Snapchat engineer and his wife 'tried to save their baby who died first on remote California hiking trail before they were killed by hyperthermia

[DrQ]

Snapchat engineer and his wife 'tried to save their baby who died first on remote California hiking trail before they were killed by hyperthermia and dehydration due to 100F heat, investigation finds

• A British Snapchat engineer and his wife tried to save their baby daughter, who died of hyperthermia and dehydration, before they died themselves
• John Gerrish, his wife, Ellen Chung, their 1-year-old daughter, Miju, and their dog were found dead on a remote hiking trail in California in August
• A survival trainer said in an email to detectives that the young couple likely died while attempting to save their infant daughter
• 'Sadly, I believe they were caught off guard, and once they realized their situation, they died trying to save their child and each other,' the trainer wrote
• The temperatures were 99-103 degrees on August 17, when they were found dead
• They were found with one empty 85oz bladder for water with them, and no other water containers or filtration systems
• Water nearby was confirmed to contain the naturally occurring toxin Anatoxin-A, which can be fatal to animals - but there was no evidence the family ingested it
• Their death had mystified police who quickly ruled out a number of causes of death including extreme heat, a lightning strike, and carbon monoxide

Snapchat engineer, wife tried to save their baby who died during hike

Jonathan Gerrish, 45, Ellen Chung, 31, and their 1-year-old daughter, Miju all died in the 100F California heat, the investigation found two months after the incident occurred August 15.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[isisdave]

This is still mysterious to me. 103 is not THAT hot if you can get some shade or other shelter. How long were they out there? In that time NO ONE came by?

No idea like "holy cow, it's getting hot. You stay here with the baby and most of the water, and I'll trot up to the road or somewhere there's cell service."

Perhaps I missed some better reporting but everything I saw was fuzzy about whether they were still on the trail, and the details of the timeline.

Was there even a message composed on a phone telling what the problem was?

 

[easyrider]

This is still mysterious to me. 103 is not THAT hot if you can get some shade or other shelter. How long were they out there? In that time NO ONE came by?

No idea like "holy cow, it's getting hot. You stay here with the baby and most of the water, and I'll trot up to the road or somewhere there's cell service."

Perhaps I missed some better reporting but everything I saw was fuzzy about whether they were still on the trail, and the details of the timeline.

Was there even a message composed on a phone telling what the problem was?

I agree that it's odd. My neighbor who was alot older than this couple died last summer watering his horses. It was over 100 degrees out. They say he died of hyperthermia like the people in the article. It must be a gradual condition.

Bill

 

[Janann]

The CDC website says: When working in the heat, drink 1 cup (8 ounces) of water every 15–20 minutes.

So they had 85 ounces of water with them, which is only enough to last less than four hours for the two adults. The quantity that the baby and dog would have needed is an unknown, but lets say that after adjusting for the baby and dog there is now enough for three hours. The water was not stored in a refrigerated container with ice or anything like that, so they only had access to warm water.

I have never hiked in severe heat, but I play a sport in 100 degree heat during the summer. I can't even begin to explain how the heat drains every bit of energy from your body. I can see how a horrible event like three deaths could easily happen.

It is odd that they went on this strenuous hike with the baby and the dog. It would have been one thing to attempt it with two adults, but it is tragic that they didn't turn back once the temperature hit about 90. I can't imagine exposing a baby to that kind of heat, plus little or no water, solely for the purpose of finishing a hike.

 

[Snazzylass]

This is still mysterious to me. 103 is not THAT hot if you can get some shade or other shelter. How long were they out there? In that time NO ONE came by?

No idea like "holy cow, it's getting hot. You stay here with the baby and most of the water, and I'll trot up to the road or somewhere there's cell service."

Perhaps I missed some better reporting but everything I saw was fuzzy about whether they were still on the trail, and the details of the timeline.

Was there even a message composed on a phone telling what the problem was?

Cell phone data had not been released as of the end of Oct. Apparently the FBI is looking into that. It's possible that they did not have cellphone service. It happens to me all the time even hiking (or driving!) in the Phoenix area.

"A witness saw the family on the Hites Cove trail on August 15, where they embarked on a 2.2-mile walk to a U.S. Forest Service trail parallel to the south fork of the Merced River with an elevation of 1,930 feet. From there, they walked 1.9 miles to the Savage Lundy Trail, then ended up on a steep incline where temperatures reached 107 to 109 degrees due to a lack of shade and high elevations; the sheriff said temperatures when the family began their hike was in the mid-70s. At 105 degrees, hyperthermia can cause brain and organ damage. This can lead to a fatal heat stroke."

