Jonathan Gerrish was a 45-year-old Silicon Valley software guy, originally from the UK. Like many white computer nerds, he had a thing for Asian women, and was in a relationship with a Chinese woman named Ellen Chung, 15 years his junior. Last year, they had a child together.
Now they're all dead, including the family dog, and investigators are puzzled. It doesn't appear to be a murder or murder-suicide, and there are no visible injuries on any of the bodies. The family was acting completely normal prior to their disappearance, and this appeared to simply be a routine hike, in a remote area, located southwest of Yosemite National Park.
Gerrish and Chung were avid hikers, and they drove on Tuesday up Hites Coves Rd, which is in a remote area southwest of Yosemite National Park. News reports are confusing this with the semi-famous Hite Cove, which has some of the best wildflowers in Cailfornia in the springtime. Whlie close by the way the crow flies, it's actually a fairly long drive (close to an hour) to get between Hites Cove Rd and Hite Cove, due to impassible terrain.
Anyway, Gerrish and Chung went to the remote Hites Cove Rd, presumably to hike. They were on the semi-difficult Savage-Lundy Trail, headed for an area by the Merced River called "Devil Gulch".
About 1.5 miles into the trail, near Devil Gulch, they all died, including the dog.
Nobody was around to see it, due to the lack of popularity of the trail, as well as the hot summer weather and dead vegetation which makes the hike both uncomfortable and not nearly as scenic as in the spring.
The trail is near some old gold mines. It was first suspected that these mines could be releasing high levels of carbon monoxide, but that theory has since been mostly abandoned. No other animals were found dead in the area, and carbon monoxide poisoning doesn't happen easily in the open air.
It doesn't appear to be a result of any sort of violence. None of the bodies show any physical injury. They're just dead.
The only logical theory at this point? Algae.
Toxic algae has been known to grow in the Merced River. If they got thristy and drank the river water, or if they got in the river for a swim, it's possible the algae could have killed everyone, including the dog.
An autopsy was done, but so far it hasn't revealed any clues. Very strange. They were all just found lying there dead. Their car was at the end of Hites Cove Rd, before it turns into a trail. They were only 1.5 miles from the car, so it's not likely they were lost or stuck too far from it.
If it's not the algae, the investigators are completely stumped, and may never know the answer.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by dwai
