EL PORTAL, CA — A family of three who died of hyperthermia and dehydration last summer while hiking on a remote northern California trail made desperate pleas for help, including sending failed calls and a text that they had no water and their baby was overheating.
As San Francisco Patch previously reported, Jonathan Gerrish, 45, Ellen Chung, 30, and their 1-year-old daughter, Miju, all died while hiking a trail near Hite’s Cove on Aug. 17. Their dog died as well.
The couple moved to Mariposa County from San Francisco in 2020. Gerrish worked at the social media app Snapchat, and Chung was studying for a master’s degree in family therapy, a family friend told The Washington Post. Gerrish was found seated on the trail with his daughter and dog nearby. Chung was found a little ways up a hill.
The trail featured a steep hill with little shade. Temperatures reached 109 degrees, authorities said.
“This is an unfortunate and tragic event due to the weather,” Sheriff Jeremy Briese said at a news conference.
Officials initially suspected their deaths were connected to toxic gases from old mines nearby. After ruling that out, trails were closed as wildlife officials warned visitors of a high concentration of toxic algae. Then in September, officials investigated lightning strikes along the trail. Ultimately, officials determined in October the family died of hyperthermia and dehydration.
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On Thursday, the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office released more details about the family’s path that day, as well as their cries for help that went unheard.
Using cell phone GPS data, investigators, re-created the family’s path and created a timeline of events leading up to their death. The family began their hike around 7:45 a.m. at the Hite’s Cove trailhead and traveled north to the South Fork Merced River. After reaching the river around 9 a.m., the family followed the loop south, walking along the river for another hour before heading back toward their car on Savage Lundy trail.
Around noon, the family tried to send a text message, but it didn’t go through because there’s no cell service in the area, authorities said.
“{name redacted} can you help us. On savage lundy trail heading back to Hites cove trail. No water or ver (over) heating with baby,” the text said.
Between noon and 12:36 p.m., the family made a flurry of frantic phone calls that never connected. None were to 911.
“The cell phone data results were the last thing both the family and detectives were waiting on,” Briese said in a statement. “The extracted information confirms our initial findings. I am very proud of my team and our partner agencies for all the work they put in. Their dedication has allowed us to close this case and answer lingering questions the family had, bringing them a little peace.”
