SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Authorities say a family who died of heat exhaustion during a grueling summer hike in Northern California sent a last, desperate text pleading for help.
The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday released information pulled from the cellphone of Jonathan Gerrish, who died last August along with Ellen Chung, their 1-year-old daughter and their dog.
They were on a rugged trail near the Merced River. Their last text asks someone for help, says the family is out of water and their baby is overheating.
It never went through.
"The cell phone data results were the last thing both the family and detectives were waiting on," Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese said in a Facebook post. "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.”
The deaths initially mystified authorities who looked into possible causes ranging from murder to algae poisoning. Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese said in October that John Gerrish, his wife, Ellen Chung, their 1-year-old daughter, Miju, and their dog were walking in extreme heat before they died.
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