I cannot emphasize this enough: "then ended up on a steep incline where temperatures reached 107 to 109 degrees due to a lack of shade and high elevations"

A beautiful, young woman died on Camelback this summer. She had just flown in the day before from Boston. Tragic. I blame her hiking partner for not staying with her, but it's just crazy to think how that can happen. It's a busy trail. It's a trail. It's right in the city. But hiking in Phx in the summer is deadly, and I've had to share extra water with folks on these trails other times of year. People who should have known better. On the other hand, I've been caught in the dark and had a fellow hiker stay with me as we hiked back to the trailhead. It's what hikers try to do. We try to help each other.

People really underestimate the difference in attitude and lack of humility, to say nothing of the lack of shade and how easy it is to become disoriented. A friend recently told me of a mountain biker who was lost and asking for directions in another Phx city park. OK, it's a big place, but that still surprised me. I saw the rescue teams searching for another young man in Sedona who did not make it. Very sad. It happens.

 

[klpca]

Cell phone data had not been released as of the end of Oct. Apparently the FBI is looking into that. It's possible that they did not have cellphone service. It happens to me all the time even hiking (or driving!) in the Phoenix area.

"A witness saw the family on the Hites Cove trail on August 15, where they embarked on a 2.2-mile walk to a U.S. Forest Service trail parallel to the south fork of the Merced River with an elevation of 1,930 feet. From there, they walked 1.9 miles to the Savage Lundy Trail, then ended up on a steep incline where temperatures reached 107 to 109 degrees due to a lack of shade and high elevations; the sheriff said temperatures when the family began their hike was in the mid-70s. At 105 degrees, hyperthermia can cause brain and organ damage. This can lead to a fatal heat stroke."

I cannot emphasize this enough: "then ended up on a steep incline where temperatures reached 107 to 109 degrees due to a lack of shade and high elevations"

A beautiful, young woman died on Camelback this summer. She had just flown in the day before from Boston. Tragic. I blame her hiking partner for not staying with her, but it's just crazy to think how that can happen. It's a busy trail. It's a trail. It's right in the city. But hiking in Phx in the summer is deadly, and I've had to share extra water with folks on these trails other times of year. People who should have known better. On the other hand, I've been caught in the dark and had a fellow hiker stay with me as we hiked back to the trailhead. It's what hikers try to do. We try to help each other.

People really underestimate the difference in attitude and lack of humility, to say nothing of the lack of shade and how easy it is to become disoriented. A friend recently told me of a mountain biker who was lost and asking for directions in another Phx city park. OK, it's a big place, but that still surprised me. I saw the rescue teams searching for another young man in Sedona who did not make it. Very sad. It happens.

We hike all the time. I had a really bad experience - once - on a local trail (Iron Mountain) that I have done many times. It wasn't even that hot, high 80's - low 90's probably, but for whatever reason I felt odd within the first mile. I had plenty of water, but it just didn't make a difference. I tried to press on but my legs felt heavy and I felt uncomfortably warm. The hardest thing though was that my brain went in to "stubborn mode" and I know in retrospect that I was very irrational at that point. I didn't want to quit since that would affect not only me, but the other two people that I was with, plus I this was an easy hike for me. But I was going slower and slower, and kept having to stop to catch my breath. Finally I had to tell them that I didn't feel right and we turned around. I could barely make it to the car. We had to turn the AC on and they drove me to a fast food restaurant so that I could get a large drink with ice. It took me an hour to start to cool down and I didn't feel normal for the rest of the afternoon.

I have no idea what happened to these people, but if it was the heat it could have been pretty insidious. The part of my experience that stays with me is how irrational I became. I wouldn't stop hiking, but I also couldn't continue hiking. In my mind I couldn't possibly be affected by the heat because it wasn't that hot and I had water. So I refused to turn around. I think that I would have turned around a long time before I would hike in 100+ degree heat, but if your brain function is impaired then a lot of poor decisions can be made. This case was such a tragedy. It would be nice to have a definitive answer, but we may ever know for certain.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I've had similar in extreme heat while biking uphill at a local park in 100 degree weather. I had water but didn't drink enough. The mind plays games.

Perhaps the death of the baby added to the irrationality. Imagine the potential self and media blame for taking their baby out in such conditions if they survived and the baby didn't. Sad story.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Given the toxins in the water, would those life straws or similar filters have enabled them to drink the water safely?

