Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 19, 2024 11:05:51 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2021 3:09:03 GMT
I don’t buy it either.
|
|
|
Post by worrywart on Oct 22, 2021 3:45:44 GMT
This is an extremely strange update. I wonder how far from their car they were - I just don't know that I have ever heard of a group of people (and an animal) all suffering from dehydration and dying suddenly. Not sure that the authorities have any reason to lie about it though, sad for them and their families.
|
|
|
Post by ntsf on Oct 22, 2021 4:04:46 GMT
I believe one article said they were 1.5 or 1.7 miles from car.. up steep switchbacks.. no water left in hydration pack. rough terrain. I wonder how experienced they were ..the same article didn't say much about their hiking experience, just a lot of festival/concert going..
if they got heat stroke, you can die quick. why out in that weather with a baby is a mystery to me.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 19, 2024 11:05:51 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2021 4:12:31 GMT
I believe one article said they were 1.5 or 1.7 miles from car.. up steep switchbacks.. no water left in hydration pack. rough terrain. I wonder how experienced they were ..the same article didn't say much about their hiking experience, just a lot of festival/concert going.. if they got heat stroke, you can die quick. why out in that weather with a baby is a mystery to me. And only 85oz for 3 people and a dog. I drink more than that a day in 90°+ weather.
|
|
|
Post by onelasttime on Oct 22, 2021 4:27:44 GMT
They were experienced outdoor people/hikers and they were by the river. Even if they didn’t want to drink the water they could cool their body temperature in the water I would think.
From the Washington Post…
“For two months, a family’s hiking trail death was a mystery. Officials now say it was hyperthermia.”
By Meryl Kornfield and Julian Mark Today at 11:20 p.m. EDT
“For more than two months, California authorities could not say what killed a young family of three and their dog along a hiking trail in the Sierra National Forest.
The bodies of John Gerrish, Ellen Chung and their 1-year-old daughter, Miju, were found close to the Merced River with no physical wounds or signs of trauma. Baffled investigators ruled out a number of possibilities, from lightning to carbon monoxide exposure and toxic algae. Now they have an answer: hyperthermia and possible dehydration, Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese announced Thursday.
The family had hiked a steep incline with little shade at temperatures reaching up to 109 degrees, possibly running out of water at some point during the trip, Briese said. Investigators believe their dog Oski died of heat-related issues.
Briese explained hyperthermia is a condition when body temperatures reach an abnormally high level.
“This is an unfortunate and tragic event due to the weather,” Briese said. In a statement, the Gerrish and Chung families expressed “pain almost beyond words” amid a void of answers during the investigation.
“Our hearts will never forget the beautiful lives of Jonathan, Ellen, Miju and of course Oski,” they continued.
The remote canyon area northeast of the town of Mariposa, Calif., where a family and their dog were reportedly found dead. (Craig Kohlruss/The Fresno Bee via AP, File) (Craig Kohlruss/Fresno Bee/AP)
The cause behind the mysterious deaths of the family was determined after a litany of tests, including autopsies and toxicology reviews. The sheriff said a team of detectives had worked on the case “round-the-clock,” methodically reviewing evidence like cellphone data and more.
Gerrish, 45, Chung, 30, and their daughter and dog were discovered after a family friend had reported them missing on Aug. 16. Miju’s babysitter had alerted family members that Gerrish and Chung were not home that day. The day before, a witness saw the family traveling toward the trailhead.
A couple, their baby and their dog died on a California hiking trail — and officials don’t know why
Law enforcement combed the trail after spotting the couple’s truck parked near the trail’s entrance, The Washington Post previously reported. Later that morning, in an area known as Devil’s Gulch, search-and-rescue officers discovered Gerrish in a seated position with Miju and Oski near him, while Chung was found farther up a hill.
Authorities later closed the 28 miles along the river the family was found near after test results of the water downstream revealed high levels of toxic algae — but algae blooms were ruled out as a cause of death. The family did not drink the water from the river, Briese said.
The sheriff said investigators also considered possible exposure from nearby mines, but they determined the family did not visit those mines.
On Thursday, Briese showed footage of the eight-mile trail the family had nearly completed, with sloping terrain that had little tree cover due to a wildfire in 2018. They were 1.6 miles away from completing the hike.
A sole container for water found with the family, an 85-ounce water bladder backpack, was empty.
Briese said he has not encountered another hyperthermia death during his work at the sheriff’s office. But he warned others to take precautions when outdoors during sweltering summers.
“My message would be to prepare, if you’re going to hike, prepare,” he said. The loss of the young family came as a shock to those in the Mariposa community who knew them.
“It’s just so tragic and mysterious,” Steven Jeffe, a close family friend, previously told The Washington Post.
The couple moved to Mariposa from San Francisco in March 2020. Gerrish worked at Snapchat, and Chung was working toward a master’s degree in family therapy, Jeffe said.
