The sad story of a California family found dead after a weekend hiking trip is drawing to a close.
Mariposa County investigators spent two months looking into how 31-year-old Ellen Chung, 45-year-old Jonathan Gerrish, their 1-year-old daughter Miju, and dog Oski died after hiking in Sierra National Forest in August 2021. The 77-page report details a few decisions the family made that led to their deaths on the hot hike, where temperatures reached as high as 109 degrees.
While there were many different theories as to what could have happened to this family, investigators now believe, after exploring all options, that heat exposure and lack of water were what ultimately led to the family's deaths.
Ellen, Jonathan, 1-year-old Miju, and their 8-year-old dog Oski set out on their hike on August 15. Their car was spotted by the trailhead that morning. It was a cool morning at 76 degrees, but at the hottest part of the day, temperatures topped out at 109 degrees. Most of the trail lacked shade as a result of tree loss from the 2018 Ferguson Fire.
The last person to see the family was their babysitter, who was at the home the day before. The last outgoing message on Ellen's phone was to another family friend, sending a photo of Miju starting to walk.
When the babysitter arrived at the family home the next day, she found the baby's diaper bag, along with several cellphones. Initially, she didn't worry about the "very active family," but after she was unable to reach anyone she began calling their contacts.
After their truck was discovered at the trailhead on August 17, search crews discovered the bodies of Jonathan, his daughter, and his dog about 1.6 miles below the trailhead on a series of steep switchbacks of the Savage Lundy Trail. Jonathan had a phone in his front pocket, though investigators believed it would have been of little use due to spotty service in the area.
Ellen's body was discovered about an hour and a half later, off the trail about 13 feet in elevation higher than her family. There were no signs of foul play. The trail was closed down due to concerns that poisonous fumes from a nearby abandoned mine shaft could have killed the family, which was later ruled out.
A backpack found with the couple featured a snakebite kit, knife, bug spray, first-aid kit, extra diapers, an empty sippy cup with remnants of what appeared to be formula, another empty sippy cup, and a teething wafer wrapper. A nearly empty 2.5-liter water bladder was also recovered.
Even with those supplies, it appears that the young family wasn't amply prepared for the extreme heat and hydration needed to complete a hike on the exposed canyon trail, which after a descent into the canyon requires a steep uphill climb to return to the trailhead. A US Forest Service volunteer familiar with the area recommends 320 ounces of water for an adult couple and 16 ounces each for a baby and dog in order to get through that hike. The couple appeared to have just 84 ounces of water in total and no water filtration system to replenish from ground sources.
"Sadly, I believe they were caught off guard, and once they realized their situation, they died trying to save their child and each other," a survival trainer shared with detectives, per the San Francisco Chronicle.
"It is likely the child began to succumb first, which hurried the parents' efforts up the hill. When one could no longer continue, they stayed behind to care for the child and pet, while the other tried to forge on and get help for their loved ones. It is a tragedy of the highest order."
