Adults tend to experience a gradual decline in their ability to function, but young children, who cope with physiological stress differently, might seem okay and then suddenly die… it's best to avoid bringing a child out in extreme temperatures that they are not acclimatized to, and especially if there is no access to proper hydration.
Thank you, @rahod1 for posting that document on manner of death. Very helpful. I appreciated what you excerpted for your post.https://name.memberclicks.net/assets/docs/MANNEROFDEATH.pdf
"Risk-taking behavior poses challenges when classifying manner of death. More and more, people are engaging in risky sports, recreational activities, and other personal behaviors. Injury or death, when it occurs during such activities, is not entirely unexpected, prompting the argument that such deaths may not truly be “accidents.” Further, relevant differences in the nature and extent of risk, when comparing risky activities, are difficult to clearly identify. For example, how does placing an “unloaded” gun to the head and pulling the trigger (Roulette) differ from jumping from a bridge on an elastic cord, engaging in sexual acts with a noose around the neck, or participating in a sport in which blows to the head are part of the “game.”? These are challenging questions."
Thank you, @Seattle1 and @Lexiintoronto, for your affirmations. So, I want to reiterate what I think is a very important point, IMO: You'd think with heat stroke / dehydration as cause of death for the three humans, then manner of death would be 'accident' per Lexiintoronto's example, above.
Does the fact the Sheriff did NOT announce a manner of death and deflected a related question, mean manner of death is in fact still undetermined? If so, since the SO had previously announced suicide was ruled out, that leaves accident, homicide, and natural manners of death as possible findings for this case.
This is very important, IMO, because some sleuthers trying to explain the outcome remain curious whether manner of death could in fact be homicide for one or more.
Was the cell service operating in the area? Actually I think putting a * I'm lost* message in the voice mail is preferable if there's NO CELL SERVICE available. MOO
I stand corrected. There has been a lot of info out there that it is possible to do so, but apparently it's not.If there’s no cell service available, what good is trying to change the voicemail going to do? Isn’t the whole point that anyone calling you will get your old voicemail?
Yep, I’m one of them. That said, I want to apologize for coming across as too strong in seemingly blaming the parents. What I really wanted to get across was, that I don’t believe these loving parents would put their beloved child and dog at risk in this situation. I realize I might be in the minority with that opinion. I do appreciate everyone’s independent thoughts and contributions on this baffling case. You are all invaluable.On the money. I think there are some here that simply can't IMAGINE HOW this family could fail to properly plan for a hike of this magnitude under extreme conditions, so there's a temptation to *rationalze* this either by positing that 1) they DIDN'T plan to do the entire hike and were diverted or 2) They thought the hike would be relatively easy (they did the research) requiring minimal preparation and miscalculated . These scenarios are RED HERRINGS for me. The real question..yes I beat this drum...>>> At some point things weren't going well..for whatever reason...and CHANGING the plan should have become a priority. Cut bait and live for another day. The focus for me is WHY not CHANGE the plan when it became apparent they could be in big trouble?
Bottom line for me (MOO)>> They planned the hike and decided to finish it.
IMO, this case is a perfect example of why the 5th manner of death exists:Undermined.Undetermined.
I don't think authorities can state unequivocally that the family was intent on spending more than an early morning hour in the cove on their Sunday outing with their beloved baby and dog in tow.
I also thought Sheriff Jeremy Breise was very convincing on 8/20 when he initially cited they were taking it slow, first investigating any mines in the area, and toxic algae bloom. Adding that the family had a small quantity of water when recovered, IMO, there wasn't even a hint during the first presser that hyperthermia was being considered as the leading cause of death. I'm sure heat exhaustion was discussed on WS long before it surfaced in print!
Personally, I think it was probably the Sheriff's earliest demeanor that caused me to gravitate towards lightning as the cause of death. (See 2 min video at the link below). While I accept that hyperthermia/heatstroke killed the family and their dog, I'd be more comfortable with this finding if it was introduced earlier as the most likely cause of death but that investigators also wanted to be thorough and continue to eliminate any other possibilities before making a formal announcement.
MOO
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article253616898.html
The recovery team must have suffered in the heat, being on site during the hottest part of the day on both Tuesday and Wednesday, and of course "Briese said one rescuer was treated for a health issue related to the heat but was OK" according to the Not One Clue article. So I don't know why he didn't list heat as a possible cause right off the bat, the recovery team must have told him how hellish it was. Once I saw how barren and steep it was, and they published the estimated temperatures for Sunday, I put Too and Too together- too hot, too steep and shadeless. Anyone who's hiked with temps in the low 90's would find those conditions shocking. The bodies were found out in the open, on a steep slope, a considerable distance from any old mine, making carbon monoxide or some other toxic gas extremely unlikely, but those things were mentioned, while extreme heat was not. Go figure. MOOIMO, this case is a perfect example of why the 5th manner of death exists: Undermined.
