Brit guy and family (including dog) mysteriously die in California

[Jippy]

Investigators were searching for clues in the unexplained deaths of a California couple, their baby and the family dog in a remote area of the Sierra national forest.

John Gerrish, his wife, Ellen Chung, their one-year-old daughter, Muji, and their dog were found dead on a hiking trail in Mariposa county. A family friend had reported them missing Monday evening.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/19/california-family-found-dead-john-gerrish-ellen-chung-muji-dog

There are mixed reports in the media about whether it's still being treated as a potential homicide, but the focus seems to be on poison algae or some gas emission from an old mine as the cause.

Initial autopsy didn't identify anything though.

"This is just a tragic, frustrating case for us. It will probably be a long, tedious investigation."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/abc7ne...-dead-of-3-john-gerrish-ellen-chung/10964825/

 

[esmufc07]

Describing it as a long and tedious investigation seems a strange way to frame it.

 

[McGrathsipan]

Describing it as a long and tedious investigation seems a strange way to frame it.

Not ideal way to frame the death of a family.

 

[Jippy]

Describing it as a long and tedious investigation seems a strange way to frame it.

Yeah it jars badly, I'd imagine grieving family members feel terrible that the investigator's workload increased.

 

[Organic Potatoes]

Describing it as a long and tedious investigation seems a strange way to frame it.

An investigation of loss of lives without a clear cause of death in the wilderness is almost by definition tedious.

I mean he could have used better adjectives, but he’s probably not a professional speaker.

 

[hobbers]

I'm sure a part of what he meant is that the the wait for lab and toxicology reports will be long and tedious.

I don't imagine there's a whole lot of other avenues they can investigate in an area that off the grid other than physically going over every inch of ground swabbing everything for toxins.

 

[KirkDuyt]

I'm binge watching Supernatural. It's probably a Wendigo that did it.

 

[Flying_Heckfish]

Wasn't this an xfiles plot?

 

[jojojo]

I was going the X-File route and thinking weird fungi or secret lab.

 

[Organic Potatoes]

I was thinking gas emissions via a lake turning over, but that is just a cursory review.

edit: looking at maps, I’m not sure there was a lake large enough to justify that. A photo attached to the story might have fooled me.

 

[antohan]

Sounds exactly like a small town sheriff from the movies, frustrated that he will have to pull his finger out of his arse. Why didn't they just stay home?

 

[Penna]

I've read a few articles about this very sad case, it's a real mystery. It was only a day trip, they often went hiking, it was near where they lived - not a strange place for them to go. It was very hot and it seems a bit odd that they took a one-year-old out in that heat, but that's the only thing out of the ordinary.

They still had water with them. The father was found sitting up with the dog and child next to him. The woman's body was further up the track. No signs of trauma on them, no injuries - it has to be some toxin, surely?

 

[jojojo]

I've read a few articles about this very sad case, it's a real mystery. It was only a day trip, they often went hiking, it was near where they lived - not a strange place for them to go. It was very hot and it seems a bit odd that they took a one-year-old out in that heat, but that's the only thing out of the ordinary.

They still had water with them. The father was found sitting up with the dog and child next to him. The woman's body was further up the track. No signs of trauma on them, no injuries - it has to be some toxin, surely?

I guess it could be poison - in the water they took with them perhaps. But certainly from the description we've heard so far it's a strange story.

Describing it as a long and tedious investigation seems a strange way to frame it.

I assume he meant painstaking, but I guess as the investigator there will be a lot of waiting around for lab tests etc before they know anything much - so tedious (as in time-consuming and frustratingly slow) might be an accurate description of how it will be for them.

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

Describing it as a long and tedious investigation seems a strange way to frame it.

They're framing the investigation that way, not the event, which was described as tragic and frustrating.

 

[Wibble]

If it was carbon monoxide poisoning from the car journey you would have expected that if they were well enough to walk a mile then being in the fresh air would have made it at least no worse, so it would be surprising (but not impossible) that they all died. If they drank toxic river water that would also be odd as they all died and in any case they had only just begin their walk so it would be unusual if they had all already run out of water and/or needed a drink.

 

[VeevaVee]

Imagine being the first responders. It must have been incredibly confusing.

