Aug 23, 2021, 23:33 pm
A California family was found dead last week after they went mysteriously missing close to Yosemite National Park, authorities said.
Jonathan Gerrish, Ellen Chung and their 1-year-old daughter were found near the western entrance of the park on Aug. 17 after going for a hike several days before. Their bodies were found in Devil's Gulch, an isolated location 15 miles southwest of El Portal entrance to Yosemite.
The family had moved to Mariposa, Calif., near the park, when Gerrish started working from home as a software engineer during the coronavirus pandemic, family friend Steve Jeffe told the Fresno Bee.
The family's dog was also found dead at the scene and the Mariposa County Coroner's Office has ruled out acute trauma such as stabbing, gunshot wounds or blunt-force trauma. Authorities said a toxicology report will be done within two to three weeks while a necropsy is being done on the dog.
Mariposa Sheriff spokeswoman Kristie Mitchell said a range of possible causes are being considered, including contact with toxic algae reported in the nearby Merced River, to noxious gases from abandoned mines near the trail.
Jeffe said the deaths have stunned family and friends.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2021/08/...629739537/
Jonathan Gerrish, Ellen Chung and their 1-year-old daughter were found near the western entrance of the park on Aug. 17 after going for a hike several days before. Their bodies were found in Devil's Gulch, an isolated location 15 miles southwest of El Portal entrance to Yosemite.
The family had moved to Mariposa, Calif., near the park, when Gerrish started working from home as a software engineer during the coronavirus pandemic, family friend Steve Jeffe told the Fresno Bee.
The family's dog was also found dead at the scene and the Mariposa County Coroner's Office has ruled out acute trauma such as stabbing, gunshot wounds or blunt-force trauma. Authorities said a toxicology report will be done within two to three weeks while a necropsy is being done on the dog.
Mariposa Sheriff spokeswoman Kristie Mitchell said a range of possible causes are being considered, including contact with toxic algae reported in the nearby Merced River, to noxious gases from abandoned mines near the trail.
Quote:"This is just a tragic, frustrating case for us," Mitchell told CNN. "It will probably be a long, tedious investigation."
Jeffe said the deaths have stunned family and friends.
Quote:"It's a bewildering event. There's something so disconcerting about what happened," Jeffe told CNN. "Whether it was environmental or man-made, it was obviously something they encountered."
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2021/08/...629739537/