I don't think authorities can state unequivocally that the family was intent on spending more than an early morning hour in the cove on their Sunday outing with their beloved baby and dog in tow.
I also thought Sheriff Jeremy Breise was very convincing on 8/20 when he initially cited they were taking it slow, first investigating any mines in the area, and toxic algae bloom. Adding that the family had a small quantity of water when recovered, IMO, there wasn't even a hint during the first presser that hyperthermia was being considered as the leading cause of death. I'm sure heat exhaustion was discussed on WS long before it surfaced in print!
Personally, I think it was probably the Sheriff's earliest demeanor that caused me to gravitate towards lightning as the cause of death. (See 2 min video at the link below). While I accept that hyperthermia/heatstroke killed the family and their dog, I'd be more comfortable with this finding if it was introduced earlier as the most likely cause of death but that investigators also wanted to be thorough and continue to eliminate any other possibilities before making a formal announcement.
MOO
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article253616898.html
Still, the very day the thread opened here, 14th post:The recovery team must have suffered in the heat, being on site during the hottest part of the day on both Tuesday and Wednesday, and of course "Briese said one rescuer was treated for a health issue related to the heat but was OK" according to the Not One Clue article. So I don't know why he didn't list heat as a possible cause right off the bat, the recovery team must have told him how hellish it was. Once I saw how barren and steep it was, and they published the estimated temperatures for Sunday, I put Too and Too together- too hot, too steep and shadeless. Anyone who's hiked with temps in the low 90's would find those conditions shocking. The bodies were found out in the open, on a steep slope, a considerable distance from any old mine, making carbon monoxide or some other toxic gas extremely unlikely, but those things were mentioned, while extreme heat was not. Go figure. MOO
Yes, a phone needs connectivity -- either cell service or wifi internet -- in order to change the outgoing vm message.Was the cell service operating in the area? Actually I think putting a * I'm lost* message in the voice mail is preferable if there's NO CELL SERVICE available. MOO
In the beginning there were MSM interviews with friends, associates and people who had interacted with them locally. Those people all said good things about them. I also never saw any negative info, like mention of arrest records or how many times the sheriff had been called to their house. The search warrants were executed and "nothing of interest" was found. I don't feel I know a lot about them, but I wouldn't go so far as to say I have "zero information" to go on about the lives of the family. What I've seen (except for that catastrophic last day) is positive. MOO
@Lucy Locket , as far we know, the gate was at the top of Savage-Lundy (which is not driveable and which they were attempting to hike UP).
No one has mentioned a gate at the top of the OHV road they hiked DOWN (IMO).
I don't know if the OHV road is wide enough for regular vehicles or narrow so only OHVs will fit.So @Auntie Cipation they could have driven down it but did not? If they had...things might well have turned out differently?
IMO, this case is a perfect example of why the 5th manner of death exists: Undermined.
I don't think authorities can state unequivocally that the family was intent on spending more than an early morning hour in the cove on their Sunday outing with their beloved baby and dog in tow.
I also thought Sheriff Jeremy Breise was very convincing on 8/20 when he initially cited they were taking it slow, first investigating any mines in the area, and toxic algae bloom. Adding that the family had a small quantity of water when recovered, IMO, there wasn't even a hint during the first presser that hyperthermia was being considered as the leading cause of death. I'm sure heat exhaustion was discussed on WS long before it surfaced in print!
Personally, I think it was probably the Sheriff's earliest demeanor that caused me to gravitate towards lightning as the cause of death. (See 2 min video at the link below). While I accept that hyperthermia/heatstroke killed the family and their dog, I'd be more comfortable with this finding if it was introduced earlier as the most likely cause of death but that investigators also wanted to be thorough and continue to eliminate any other possibilities before making a formal announcement.
MOO
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article253616898.html
That was before I joined, wow, @MrsEmmaPeel nailed it on the 14th post!Still, the very day the thread opened here, 14th post:
CA - Jonathan Gerrish, Ellen Chung, daughter, 1 & dog, suspicious death remote hiking area, Aug 2021
There were several links to trip reports/reviews of the OHV rd that were posted earlier. People do drive full-size 4WD vehicles on it, it's challenging and a problem if you meet people going the other way. But they close it to vehicles in summer because of the fire danger. I believe from photos that it is a single gate across the road that blocks vehicle access to both the Hites Cove OHV rd and the section of rough road going to the start of the Savage Lundy trail. MOOI don't know if the OHV road is wide enough for regular vehicles or narrow so only OHVs will fit.
If it is wide enough, I would have expected the LE/SAR to drive down it in their search, but they apparently didn't.