‘Can you help us.’ Cellphone info reveals more about how California family died hiking
Information from a cellphone carried by a Mariposa family who mysteriously died hiking last year in Sierra National Forest has been obtained and reveals more about the tragic final hours of their lives.
Some of the cellphone data – obtained by the FBI after months of work – was shared Thursday by the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators said the new information supports the official cause of death, hyperthermia and probable dehydration due to environmental exposure, for Jonathan Gerrish, Ellen Chung and their 1-year-old daughter, Aurelia “Miju” Chung-Gerrish that was announced in October.
Officials said temperatures rose dramatically during their Aug. 15 day hike with their dog that also died in the Hites Cove area of Devil’s Gulch, southwest of Yosemite National Park. Their bodies were found two days later by a search and rescue team.
“Can you help us,” one attempted text message reads to a person whose name was redacted by the sheriff’s office. It was attempted at 11:56 a.m. Aug. 15 from Gerrish’s phone but didn’t go through because there wasn’t cellphone service in the area.
“On savage lundy trail heading back to Hites cove trail,” the attempted message continues. “No water or ver (over) heating with baby.”
Investigators said there were five attempted phone calls from the phone to multiple numbers between 12:09 p.m. and 12:36 p.m. None of the calls were to 911, the sheriff’s office said. During that time, at 12:25 p.m., a screenshot was taken of their location from a trail app.
Investigators also used the information from the phone to recreate the path and timeline of their hike based on GPS locations.
Multiple photos were found on the phone from their hike. The first was a photo/video at 7:44 a.m. taken a few yards from the trailhead. The images weren’t shared with reporters, but were described by the sheriff’s office. The couple continued to take nature and family photos from 8 a.m. until 10:29 a.m. Their last photo was described as a creek/river photo along the South Fork of the Merced River until a final image, the screenshot of their location, was captured about two hours later.
Investigators were considering a known toxic algae bloom in the area as a possible cause of death, but that was later ruled out.
The sheriff’s office called Thursday’s update its last one about the Gerrish-Chung case and said no additional information will be provided at this time.
“The cellphone data results were the last thing both the family and detectives were waiting on,” Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese said in a statement. “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.”
This story was originally published February 17, 2022 at 2:59 PM with the headline "‘Can you help us.’ Cellphone info reveals more about how California family died hiking."
