The California family mysteriously found dead this week along a hiking trail in the Sierra National Forest was in an area northeast of Mariposa and southwest of Yosemite National Park.
While the terrain there is rugged and remote, it’s a popular destination in Mariposa County for outdoor recreation, including hiking, Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese said.
Mariposa residents John Gerrish, Ellen Chung, their daughter, Miju, and family dog, Oski, were found dead Tuesday on the Savage-Lundy Trail in Devil’s Gulch near Hites Cove.
Toxicology results from autopsies are pending. Toxic algae in the area is among hazards being considered by investigators, who have “no smoking gun” clues pointing to how the family died.
Location of trail and toxic algae in the Sierra National Forest
Briese said the deceased family was found a couple miles from the south fork of the Merced River.
The California State Water Resources Control Board that was retesting toxic algae around Hites Cove on Thursday previously described the algae’s location in the south fork as being about 2.6 miles above the main stem of the Merced River. That main stem flows parallel to Highway 140 in a river canyon, away from nearby Yosemite.
Briese said the family was found about 1.5 miles from their vehicle, a gray truck. It was parked at a trailhead down Hites Cove Road past the Jerseydale Sierra National Forest station and community of Mariposa Pines.
That remote trailhead along a dirt road is north of Highway 49 and east of Highway 140. It’s different from another popular trailhead to the Hites Cove area along Highway 140 in the river canyon closer to Yosemite.
Briese said the family was found over three miles away from the only mine he’s aware of in that area, at the bottom of Hites Cove. He said crews have been searching around where the family was found to make sure they aren’t missing some mines or other hazards.
“There’s a mining community,” Briese said of the area, “so there could be some [hazards] that we don’t know about.”
A flock of wild turkeys and woodpeckers were among wildlife in the area Wednesday afternoon. The area is populated by pines, incense cedar and oaks – many killed in the 2018 Ferguson Fire.
Bodies removed from Devil’s Gulch in Ferguson Fire burn scar
Briese said the last major incident his office responded to in Devil’s Gulch was during that fire, when firefighter Braden Varney was found dead alongside his bulldozer at the bottom of a ravine.
A Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office official stopped some media Wednesday afternoon along Hites Cove Road near the Hites Cove Helipad, past Apperson Mine Road, stating the scene ahead was closed. Search and rescue crews took the bodies of the Mariposa family out later that afternoon.
The Savage-Lundy Trail – described by Briese as a steep, established and popular trail – was also closed around where the family was found.
This story was originally published August 21, 2021 10:20 AM.
