A family that had gone missing on Monday night, August 16, was discovered dead.
The family vehicle was discovered near the Sierra National Forest gate heading to Hites Cove on Tuesday, August 17, according to FOX26.
The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office stated that John Gerrish, Ellen Chung, their one-year-old daughter Miju, and the family dog were discovered deceased near the Devil’s Gulch area south of the Merced River Drainage a moment later.
Sheriff’s deputies and the California Department of Justice launched an investigation, but says they haven’t uncovered a definite cause of death. The area is now being handled as a hazmat and coroner investigation.
“It is an active investigation. We have a coroner investigation happening and a hazmat investigation. We know that that there are additional hazards in the area, like carbon monoxide and toxic algae in the area, therefore, we wanted to take the extra precautions and make sure our investigators are protected as well,” Kristie Mitchell, public information officer with the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office said. “We don’t know what we are looking at yet.”
The trail the family was on had warning signs about toxic algal blooms in the Merced River, according to Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremey Briese, but it was too early in the process to establish if this affected the family.