 

[shamans]

I've read a few articles about this very sad case, it's a real mystery. It was only a day trip, they often went hiking, it was near where they lived - not a strange place for them to go. It was very hot and it seems a bit odd that they took a one-year-old out in that heat, but that's the only thing out of the ordinary.

They still had water with them. The father was found sitting up with the dog and child next to him. The woman's body was further up the track. No signs of trauma on them, no injuries - it has to be some toxin, surely?

Very confusing.

At first I thought this was a case of Europeans who underestimated some of the north American wilderness and open fields but now I'm very confused

 

[Wibble]

Very confusing.

At first I thought this was a case of Europeans who underestimated some of the north American wilderness and open fields but now I'm very confused

They were only 1 mile from the road/their car.

 

[100]

Very sad. If it was gas, would you not see lots of dead animals in the area?

 

[Wibble]

Very sad. If it was gas, would you not see lots of dead animals in the area?

You would have thought and there were none.

 

[oneniltothearsenal]

Investigators were searching for clues in the unexplained deaths of a California couple, their baby and the family dog in a remote area of the Sierra national forest.

John Gerrish, his wife, Ellen Chung, their one-year-old daughter, Muji, and their dog were found dead on a hiking trail in Mariposa county. A family friend had reported them missing Monday evening.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/19/california-family-found-dead-john-gerrish-ellen-chung-muji-dog

There are mixed reports in the media about whether it's still being treated as a potential homicide, but the focus seems to be on poison algae or some gas emission from an old mine as the cause.

Initial autopsy didn't identify anything though.



https://www.google.com/amp/s/abc7ne...-dead-of-3-john-gerrish-ellen-chung/10964825/

Sounds like the sketchy coverup from a scifi horror movie.

What a strange, sad event though.

 

[hobbers]

Has to be some kind of untraceable toxin.

Carbon monoxide poisoning is usually fairly obvious.

 

[Carolina Red]

This is like a summertime version of that crazy case in the Soviet Union.

 

[Organic Potatoes]

You would have thought and there were none.

Would you though? They (the animals) could have smelled something going wrong, and it’s an area frequented by humans to begin with. Also a localized low area could be rather small and thus contain a small number of animals.

If this was close to an oilfield installation, I would have guessed H2S right off the bat. It smells terrible but blocks your sense of smell past a certain point. I’m not that familiar with mines or the local geography though.

Hopefully it’s not some sort of suicide like the one from around there a few years back where they drove an SUV off a cliff. That one still breaks my heart.

 

[Wibble]

Would you though? They (the animals) could have smelled something going wrong, and it’s an area frequented by humans to begin with. Also a localized low area could be rather small and thus contain a small number of animals.

If this was close to an oilfield installation, I would have guessed H2S right off the bat. It smells terrible but blocks your sense of smell past a certain point. I’m not that familiar with mines or the local geography though.

Hopefully it’s not some sort of suicide like the one from around there a few years back where they drove an SUV off a cliff. That one still breaks my heart.

I don't think they found any mineshafts close enough anyway and to kill all members of the family and their dog but zero local animals would seem unusual. And has there ever been a case of hikers being killed by gases seeping from mines? I though it was usually only an issue if you entered an old mine.

Of course we are speculating based on incomplete evidence anyway which is probably a waste of time.

 

[Penna]

I was just looking at the Yosemite sub on reddit. There are several comments from people who are very familiar with that area who can't understand why they would hike there in August - evidently the trail is steep, the heat is unrelenting and there are many rattlesnakes about.

That's part of this mystery - why go out to that particular place in the heat of the day (or at all, in rattlesnake season)?

 

[Jippy]

If it was carbon monoxide poisoning from the car journey you would have expected that if they were well enough to walk a mile then being in the fresh air would have made it at least no worse, so it would be surprising (but not impossible) that they all died. If they drank toxic river water that would also be odd as they all died and in any case they had only just begin their walk so it would be unusual if they had all already run out of water and/or needed a drink.

Would you really give your one year old kid river water though? Seems odd that they all drank or swam in it, including the child and the dog.

 

[Wibble]

Would you really give your one year old kid river water though? Seems odd that they all drank or swam in it, including the child and the dog.

Agreed, seems very unlikely.

 

[Solius]

So did they figure out what this was?