Those who knew the couple described their love of outdoor adventures and hiking, questioning what could have happened during their trip to Hites Cove.
“We’re just devastated by the loss,” Jeffe said. “But I think the community is more like, ‘What the heck happened?’ It’s just so crazy.”
The Gerrish and Chung families said they would use the new revelations “as a way of helping us come to terms with the situation.” “However,” they added, “the question of why can never be answered and will remain with us.”
|
|
elemnopea
One Post Wonder
Posts: 1
Apr 3, 2018 8:11:29 GMT
|
Post by elemnopea on Oct 22, 2021 6:35:59 GMT
I have read a suggestion the dog was near to the family is because he was on a leash. So the dog did not necessarily die at the same time but was unable to get away. I’ve also read a theory that the baby passed or shown symptoms first. The parents in a panicked state would have made for their car as quickly as possible to get help for her but were unable to make it. So it is possible the four passed at different times but still ended up together. It was hot and they weren’t found straight away so I don’t think it would be possible to get accurate times to death.
|
|
pudgygroundhog
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,643
Location: The Grand Canyon
Jun 25, 2014 20:18:39 GMT
|
Post by pudgygroundhog on Oct 23, 2021 2:02:56 GMT
This is such a sad, odd story.
The only other incident I can think of where a group of people were all found dead from heatstroke was the missing German family in Death Valley. I find it pretty odd that they all succumbed together like that (although it's possible they were together and died at different times). Otherwise, I do think that diagnosis is legit for the conditions. For how hot it was going to be that day, they weren't carrying very much water (and I don't think it said they had a filter?) and didn't get that an early of start (especially with a baby on an eight mile loop). I read somewhere they actually had to descend 2000 feet (which would have made it hotter) and the trail was rough in spots. Also, being in direct sun and dry air can really do a number on a hiker. And these incidents are often an accumulation of small mistakes and we have no idea what happened leading up to this. And once you have heat exhaustion - it can be hard to recover (and having their baby with them likely led to panic/stress). But this would all make more sense if it was one person - still hard to see how it was all of them.
|
|
|
Post by ~summer~ on Oct 23, 2021 2:09:55 GMT
|
|
|
Post by melanell on Oct 23, 2021 15:20:47 GMT
I have read a suggestion the dog was near to the family is because he was on a leash. So the dog did not necessarily die at the same time but was unable to get away. I’ve also read a theory that the baby passed or shown symptoms first. The parents in a panicked state would have made for their car as quickly as possible to get help for her but were unable to make it. So it is possible the four passed at different times but still ended up together. It was hot and they weren’t found straight away so I don’t think it would be possible to get accurate times to death. I can easily imagine that if the baby started showing symptoms first, that the parents would have started trying to move as fast as possible, which would have made the risk of heat-related issues even greater for them, unfortunately.
|
|
|
Post by revirdsuba99 on Oct 23, 2021 20:20:28 GMT
|
|
|
Post by chaosisapony on Oct 23, 2021 20:33:31 GMT
That did explain it better, thanks for sharing.
|
|
|
Post by katlady on Oct 23, 2021 22:25:35 GMT
At first, I thought the story sounded too crazy. But, as I read more and more about it, I can see how it happened. It is so sad.
|
|
|
Post by ~summer~ on Oct 23, 2021 23:14:41 GMT
I also thought it seemed completely odd (hence earlier commrnts) but now it makes sense.
They started out when it was relatively mild (in the 70s) and hiked down steep to the river then a couple miles along the river but then had to climb up very steep switch backs in the blazing sun and heat.
The dad was found sitting with the baby. I would guess either the baby got sick first so he sat down, or they were rationing water to the baby and the dad got sick first. The dog also stayed with them. Either way absolute heart breaking tragedy. The mom was a little bit up trail, continuing toward car.
|
|
pamelakay
Full Member
Posts: 102
Oct 14, 2021 22:33:22 GMT
|
Post by pamelakay on Oct 23, 2021 23:40:01 GMT
So tragic. I can't even imagine.
|
|
gina
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,191
Jun 26, 2014 1:59:16 GMT
|
Post by gina on Feb 18, 2022 17:29:12 GMT
Bumping this because it popped up in my FB newsfeed with an updated article. They tried to send texts and 5 different calls and none of them went through since they had no service. LINK
One text made shortly before noon on Aug. 15 to a person whose name wasn't released asked: "Can you help us" and added: "No water or ver (over) heating with baby," according to a Facebook post by the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office.
But the area had bad cellphone service and the text never went through. Neither did five phone calls to various people, investigators said.
|
|
|
Post by silverlining on Feb 18, 2022 19:09:36 GMT
Apparently they tried to text but didn't call 911. So tragic.
|
|
|
Post by revirdsuba99 on Feb 18, 2022 19:48:42 GMT
Still such a sad situation.
|
|