5% apparently. So the below article says (I think). I managed to read it for free but now it has gone to paywall so I cannot double check. @SpideySense seems to know much more about it than I do!

This is what happens when you get struck by lightning

I think the different theories that everyone is posting on here are absolutely fascinating.

It is a total puzzle this case. I don't envy LE their job.

I hope they can come up with some answers soon: not least for their families. It is the not knowing which is a terrible feeling. Fingers crossed that the answers can come soon.

Everything all MOO.

 

[gitana1]

Even if the dog were to accidentally get in and/or drink river water with toxic algae, why even take that risk on that day? They lived in a forested area and had a lovely in ground pool. Maybe the mines were the draw, but they would still be there in the cooler months. The heat plus the poor air quality both had to impact exertion that day in MOO.

That’s the big mystery for me. I do wonder about the possibility of something self-inflicted. But nothing indicated this family was unhappy or facing anything dire, so, I don’t know.

I have a feeling it was an avalanche of events with heat being a huge factor, as well as poor decision making.

Hello.
My family and I actually live about 60 miles due west of this area, so we are locals paying attention to this case.
My spouse and I used to live in Yosemite Valley as we worked there, we also used to drive that highway daily to and from work after we moved out of the Valley and into Mariposa town.
We know quite a bit the terrain very very well, we had worked as part of a labor crew rebuilding campgrounds along the Merced River downstream.

We are not liking the suspicion of "Toxic Algae Bloom" very much. Having lived in and around the area for many years, and now living in area with local ponds and two lakes, Algae Bloom happens all the time. It takes really high amounts of it to kill humans, and although "Toxic Algae Bloom" can be inhaled, again, it would take incredibly high concentrations of it to kill rapidly all at once.
We camped one weekend many years ago at a campground right next to the lake at Salton Sea, spent all night breathing that air, woke up to hundreds of dead fish along the lake shore (now THAT was a terrible smell) BUT we did NOT die from those fumes, even at such high levels.

If we go back to the carbon monoxide theory from the air from the mines — there is an odd, overlooked possibility. So, where we live in the foothills, we have roads going uphill and down and around the bends. We can drive along the top ridge of the hill and fry in 110 degrees F, go down the hill and through a narrow section between hills and drive through an air pocket of cooler air - air cooled being in the shade on the north side of the hill all day. That cool air does not move very fast or at all when the winds do not blow. So an air pocket could have formed in the apex of the "V" section of the trail where the family was found. That "V" section - those parts are known to have water draining between the sections of hillside meeting together, it could have an opening to an underground spring. If the air does not move very fast from lack of winds moving air pockets around, underground gases could have collected and formed an air pocket there, which they all could have breathed. If the winds blew overnight and dispersed the gases, no trace of the gases would be found present.

There is one more thing that is often very much overlooked and that is there is a possibility of an underground volcano fissure along that area. The name "Devil's Gulch", "Devil's Peak", and further south east — "Devil's Postpile", an area of basalt columns formed by volcanic activity right next to June Mountain and Mammoth Mountain, known dormant volcanos — right on the other side of Yosemite NP.
So, following that angle from "Devil's Gulch" along to where the South Fork of the Merced River meets the main river channel — if you keep going straight NNW along hwy 49 to where Hwy 49 meets highway 108, actually where highway 108 meets highway 120 west of Jamestown, there is an area called "Red Hills Recreational Management Area" — that section is actually the visible rim of a blown volcano. And it blew fairly recently in the last 1000 years as down the road from our house there is a rock from that volcano sitting in a field and minding its own.
But South of the area of "Devil's Gulch" along the area known as "Bootjack" (Where the heck is "Bootjack"?) there is a residential area of Mariposa County formed by Midpines, Triangle Road, Tiptop Road, Darrah Road, etc. And, my spouse, while growing up, lived in many different houses and rentals as his family moved around a lot for cheaper rents. There are houses where, on one section of the mountain, the well water contains high amounts of iron in the water and there are some sections where the water contains high amounts of sulphur - and sulphur in the underground water is a high indication of a volcano fissure.
It is highly likely that after several of the fires, the earth movement of that huge rockslide at Highway 140 back in 2006, a lack of trees or shrubs to stabilize the soil on the hillside, a fissure opened up and released some toxic gases. It need be no larger than a 1-foot-wide x 1-foot-long crack to release gases from an underground fissure. It can go undetected for years as this hiking trail is not heavily traveled, or if winds are blowing and constantly dispersing gases.
But, we locals, are thinking that, with all the family and the dog dead at once - they would have had to have been exposed and died very quickly. And, just because there are few mines in the area does not mean there are no other underground fissures or channels present.

And that’s what we have so far, until further investigation is revealed.

Very interesting. So you’re thinking there’s a possibility a fissure erupted on the trail and they were immediately overcome? Is that possible out in the open, as opposed to in a cave or something?

