Investigators mystified by death of family in Sierra National Forest

The couple had backpacked in the Himalayas, ridden camels through the Gobi Desert and checked off Burning Man, even creating their own hashtag, an amalgamation of their first names: #jellonadventures.

So a day of hiking in the Sierra National Forest, even with the demanding switchbacks and triple-digit heat, would not have been unusual for Jonathan Gerrish and Ellen Chung, husband-and-wife transplants from San Francisco who had recently become parents to a little girl, Miju, during the coronavirus pandemic.

But the trek would be the family’s last: Search teams found all three of their bodies on Aug. 17, one day after the family was reported missing not far from Yosemite National Park. The family’s dog, Oski, an Aussie-Akita mix, was also found dead.

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More than two weeks later, investigators are still confounded by what caused their deaths. Teams in hazmat suits had already combed the area for clues. On Saturday, the U.S. Forest Service closed trails and recreation sites near where the bodies were found.

The Forest Service had previously posted warning signs about potentially toxic algae blooms in the area. The agency said it had taken the step to “protect the public from unknown hazards.”

That development further disconcerted those who knew the family, including Steven Jeffe, a friend and neighbor in Mariposa, California.

“It’s mysterious,” Jeffe said in an interview Wednesday, “the unknown of what danger possibly lies there.”

Jeffe said he became friends with the couple when all of them lived in San Francisco. He described Gerrish, a software engineer born in Britain, and Chung, a graduate student in family therapy who had worked as a yoga instructor, as outdoor types who were experienced hikers.

Gerrish, 45, had worked as a software engineer for Google, according to his LinkedIn profile. Most recently, he had worked for Snapchat, according to Jeffe. Chung, 30, was raised in Southern California, Jeffe said.

“It’s such a beautiful family,” Jeffe said. “It’s obviously so devastating.”

Initial autopsy results have provided no answers to authorities. Investigators said that there were no signs of trauma and that they were investigating possible lightning strikes in the area.

gelico wrote:

Nada

know nothing about forensics but i can't help but think that if they had been struck by lightening the autopsy would've shown that, no?


.'' Investigators said that there were no signs of trauma and that they were investigating possible lightning strikes in the area.''

eddie wrote:

gelico wrote:

Nada

know nothing about forensics but i can't help but think that if they had been struck by lightening the autopsy would've shown that, no?


.'' Investigators said that there were no signs of trauma and that they were investigating possible lightning strikes in the area.''

Exactly. Lightening striking all of them and killing them? Not impossible but not likely. Plus, the bodies would show severe burns, which they didn’t.

Very strange.

Syl wrote:Could be poisoning,  possibly from infected water, something adults, baby, and dog all consumed.
And if it was, further tests will find out exactly what and how.

eddie wrote:

Syl wrote:Could be poisoning,  possibly from infected water, something adults, baby, and dog all consumed.
And if it was, further tests will find out exactly what and how.

Autopsies have been done. Surely coroners would have looked at the contents of their stomach?

eddie wrote:

Syl wrote:Could be poisoning,  possibly from infected water, something adults, baby, and dog all consumed.
And if it was, further tests will find out exactly what and how.

Autopsies have been done. Surely coroners would have looked at the contents of their stomach?

Maddog wrote:Sounds like something in some water. Maybe they filtered some to drink, and their filter was defective. Whatever it was killed the dog too, which is bizarre.

Syl wrote:

Maddog wrote:Sounds like something in some water. Maybe they filtered some to drink, and their filter was defective. Whatever it was killed the dog too, which is bizarre.

I said similar, if there are no signs of bodily trauma it sounds like the most obvious answer to me....especially as the dog and baby have died also.

It's a terrible tragedy.

Maddog wrote:

Syl wrote:

I said similar, if there are no signs of bodily trauma it sounds like the most obvious answer to me....especially as the dog and baby have died also.

It's a terrible tragedy.

Unless it was some weird murder/suicide thing that included the dog.  

These were well educated people. They could have used some strange compound that wouldn't show up in a preliminary autopsy I guess.

Maddog wrote:I wonder if they had cell service? Were there attempted calls on their phones? If they didn't call 911, it couldn't be poisonous water or something like that. They would have gotten ill first and attempted to call for help.  

Lighting causes burns and other trauma to the body, especially internally. I just don't see how it could be that. Plus there would be evidence of a lightning strike nearby.  

Syl wrote:

Maddog wrote:I wonder if they had cell service? Were there attempted calls on their phones? If they didn't call 911, it couldn't be poisonous water or something like that. They would have gotten ill first and attempted to call for help.  

Lighting causes burns and other trauma to the body, especially internally. I just don't see how it could be that. Plus there would be evidence of a lightning strike nearby.  

It could have happened as they slept, maybe some kind of carbon monoxide poisoning that hasn't shown up in tests as yet.

HoratioTarr wrote:I read recently about a case of people dying because of an overpopulation of a species of wild mouse.  I can't for the life of me remember the article but it killed them really quickly and was something to do with inhalation of some kind of toxin released from this creature due to the dry dusty terrain and the droppings.

Maddog wrote:https://www.mayoclinic.org/disteases-conditions/hantavirus-pulmonary-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20351838


But this still takes days. It's like catching covid.

Maddog wrote:

HoratioTarr wrote:I read recently about a case of people dying because of an overpopulation of a species of wild mouse.  I can't for the life of me remember the article but it killed them really quickly and was something to do with inhalation of some kind of toxin released from this creature due to the dry dusty terrain and the droppings.

I remember that.
I think ot was from caves or old abandoned buildings.

HoratioTarr wrote:Just found the documentary I saw this on.  It's on Prime and it's called Dr. G, Most Shocking Autopsies.   People were mysteriously dropping dead. At first they thought it was the plague.  But it wasn't.  It was attacking the lungs.  They then searched for toxins.  Chemicals. Pesticides.  Nothing.  

Then they considered it was a strain of flu.   But they found nothing.

Finally, they pinned it down to the hantavirus, a deadly disease caused by dried rodent urine.  It dries and blows into the air.  Eventually they discovered it came from wild Deer Mice.  It's the most abundant mammal in America.    There's no cure.  

Maddog wrote:What did my last post (previous one on this thread) refer to?

Mayo Clinic wrote:Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome can quickly become life-threatening. As the lungs fill with fluid, breathing becomes more and more difficult. Blood pressure drops and organs begin to fail, particularly the heart. Depending on the hantavirus strain, the mortality rate for the North American variety of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome can be more than 30%.