'No smoking gun': New details emerge in family’s baffling death
Mystery continues to shroud the death of a family of three and their pet dog found dead on a hiking trail.
John Gerrish, 45, his partner Ellen Chung, 30, and their one-year-old daughter Miju, along with the family dog, were reported missing at Sierra National Forest in California last week.
They were found dead near an area called Devil’s Gulch. Their car was parked at the entrance to the forest.
Authorities do not know how they died with no signs of trauma on their bodies. Friends and family said the family were also adept hikers and often took Miju out to experience the outdoors.
Kristie Mitchell, a spokeswoman for the Mariposa County Sheriff, told Fox News “there’s no smoking gun” or suicide note.
Toxic fumes from mining and algae have since been ruled out. It has left authorities scratching their heads as to how the family died.
Mr Gerrish was also found in a seated position with Miju the dog next to him, Crime Online reported.
Chung was found nearby, the publication said.
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Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office has also now ruled out gunshots and chemical hazards as being responsible for their deaths.
Police have handed over a phone found with the family to the FBI, Fox News reported.
On Wednesday, the FBI issued a search warrant for their social media accounts.
Their friend, Mariposa real estate agent Sidney Radanovich, said Gerrish was a San Francisco-based software designer who, with his wife, “fell in love with the Mariposa area” and bought several homes there — a house for themselves and rental investments.
“They were such a loving couple. They loved each other quite a bit,” Ms Radanovich told the San Francisco Chronicle.
“He loved showing the baby all sorts of things and explaining them to her.”
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