Hazmat Team in CA Investigates Mysterious Deaths

[Raptor Witness]

Family found dead on hiking trail near Yosemite. Authorities don't know what happened - CNN August 19, 2021

Search and rescue workers found the bodies of John Gerrish, Ellen Chung, their one-year-old daughter, Miju, and the family dog on Tuesday near the Devil's Gulch area in the Southfork of the Merced River drainage, the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

They had been reported missing on Monday night. There were no immediate signs of trauma to the family members, no suicide notes, or any other clear indications of what caused their deaths, Mariposa County Sheriff public information officer Kristie Mitchell told CNN.

 

First responders initially treated the area as a possible hazmat scene because of concerns that carbon monoxide from nearby mines could have poisoned the family.

Edited August 20, 2021 by Raptor Witness

[Raptor Witness]

The thing that surprises me about this incident, is the dog died. That's unusual ...

[+susieice]

Two things stand out to me. The County Sheriff's Office said it is really hot there this time of year...and the river was found last month to contain toxic algae. Taken from the link article.....sounds like they could hook together to me.

Mitchell said it is very hot at this time of year and there is little shade.

Search and rescue workers found the bodies of John Gerrish, Ellen Chung, their one-year-old daughter, Miju, and the family dog on Tuesday near the Devil's Gulch area in the Southfork of the Merced River drainage,

 

Last month, the US Forest Service warned that toxic algae had been discovered in the Merced River and urged people not to swim, wade or allow their pets to drink the water.

[psyche101]

1 hour ago, Raptor Witness said:

The thing that surprises me about this incident, is the dog died. That's unusual ...

A CO2 leak would do it.

Sad story. 

[+Hammerclaw]

I remember an incident where a man, investigating and abandoned house in that area, almost didn't make it out because of gas buildup.

[Piney]

1 hour ago, psyche101 said:

A CO2 leak would do it.

I lean towards they consumed something toxic. 

[MissJatti]

[ChrLzs]

I'd just add that toxic algae can result in very high levels of deadly toxins that may then disperse into what appears to be crystal clear and healthy water..... however, I think they'd have found physical evidence of that type of poisoning.  So I'm leaning more to the CO gas theory at this point..  Tragic.

 

[Raptor Witness]

My guess is poisoning, probably ingested, but the dog is hard to explain, as accidental, suggesting something may have been planned.

David Paulides will be all over this, except that they aren’t, “missing.” 

[Raptor Witness]

4 hours ago, psyche101 said:

A CO2 leak would do it.

Sad story. 

Agreed, but from where?

I’ve lived in this area, I am very familiar with it, I can’t see how this could happen from an open air mine.

Another possibility, is the use of some sort of new weapon, by a foreign power, and this was a test on U.S. soil.

Hazmat suggests the crew that found them, were suspicious about sudden death. A CO2 Earth belch is extremely unusual in an area without a volcano or volcanic lake nearby.

David Paulides will likely note the family’s proximity to Devil’s Gulch on the trail, and not far to the north is Diablo Casa. He argues in his missing 411 files, clusters of missing people in areas named for the Devil.

While I’ve been somewhat intrigued by his arguments, and admire his research, his logic is often flawed and missing common sense.

i’m leaning in the direction of some sort of murder suicide scenario for this mystery.

[Myles]

Toxic algae is my guess.   I think it is the thought of most experts, so I'm piggy-backing off them.

[Raptor Witness]

California mystery: Autopsy fails to reveal cause of death for family and dog found dead on hiking trial - Fox News 8-21-2021

Autopsies completed Thursday on a Northern California couple and their 1-year-old daughter who were found dead this week on a hiking trail in a national forest failed to reveal how they may have died, prompting investigators to keep digging into the mysterious deaths. 

___________________

As I understand it, a necropsy is also being performed on the dog, but no word back on that, yet.  So this verifies no obvious wrongful death or suicide.  Interesting ...

 

[Raptor Witness]

'Not one clue': The mystery is only deepening around the family found dead on a Sierra trail - San Francisco Chronicle Aug. 20, 2021

..... The father, mother, baby and dog were all dead, about 1½ miles below their truck on a series of switchbacks, appearing to be near the end of their hike.

 

... around 11 a.m. Tuesday, the team found the family in the middle of the trail. The husband was in a seated position, the child beside him along with the dog, and the wife just a little farther up the hill. Briese said they believe the family was returning to their truck.

A cell phone was in Gerrish’s pocket. There is little to no cell coverage on that section of trail. Investigators are trying to determine if the phone saved any failed text message drafts, attempted calls or photos, along with GPS location data, Briese said.

The family also had a backpack with a bladder that held a small amount of water, the sheriff said. They sent the water for testing.

__________________________

A very strange sudden death .... why no phone in hand or out of the pocket, is my question?  Didn't they know they were dying?  Very Weird ...

[Raptor Witness]

Dave Paulides is already having a field day with this, but since they're not missing, he'll have to come up with something new, as to why.  Is there water nearby, check.  Is there granite nearby, check.  Did they fail to take a fire arm, check. Did they fail to take a rescue beacon, check. Were they dropped from a height, not apparently.

Dave Paulides Likely Theory = the granite-water monsters got them, but they tasted bad, so the creatures didn't carry them off to their secret portal lair.

