CA - Jonathan Gerrish, Ellen Chung, daughter, 1 & dog, suspicious death hiking area, Aug 2021 #4

[PerplexedPatty]

Sequence of Events –

8/14/2021 – John Gerrish researches Hites Cove hike via phone app

8/15/2021 7:45 am – Witness sees Gerrish/Chung family traveling towards the trail head in their vehicle

8/16/2021 11 pm – Family friend reports family missing

8/17/2021 1:53 am – Family car located

8/17/2021 1:55 am – Search and Rescue Mission Initiated

8/17/2021 11 am – Family Located by Search and Rescue

8/19/2021 – Autopsies completed on Family and Dog- All currently pending toxicology

8/20/2021 – Search warrants issued for phone found with family

8/20/2021 – Search warrants issued for family home and cars- nothing significant located

8/23/2021 – Additional water samples collected from water sources along the trail area

8/24/2021 – Cell phone delivered to FBI for data extraction- Awaiting results

8/25/2021 – Search Warrants issued for possible social media access

Mariposa Sheriff’s Office Update on the Gerrish – Chung Family | Sierra News Online

 

[Yvettea]

Consider that they were hiking by the river for quite some time, about 2 miles. Anyone or anything splashing in the river could cause anatoxin-a to be released into the air. It could possibly be released at rapids. If someone inhaled a non-lethal amount of anatoxin-a it could still sicken them exacerbating the effect of the heat and impairing them from hiking out.

So the cause of their death could be related to more than one thing complicating the determination.

ETA to add missing word ‘one’

 

[PerplexedPatty]

This is a good thing! Moo is the autopsy samples went to dozens of labs. Pathologists around the globe would be interested in this case, I think.


Officials still seek answers in death of local family
| September 09, 2021

By GREG LITTLE Editor
It’s closing in on a month since three members of a Mariposa County family were found dead on a rugged trail near Jerseydale and there are no new updates about what may have caused the tragedy.

“We have a lot of agencies wanting to work on this for us,” said Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese on Tuesday morning.

Though that is a good thing when it comes to narrowing down and eventually determining the cause of death, it also can be frustrating because there are so many people working on...
(Paywall)
Officials still seek answers in death of local family | Mariposa Gazette

 

[PerplexedPatty]

Death caused by hyperthermia, either heatstroke or malignant hyperthermia, is diagnosed at the autopsy mainly using seric, histopathological and imunohistochemical methods. Even though unspectific morphological lesions are found in almost every organ, the most affected are skeletal muscles, gut, kidneys and brain.
(PDF) Morphological diagnosis of hyperthermia-related deaths

I simply can’t believe 3 heat related deaths yielded no findings to make determination. HS had to be the first thing the pathologists considered, imo. And surely the pathologists conferred with one another. I wonder if a pathologists came in from SF.

this: Even though unspectific morphological lesions are found in almost every organ, the most affected are skeletal muscles, gut, kidneys and brain. We present here a case of severe hyperthermia leading to heatstroke.

 

[Knox]

it seems unlikely the CA DOJ and FBI would be involved for heat related deaths. I have never heard of LE conducting interviews and obtaining SW for heat related deaths.

The Mariposa County Sheriff's Office is a small agency. It's not uncommon for smaller jurisdictions to partner with and ask for help in cases like this.

I believe the forensic testing is being done at the CA DOJ lab About Us - Public Safety & Law Enforcement - and - The FBI is trying to access Gerrish’s cell phone, which was found in his pocket Trails Closed Where Mariposa Family Mysteriously Died

Since COD was not apparent in the autopsies, it would be negligent not to conduct interviews and obtain search warrants, JMO. I'm still on the fence when it comes to theories. I can't rule out heat exhaustion or M/S. Hopefully the tox results come back soon.

I'm glad to see locals like you posting here, Welcome to Websleuths.