 

[Paxi]

If it was carbon monoxide poisoning from the car journey you would have expected that if they were well enough to walk a mile then being in the fresh air would have made it at least no worse, so it would be surprising (but not impossible) that they all died. If they drank toxic river water that would also be odd as they all died and in any case they had only just begin their walk so it would be unusual if they had all already run out of water and/or needed a drink.

The autopsy would bring something like that up surely?

Had to be something very obscure not to show up on the autopsy I’d have thought. All somehow had been ingested or been in contact with.

 

[Paxi]

This is like a summertime version of that crazy case in the Soviet Union.

Hm, does remind you of Dyatlov pass actually.

 

[Santos J]

So did they figure out what this was?

Don't think any toxicology information has come out yet, most likely theory I've seen is heatstroke though with the dog suffering first (was an Akita mix apparently so big fur coat in 110F is never gonna end well) then they tried to carry him and succumbed themselves. Mine gas was ruled out and they apparently didn't have the equipment to be drinking from lakes and were found with clean water on them still. Who knows though, regardless it seems mad to be taking a baby out on a hike in that heat.

 

[Jippy]

Don't think any toxicology information has come out yet, most likely theory I've seen is heatstroke though with the dog suffering first (was an Akita mix apparently so big fur coat in 110F is never gonna end well) then they tried to carry him and succumbed themselves. Mine gas was ruled out and they apparently didn't have the equipment to be drinking from lakes and were found with clean water on them still. Who knows though, regardless it seems mad to be taking a baby out on a hike in that heat.

They all died from heatstroke? That sounds unlikely doesn't it? Surely they'd take shelter if it was boiling, assuming there was some, and odd they had drinkable water left.

 

[Santos J]

They all died from heatstroke? That sounds unlikely doesn't it? Surely they'd take shelter if it was boiling, assuming there was some, and odd they had drinkable water left.

Seems to be what the outcome is going to be, apparently there was no shade at all on the route and a lot seem to think they got lost and didn't end up on the route they planned to be and was probably too late to either turn back or reach the other end by the time they needed to get help. Would still be weird either way with the water left but I dunno, proper strange one.

 

[Ivor Ballokov]

They all died from heatstroke? That sounds unlikely doesn't it? Surely they'd take shelter if it was boiling, assuming there was some, and odd they had drinkable water left.

This was mentioned on QI recently, lots of people are found with water on them because they are rationing it, I think they were talking about people who survived but if they succumbed quickly it is possible they didn't finish the water.

Tragic story though.

 

[Wibble]

All dead from heatstroke? Seems unlikely. It was hot but even though it was about 40 you don't die quickly from heatstroke in those conditions. And doubly so when they had water. They were on a path close to their car so there was no need to conserve what they had.

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

Were these people high? Nobody would go hiking in 110°F heat. If it were in the water, they would all have had to drink it within minutes of each other, including the dog, because Anatoxin-a manifests in a few minutes.

Sacramento Bee has some info regarding the cyanobacteria around the Merced River area where they were found.

https://www.sacbee.com/article254080593.html

 

[Wibble]

Were these people high? Nobody would go hiking in 110°F heat. If it were in the water, they would all have had to drink it within minutes of each other, including the dog, because Anatoxin-a manifests in a few minutes.

Sacramento Bee has some info regarding the cyanobacteria around the Merced River area where they were found.

https://www.sacbee.com/article254080593.html

It was reported as 103-109F. 103F is 39.4C. When I lived in North Queensland we would often go hiking in that sort of temperature in summer. You just need to keep hydrated. Not sure I'd have taken that sort of dog or such a young kid with me though.

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

It was reported as 103-109F. 103F is 39.4C. When I lived in North Queensland we would often go hiking in that sort of temperature in summer. You just need to keep hydrated.

Wow, that's crazy in my opinion, but I guess it worked for you!

Another report SF CBS says the family hiked more than 8 miles in that triple digit heat with no shade. That still sounds crazy to me.

 

[Wibble]

Wow, that's crazy in my opinion, but I guess it worked for you!

You can't stay inside for a few months just because it is a bit warm.

Another report SF CBS says the family hiked more than 8 miles in that triple digit heat with no shade. That still sounds crazy to me.

8 miles isn't that far but I imagine it is quite dry heat so staying hydrated would be a challenge if they had run out of water. I'm not saying it couldn't have been heat stroke, as it could well be in those temperatures, but you would have to do everything wrong to die like that so close to your car and with water left.