Afamily of three found deadnear a remote hiking trail in Northern California this week had moved during the COVID-19 pandemic to be closer to nature, a family friend said.
The bodies of Mariposa residents John Gerrish, Ellen Chung, their 1-year-old daughterMiju, and their family dog were discovered on Tuesday, a day after they were reported missing.
The family was located in a remote area of the Sierra National Forest, according to theMariposa County Sheriff’s Office. Their deaths are “being handled as a hazmat and coroner investigation,” the department said in a statement.
During the pandemic, Gerrish and Chung had moved about 160 miles from their home in San Francisco to Central California, Jeffe toldThe Bee.
John Gerrish, Ellen Chung and daughter Muji.Rosanna Heaslett
The couple made the move after Gerrish, a Silicon Valley software engineer, began working from home, Jeffe told the outlet. They wished to raise Miju away from a major city and hoped to trade in the bustle of the San Francisco Bay Area for the calm of nature, the friend explained.
Jeffe said Gerrish worked for Snapchat, which PEOPLE has contacted for comment.
The first hint things had gone awry occurred when the couple’s nanny arrived at their home on Monday and found no one there, Jeffe told the newspaper. Their hiking trip on Sunday was only supposed to last a day.
John Gerrish, Ellen Chung.Courtesy Steven Jeffe
By Tuesday morning, the family was found. The Mariposa County Sheriff said the area where their bodies were discovered did “not indicate a clear picture of what occurred.”
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“Coming across a scene where everyone involved, including the family dog that is deceased, that is not a typical thing that we have seen or other agencies have seen,” deputy Kristie Mitchell told theFresno Bee. “That is why we’re treating it as a hazmat situation. We just don’t know.”
The sheriff’s office told theAssociated Pressthey are looking into carbon monoxide as a potential cause of death. Mitchell added to theBeethat authorities are also looking into toxic algae exposure.
A family friend said Gerrish was originally from England, while Chung worked as a yoga instructor before becoming pregnant with their daughter, theMerced Sun-Starreported.
source: people.com