 

[happyday]

I hope so - I have no idea. I know toxicology can take weeks, but LE said they expedited it so I would hope they could at least speak to the deadly algae rumors.

The public should be notified ASAP if there’s a strain of algae out there that kills healthy adults. And the media is running with the deadly algae hook because it’s all they have, stoking fears that may not be warranted or that may be more appropriately focused on heat/planning/preparation.

One shrewd poster here noted that testing for that algae is not a straightforward process, but it’s been 3 weeks …

Yeah I think the algae could possibly play a part, but I’d be really surprised if it killed all of them. This would be a huge new danger if they were all taken out so quickly by algae, and we all need to be aware if that’s the case.

 

[gitana1]

MOO

Being new to these threads, I took a lot of the numbers about temperature and where they would be on the trail that were mentioned in various places at face value. I just assumed they were accurate.

But since I have absolutely no life, I found time to run through all that data. And if they did a straight hike as many believe, I don’t see how any of them would have encountered temperatures over 100 degrees on that trail, let alone 106 or 109.

To judge times on the trail, I used the standard Naismith’s Rule for hikers, hill walkers, etc., which is 1hr for every 3mi, plus an additional hour for every 2000ft of climb.

The route from the trailhead on Hite Cove Road begins at 3900ft elevation and drops down to the river at Nutmeg Gulch (1800ft) covering 2.5 miles. (Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5344035.pdf )

The level route on South Fork Trail from Nutmeg Gulch along the river to the base of Savage-Lundy Trail is 3.1 miles. (Source: Hiking on the Savage Lundy Trail | Sierra News Online )

The hike from the signpost on the South Fork trail up Savage-Lundy Trail is 3.0 miles and an ascent of approx. 2100ft. (Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5344038.pdf )

The relevant temperatures on 8/15/21 at the Jerseydale weather station (elev. 3900ft) were:
8am: 82F
9am: 84F
10am: 89F
11am: 91F
Noon: 94F
1pm: 95F
Source - Jerseydale California

The relevant temperatures that day at the El Portal weather station (elev. 2050ft) were:

8am: 85F
9am: 92F
10am: 99F
11am: 103F
Noon: 107F
Source - El Portal California

They’re seen approaching the trailhead at 7:45 that morning. If they start the hike at 8am, it would be 82F where they are at the top. They would be down at Nutmeg Gulch on the river by 8:50am before the temperature got to be 92F. Then they would cover the level 3.1 mile trail along the river in an hour. But I’ll be conservative and add in 10 minutes for water breaks and maybe a diaper change.

So by 10am, and they would conservatively be at the base of Savage-Lundy Trail, ready to head up back to the truck. The temperature would be 99F.

Up to that point, they have only hiked for 2 hours, with breaks, on downhill or level terrain. The temperature over that time has spanned from 82F to 99F. And they’ve had immediate access to the river if anyone wanted to quickly dunk in or wet their clothes.

So far, that’s a mild to moderate hike on a hot California day with a cool river nearby.

According to Naismith’s Rule, it should take them 2 hours to hike up the 3 miles of switchbacks (3 miles plus 2000ft ascent). But it’s hot and sunny, so I’ll be extra conservative again and tack on an extra hour just for very frequent stops to rest and hydrate and snack. That is a generous 3 hours to hike 3 miles.

They would be halfway up, at elevation 2900, at 11:30am. The temperature at the top of the trail (3900ft) would be 92-93F at 11:30. The temperature at the bottom where the started the climb would be 105F at 11:30. The temperature in the middle would again be around 99F. And that’s presuming a very leisurely stroll of 1 hour of hiking intermixed with an additional 30 minutes of nothing but stopping, resting and hydrating along the switchbacks.

The last 1.5 miles would take another conservative 1.5 hours with stopping and hydrating along the way, arriving at the top by 1pm.

The temperature at the top at 1pm was only 95F. So during the last 1.5 miles of hiking to the very top, they would have been experiencing cooling temperatures as they went.

What am I missing? How did we all think they would have been on the trail down below during the times it was over 100F?

MOO

That’s much better but 99 degrees going steeply uphill is hell on earth and IMO that could easily cause someone to quickly succumb. Especially a dog, who, as I pointed out, is covered in a fur coat, can’t sweat, is closer to the heat radiating off the ground, farther away from any breeze and has more surface area exposed to the sun.

 

[deadfoot13]

So here's a question/thought... It was noted somewhere along the way that the family wasn't disturbed by wildlife. I would guess that the daytime temperatures caused wildlife to stay sheltered, but it did cool down overnight, yet even then wildlife didn't make an appearance? I've been of the opinion that this was all heat-related, but the fact that typical scavengers stayed away gives me pause. MOO.