 

[Knox]

Sequence of Events –

8/14/2021 – John Gerrish researches Hites Cove hike via phone app

8/15/2021 7:45 am – Witness sees Gerrish/Chung family traveling towards the trail head in their vehicle

8/16/2021 11 pm – Family friend reports family missing

8/17/2021 1:53 am – Family car located

8/17/2021 1:55 am – Search and Rescue Mission Initiated

8/17/2021 11 am – Family Located by Search and Rescue

8/19/2021 – Autopsies completed on Family and Dog- All currently pending toxicology

8/20/2021 – Search warrants issued for phone found with family

8/20/2021 – Search warrants issued for family home and cars- nothing significant located

8/23/2021 – Additional water samples collected from water sources along the trail area

8/24/2021 – Cell phone delivered to FBI for data extraction- Awaiting results

8/25/2021 – Search Warrants issued for possible social media access

Mariposa Sheriff’s Office Update on the Gerrish – Chung Family | Sierra News Online

I've long been puzzled by the time lapse between the S&R being initiated and the family being located. They were only 1.5 miles from their vehicle?

 

[NSamuelle]

I've long been puzzled by the time lapse between the S&R being initiated and the family being located. They were only 1.5 miles from their vehicle?

MOO, I think SAR were thwarted by:
- lack of footprints going up or down SL
- footprints consistent with the family going up HC
- Darkness - otherwise, I’d think protocol would be to send teams down both ends of the loop. But with steep drop offs, you can’t put SAR on those SL switchbacks in the dark

I’m more confused by the time it took to report them missing

 

[MistyM]

if something happened to the baby and they stopped there, how close were they to a water source? perhaps mom ran to get liquids to pour on the baby while the father stayed back to shade the child, the water could have been contaminated, they did not mention any empty water bottles except for the water sack in the backpack. they could have immediately felt ill sat down and perished baby/dog, them dad and mom, she may have perished last as she was trying to find help. OR, it was really hot and they just died there, dog or baby first, then dad, then mom who may have crawled as far as she got.

i don't necessarily believe this but i'm trying to make it make sense, you know? i feel like an emergency with one of them happened and that delayed them.

i can think of lots of other reasons for what happened but it would be sketchy stuff. as soon as i heard of this family i thought of the mcstay family, so my imagination went all over the place.

 

[PerplexedPatty]

MOO, I think SAR were thwarted by:
- lack of footprints going up or down SL
- footprints consistent with the family going up HC
- Darkness - otherwise, I’d think protocol would be to send teams down both ends of the loop. But with steep drop offs, you can’t put SAR on those SL switchbacks in the dark

I’m more confused by the time it took to report them missing

The darkness had to be a huge detriment as well as the time it took to get ATVs and supplies (lights, medical supplies, etc) to the area.
It is rather strange no one reported them missing before 11pm, perhaps they often neglected to inform their babysitter they’d be away? I would have immediately been concerned if aware they hiked Sunday and did not answer phones Monday. But, we’re all different.

 

[PerplexedPatty]

An initial autopsy has revealed few clues in the mystery of what happened to a California family found dead on a hiking trail in the Sierra National Forest south of Yosemite.
More questions than answers after autopsy of family found dead

^^^^remember, the autopsy did not actually yield NO clues, it revealed “few”, meaning some. Imo, enough for the pathologists performing the autopsies to immediately know what “toxic substances” to test for. Bone, tissue samples, blood or stomach contents had to reveal something on one of the deceased imo.
Again, if tox’ tests do return positive results the quantitative tests are a must.
I bet when all is said and done this is one for the books and it will be shared amongst forensics experts globally.

 

[Recidivist]

I've long been puzzled by the time lapse between the S&R being initiated and the family being located. They were only 1.5 miles from their vehicle?

I am too. If they were found on the trail, it seems like as soon as sunrise the helicopter should have seen them, or the searchers sometime before 11:00. I wonder what happened that took so long?

 

[PerplexedPatty]

if something happened to the baby and they stopped there, how close were they to a water source? perhaps mom ran to get liquids to pour on the baby while the father stayed back to shade the child, the water could have been contaminated, they did not mention any empty water bottles except for the water sack in the backpack. they could have immediately felt ill sat down and perished baby/dog, them dad and mom, she may have perished last as she was trying to find help. OR, it was really hot and they just died there, dog or baby first, then dad, then mom who may have crawled as far as she got.

i don't necessarily believe this but i'm trying to make it make sense, you know? i feel like an emergency with one of them happened and that delayed them.

i can think of lots of other reasons for what happened but it would be sketchy stuff. as soon as i heard of this family i thought of the mcstay family, so my imagination went all over the place.

I can’t believe anyone would even consider using water from an unknown source to pour on a baby. Idk if Ellen was going for help since she didn’t grab John’s phone.