 

[ChrLzs]

4 hours ago, Raptor Witness said:

Dave Paulides

Please don't waste the forum's time on this idiot - he can't even get basic statistics right and bases his utterly ludicrous claims on completely false numbers.

 

Just be patient and wait on the extended forensic test results.

[Raptor Witness]

2 hours ago, ChrLzs said:

Please don't waste the forum's time on this idiot - he can't even get basic statistics right and bases his utterly ludicrous claims on completely false numbers.

Just be patient and wait on the extended forensic test results.

I agree, but his deception may be influencing other folks. 

He also has some good ideas, such as carrying a firearm and/or personal locater beacon.

In this case, think of the added mystery we would be dealing with, if this husband and wife had not utilized their personal locator beacon.

Also, would they be alive today if they activated a personal locater beacon?

It’s rare that I find zero truth in another human being.

[Raptor Witness]

Interesting update on case progress …

 

[aztek]

investigate no father

https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-coast-ddt-dumping-ground/

[Raptor Witness]

Trails and campgrounds near Yosemite where a family and their dog were found dead have been closed because of 'unknown hazards,' officials say - CNN 9-1-2021

Federal forest officials closed trails and campgrounds in a remote area near Yosemite National Park because of "unknown hazards" located in the area where a family and their dog were mysteriously found dead last month.

_______________________

Interesting development ... I wonder if some new information prompted this?

[Raptor Witness]

If the Dad was seated, he got down for a reason.

I will ask permission of their guardian angels to see if I can catch a glimpse of something. It never hurts to ask.

Edited September 2, 2021 by Raptor Witness

[Raptor Witness]

I saw a  brief vision of three, dark green, segmented objects, in a dark space, which reminded me of a parasite from a movie I once saw. I was instructed to say a certain prayer, which I haven’t said in many years, but which I used to say more frequently, as a child.

If what I saw is relevant to this case, the pathologists may find copper or something dark green in color. These three objects appeared dry and dead, and were unrecognizable to me.

Edited September 2, 2021 by Raptor Witness

[ChrLzs]

1 hour ago, Raptor Witness said:

I saw a  brief vision of three, dark green, segmented objects, in a dark space, which reminded me of a parasite from a movie I once saw. I was instructed to say a certain prayer, which I haven’t said in many years, but which I used to say more frequently, as a child.

If what I saw is relevant to this case, the pathologists may find copper or something dark green in color. These three objects appeared dry and dead, and were unrecognizable to me.

I think it is totally inappropriate to post this sort of stuff.  It's rather like 'speaking to the dead' - there's a fine line between giving harmless solace to the grieving, versus falsely claiming you have powers (and that, of course leads to charging money for it).

What's worse is the intentionally vague descriptions...  I'm sure a 'match' will be claimed if there was something green nearby, or that the 3 represents the people who died, or that one of the deceased was wearing copper on a dogtag...  and so on - subjective matches are easy and virtually endless!

 

[+and-then]

23 hours ago, Raptor Witness said:

Trails and campgrounds near Yosemite where a family and their dog were found dead have been closed because of 'unknown hazards,' officials say - CNN 9-1-2021

Federal forest officials closed trails and campgrounds in a remote area near Yosemite National Park because of "unknown hazards" located in the area where a family and their dog were mysteriously found dead last month.

_______________________

Interesting development ... I wonder if some new information prompted this?

Yeah... and IF so, why hasn't it been made public?  This is weird.  I wonder if these deaths might be attributed to a poison gas that's occasionally encountered when drilling for oil, venting due to some seismic event.

 

http://www.safetysys.com/news/dangers-of-hydrogen-sulfide-in-oil-and-gas-industry/

[Raptor Witness]

1 hour ago, and then said:

Yeah... and IF so, why hasn't it been made public?  This is weird.  I wonder if these deaths might be attributed to a poison gas that's occasionally encountered when drilling for oil, venting due to some seismic event.

 

http://www.safetysys.com/news/dangers-of-hydrogen-sulfide-in-oil-and-gas-industry/

I heard someone today who suggested it might be lightning but I would hope that the coroner had already looked for that in the autopsy.

[Raptor Witness]

1 hour ago, ChrLzs said:

I think it is totally inappropriate to post this sort of stuff.  It's rather like 'speaking to the dead' - there's a fine line between giving harmless solace to the grieving, versus falsely claiming you have powers (and that, of course leads to charging money for it).

What's worse is the intentionally vague descriptions...  I'm sure a 'match' will be claimed if there was something green nearby, or that the 3 represents the people who died, or that one of the deceased was wearing copper on a dogtag...  and so on - subjective matches are easy and virtually endless!

First off, I have never ever charged any money for anything like this, nor would I be inclined to. 

Secondly, it’s quite different to request counsel from the victims guardian angels, which is not the same as speaking to the dead, or a claim of such.

As far as what I saw, one reason I’ve been a little vague, is because what I saw was so scary that I didn’t want to scare anyone here, unnecessarily, in case it’s not related.

Note that I saw three objects, which I believe might be related to the three human beings, but not one for the dog.

I’ve never been an ambulance chaser here, but this is a case where we may need some help to resolve the mystery. The fact that I saw something, which I have no frame of reference for, is a mystery in and of itself. I hope that I’m wrong, about what I saw, because I can’t explain it.

Edited September 3, 2021 by Raptor Witness