 

[armchairagatha]

I wonder if any medical expert here can chime in on whether 24-36 hrs in the baking sun after death would make it impossible to pinpoint heatstroke as the COD during autopsy. Would any markers of heat stroke be wiped out after prolonged exposure to heat after death? Is that why LE is not able to confirm or rule out heat as the cause of death?

 

[Curious_in_NC]

One recent one was a 13 miles hike.

I hike 3 -4 times per week, usually 1.5 to 2.5 hours. Bigger hikes are 4-5 hours.

I don’t log anything.

If by "recent" you mean the hike JG did on April 4, 2020, please take a closer look. The 13 mile route is marked "completed" but his actual recorded hike there is 3.0 miles (you have to look under reviews and look up his associated activity). So it seems doubtful he did the whole route. Likewise there is a 17 mile hike recorded under JG's activities (March 13, 2021) but I suspect he just forgot to turn off the app. From the mile splits it looks more like 3 miles were at hiking pace and 14 miles were in a vehicle.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

I think some of the frustration here is from trying to find a "one size fits all" hypothesis. There's no reason there might not have been two, three, or even four different causes of death at play here.

 

[wary]

Well, one way would be if they lounged for hours at the river like you speculated earlier.

Also, I haven't looked at the differences in location and environment between the El Portal station and the Jerseydale station, but since all of those readings (if they are official weather stations) are data from IN THE SHADE, I have been assuming it would be several degrees warmer on an unshaded trail than what was observed at the official stations. I'm also wary of such large differences in observed temps between El Portal and Jerseydale without understanding why, and determining which station most closely approximates the conditions they might have experienced. MOO

I think the differences in the readings at the two weather stations are due to the Jerseydale one being at a substantially higher elevation.

However, I think you’re completely right that there’s a big difference between a temperature ‘in the shade’ vs one on a burnt-off hillside with no shade at all.

All MOO

 

[rosesfromangels]

Hello.
My family and I actually live about 60 miles due west of this area, so we are locals paying attention to this case.
My spouse and I used to live in Yosemite Valley as we worked there, we also used to drive that highway daily to and from work after we moved out of the Valley and into Mariposa town.
We know quite a bit the terrain very very well, we had worked as part of a labor crew rebuilding campgrounds along the Merced River downstream.

We are not liking the suspicion of "Toxic Algae Bloom" very much. Having lived in and around the area for many years, and now living in area with local ponds and two lakes, Algae Bloom happens all the time. It takes really high amounts of it to kill humans, and although "Toxic Algae Bloom" can be inhaled, again, it would take incredibly high concentrations of it to kill rapidly all at once.
We camped one weekend many years ago at a campground right next to the lake at Salton Sea, spent all night breathing that air, woke up to hundreds of dead fish along the lake shore (now THAT was a terrible smell) BUT we did NOT die from those fumes, even at such high levels.

If we go back to the carbon monoxide theory from the air from the mines — there is an odd, overlooked possibility. So, where we live in the foothills, we have roads going uphill and down and around the bends. We can drive along the top ridge of the hill and fry in 110 degrees F, go down the hill and through a narrow section between hills and drive through an air pocket of cooler air - air cooled being in the shade on the north side of the hill all day. That cool air does not move very fast or at all when the winds do not blow. So an air pocket could have formed in the apex of the "V" section of the trail where the family was found. That "V" section - those parts are known to have water draining between the sections of hillside meeting together, it could have an opening to an underground spring. If the air does not move very fast from lack of winds moving air pockets around, underground gases could have collected and formed an air pocket there, which they all could have breathed. If the winds blew overnight and dispersed the gases, no trace of the gases would be found present.

There is one more thing that is often very much overlooked and that is there is a possibility of an underground volcano fissure along that area. The name "Devil's Gulch", "Devil's Peak", and further south east — "Devil's Postpile", an area of basalt columns formed by volcanic activity right next to June Mountain and Mammoth Mountain, known dormant volcanos — right on the other side of Yosemite NP.
So, following that angle from "Devil's Gulch" along to where the South Fork of the Merced River meets the main river channel — if you keep going straight NNW along hwy 49 to where Hwy 49 meets highway 108, actually where highway 108 meets highway 120 west of Jamestown, there is an area called "Red Hills Recreational Management Area" — that section is actually the visible rim of a blown volcano. And it blew fairly recently in the last 1000 years as down the road from our house there is a rock from that volcano sitting in a field and minding its own.
But South of the area of "Devil's Gulch" along the area known as "Bootjack" (Where the heck is "Bootjack"?) there is a residential area of Mariposa County formed by Midpines, Triangle Road, Tiptop Road, Darrah Road, etc. And, my spouse, while growing up, lived in many different houses and rentals as his family moved around a lot for cheaper rents. There are houses where, on one section of the mountain, the well water contains high amounts of iron in the water and there are some sections where the water contains high amounts of sulphur - and sulphur in the underground water is a high indication of a volcano fissure.
It is highly likely that after several of the fires, the earth movement of that huge rockslide at Highway 140 back in 2006, a lack of trees or shrubs to stabilize the soil on the hillside, a fissure opened up and released some toxic gases. It need be no larger than a 1-foot-wide x 1-foot-long crack to release gases from an underground fissure. It can go undetected for years as this hiking trail is not heavily traveled, or if winds are blowing and constantly dispersing gases.
But, we locals, are thinking that, with all the family and the dog dead at once - they would have had to have been exposed and died very quickly. And, just because there are few mines in the area does not mean there are no other underground fissures or channels present.