 

[HannahJJJ]

Not grabbing Jon's phone doesn't mean Ellen wasn't going for help. If my baby were dying or dead, if the animal who graced my life were dying or dead, if my mate were dying or dead, I'd go into panic mode, shock mode and start running or crawling, screaming in the direction of possible help, likely with no thought of the phone in my husband's pocket. MOO.

 

[PerplexedPatty]

Remember that the bodies were not retrieved until roughly 48 hours after death, during a heat wave. There is a lot about the conditions of their internal organs that might not have been able to be clearly identified.

Also, as was just mentioned, even if MOF *was* evident, that doesn't necessarily narrow the COD to heatstroke, so there still wouldn't be definitive information released just based on that. I always assume LE knows more than is publicly released. MOO

Oh, I’ve followed cases in which bodies have been exposed to far worse elements for much longer. Bodies are found in swamps, landfills, wooded areas, oceans, lakes, buildings and many have been where located months or longer. Few rarely have NO CoD. Jmo

 

[rahod1]

Many of us find it perplexing that an entire family and pet all died at the same time....how could this be? Answer (MOO)>>They didn't. Keep in mind this was a FAMILY and they would stay together at all costs. TWO members were dependents, so it really comes down to husband and wife.
The key point here is that they were TRAPPED in a situation for which, ultimately, there was NO ESCAPE...the clock was ticking when they started the hike back up the steep and brutal SL trail. Yes, it was a death trap at that point in their journey, since they couldn't simply rest in the heat.
So we have a cascade of death...with the most vulnerable perishing first whilst the remaining members succumbed thereafter to the unrelenting heat. We can speculate as to the sequence of death, but it really doesn't matter since they would stay together until the end. EC may have made a last desperate attempt, explaining her separation from the rest....we'll never know.

 

[RedHaus]

I am too. If they were found on the trail, it seems like as soon as sunrise the helicopter should have seen them, or the searchers sometime before 11:00. I wonder what happened that took so long?

The only thing I can add to this question, which also haunts me, is IIRC, LE deemed the recovery scene a Hazmat situation, for reasons we do not know. I think I opined a while back that perhaps they saw signs of vomit from one or more of the family members. But something visible likely triggered a Hazmat reaction. And to prepare for that takes time, including special equipment, clothing, and perhaps personnel. That may not have contributed to the delay in recovering the bodies, but it comes to mind.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

Oh, I’ve followed cases in which bodies have been exposed to far worse elements for much longer. Bodies are found in swamps, landfills, wooded areas, oceans, lakes, buildings and many have been where located months or longer. Few rarely have NO CoD. Jmo

I remember reading earlier on the thread that heat stroke is often a determination of elimination -- I forget the correct phrase but basically meaning it can't be determined except after everything else has been eliminated.

To me that says that no matter what was affirmatively found in the autopsies, it wasn't conclusive, and now there will most likely (barring some bombshell) be no definitive COD until some point in the future when they declare everything else ruled out and therefore heat stroke becomes the COD.

MOO

 

[rahod1]

I am too. If they were found on the trail, it seems like as soon as sunrise the helicopter should have seen them, or the searchers sometime before 11:00. I wonder what happened that took so long?

It's easy to second guess SAR....hindsight is always 20/20. Just MOO

 

[rahod1]

I remember reading earlier on the thread that heat stroke is often a determination of elimination -- I forget the correct phrase but basically meaning it can't be determined except after everything else has been eliminated.

Process Of Elimination | Definition of Process Of Elimination by Merriam-Webster

 

[Lex Parsimoniae]

MOO, I think SAR were thwarted by:
- lack of footprints going up or down SL
- footprints consistent with the family going up HC
- Darkness - otherwise, I’d think protocol would be to send teams down both ends of the loop. But with steep drop offs, you can’t put SAR on those SL switchbacks in the dark

I’m more confused by the time it took to report them missing

Yeah, it started in the middle of the night, the first search team followed the footprints down the HCT. Makes sense to focus on where the footprints led- down to the river. In hindsight they could have searched forever down there and not found them. Then when more searchers arrived, they sent them down the SLT. But it must not have been until mid-morning if they didn't find them 1.5 miles away until 11am. And either the helicopter didn't arrive until later, or it was busy searching the HCT. MHO.