And that’s what we have so far, until further investigation is revealed.

Thank you for this great info, and for the local perspective. So valuable!

None of these environmental toxin hypothesis add up for me. I am trying to understand why an intelligent couple would take their infant out in this extreme heat for such an extended period of hike. Doesn't add up.
We are missing a critical piece of back story, which I'm sure will emerge soon.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[SpideySense]

Honestly, following this case and taking in all the details, I come from the perspective that there was nothing "survivable" about what might have been their least aggressive plan. Even just a few mile hike, with that level of grade, in the middle of the day, with no shade or relief in that climate is unsurvivable as far as I'm concerned. Add to that a baby and a dog? Would anyone in this forum take their dog out on a hike in the middle of the hot sunny day with no cover? I can't imagine any dog owner I know who would do that to their dog. The weather that day was very similar to the weather of all the days before it. HOT

Essentially a mid-day desert hike in August? You don't even step out on your patio for more than a few minutes at that time of day around there.

They must have been lulled into underestimating the demands of the hike, or didn't realize the fires had burned away any shade. They may have had their doubts but carried on, thinking they could cool down and rest at the river. But what lay ahead was a several miles of switchbacks in pure sun at the height of the day's temps. In my mind the dog stopped moving first and had to be carried. What a tragedy.
All my own opinions.

MOO

We may live in very different parts of the world. Where I live in Sonoma County, it’s not only survivable to be out all day long in the sun when temps are 95+F, it’s routine! The ranchers around here are out with their working dogs for hours on end with no shade. Like, all the time. Our weather this summer has been mid to high 90’s for a good chunk of the summer, with the occasional 100 or 101 thrown in. Life, especially ranch life, goes on.

My son’s been having grueling high school football practices this past month starting at 3:30 in the afternoon when the temperatures are sometimes still 97F or 98F. The coaches don’t cancel them.

Here in California, we have herds of cattle and dairy cows (who also rely on respiration to cool, like dogs) that literally bake out in the open with no shade in the Central Valley and inland coastal valleys when temperatures hover around 110F.

Maybe I’m just used to a different way of life.

MOO

 

[Parsnip]

MOO

We may live in very different parts of the world. Where I live in Sonoma County, it’s not only survivable to be out all day long in the sun when temps are 95+F, it’s routine! The ranchers around here are out with their working dogs for hours on end with no shade. Like, all the time. Our weather this summer has been mid to high 90’s for a good chunk of the summer, with the occasional 100 or 101 thrown in. Life, especially ranch life, goes on.

My son’s been having grueling high school football practices this past month starting at 3:30 in the afternoon when the temperatures are sometimes still 97F or 98F. The coaches don’t cancel them.

Here in California, we have herds of cattle and dairy cows (who also rely on respiration to cool, like dogs) that literally bake out in the open with no shade in the Central Valley and inland coastal valleys when temperatures hover around 110F.

Maybe I’m just used to a different way of life.

MOO

I don’t think so. I am a farm worker. I work every day, regardless of conditions. Sometimes, I am drying greens in the spin cycle in a washing machine. Other times, I am packing sticky hemp. It all depends on what you are used to. And what you are prepared for. And hubris. And help.

MOO

 

[Seni]

CO would show up on autopsy even if there was no trace of it left in the air (carboxyhemoglobin). I’m not sure about other gases, but I’m taking LE “at their word” and trusting that they did their due diligence before dismissing chemical exposure as a COD. Volcanic gases (H2S) smell like rotten eggs so the family definitely would’ve noticed it; it’s not an “invisible” threat.

But they didnt. Volcanic gases would not have been active. We can check a geomorphical map for this area to plot possible sources edit plus seismic activity.

 

[NSamuelle]

But they didnt. Volcanic gases would not have been active. We can check a geomorphical map for this area to plot possible sources edit plus seismic activity.

I agree, but was responding to a comment that referenced volcanic gases as a potential poisoning source.

 

[Sunny Day]

In response to a question during Thursday’s sheriff update, about whether toxicology results were back yet, Briese said, “Some are, yes. But we still do not have an exact cause of death yet."
So it sounds like they have some toxicology results, but still no cause of death?
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article254080593.html