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

About 20 years ago I was occasionally doing field work in southern Nevada (Clark County) with temps routinely exceeding 100 °F. When you add in reflectance off the ground surface that effectively is closer to to 120 °F. It was not hard physical labor - doing inspections and managing/operating some sampling gear.

I would start the day well-hydrated, and I would try to drink at least a liter of water every hour to start, increasing to two liters of water per hour by mid-day. I also kept a timer set to chime every two hours. If the chronometer went off and I hadn't had to urinate in the last two hours, I would start upping my water intake and change the timer to 30 minutes. If 30 minutes passed and I still hadn't needed to urinate, I would up the water intake some more.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

About 15 plus years ago I was doing a permitted "burn" of a LOT of brush. I mean a whole lot of bundled brush - - about 150 three foot long bundles x 18 inches in diameter. According to fire regulations, I had to stay with the burn pile (along with an energized water hose as required by CalFire) plus had a gallon jug of water. The air temp was warm (perhaps 80 plus) but the radiant heat from the fire was extreme. Every time I threw a new bundle on the fire, the heat was so intense that I had to turn and immediately retreat. At the end of the day, my blue Tee shirt had a crispy white ring resembling a necklace all around my neck. That was from the salts in my perspiration. I had finished the gallon of water plus drank a bit from the hose. At the end of the day I felt okay generally, a bit tired but when I weighed myself, I had lost 10 pounds of water weight - - over a gallon. Wow!

I did have a cell phone as well as a ham radio transceiver, so if I would have needed help, it would have been easy to do so (assuming that I had the mental faculties to do so)

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

my blue Tee shirt had a crispy white ring resembling a necklace all around my neck. That was from the salts in my perspiration.

When I was doing my work in Clark County, I always drank local tap water, which was Colorado River water from Lake Mead. Las Vegas tap water has about 700 mg/l of dissolved salts, which is definitely high and adds a bit of unpleasant taste to the water. However, for my purposes it was ideal, since that provided the salts I was losing in perspiration.

 

[isisdave]

I just came across another article with more detail here: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/information-emerges-report-detailing-deaths-203117284.html

 

[PcflEZFlng]

I would say my family and I had a close call on Camelback in Phoenix 17 years ago. DW and DS and I were hiking the trail in mid-morning. It was summer, and temperatures were already in the high 90s to near 100. We were carrying water, but not enough, and about halfway up, DW started to feel uneasy. We decided we'd better turn around and head back down, stat. By the time we reached the bottom, I was feeling strange as well. We immediately headed to the nearest convenience store and consumed lots of cold water and several bananas.

 

[VacationForever]

We golf all through summer in 100+ degrees heat in Las Vegas area. 3 hours round and I go through about 60 to 70 oz of water. First 2 weeks of 90+ degrees heat, I get dizzy by the 14th hole. After 2 weeks and while temperature continues to go up into early summer, I get used to the heat. You just have to keep drinking.

 

[MULTIZ321]

The tragic missteps that killed a young California
family on a hike

The tragic missteps that killed a young California family on a hike

The incident serves as a reminder to thoroughly map, plan ahead and be well-prepared when hiking, no matter the season

www.theguardian.com

Richard

 

[Brett]

The tragic missteps that killed a young California
family on a hike

The tragic missteps that killed a young California family on a hike

The incident serves as a reminder to thoroughly map, plan ahead and be well-prepared when hiking, no matter the season

www.theguardian.com

Richard

8 mile hike at 109 ° with limited water supplies ---

 

[klpca]

Here's a link to an article about hiking in hot weather together with symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. It is just as important to have this information as it is to carry a map.

Hot Weather Hiking

Click here for a printer-friendly PDF Stay cool and safe when the weather is neither. In many locations, summer is a great time for hiking. Sometimes, however, the weather can…

americanhiking.org

 

[DrQ]

'Help us. No water, overheating with baby': British Snapchat engineer sent desperate last text before he and his family died in 100F heat on California hiking trail - but message failed to go through due to poor reception

• Jonathan Gerrish, 45, his wife Ellen Chung, 31, their baby Aurelia, and their dog Oski were found dead on a hiking trail near the Merced River
• One text made shortly before noon on August 15 to a person whose name wasn't released asked: 'Can you help us. No water or ver (over) heating with baby'
• Last fall, investigators concluded that the family died of extreme heat stroke.
• Temperatures that afternoon reached 109F in the steep mountain terrain and the family had run out of water

Family that died in California mountains made desperate plea

Jonathan Gerrish, 45, his wife Ellen Chung, 31, their one-year-old daughter Aurelia 'Miju' Chung-Gerrish, and their dog Oski were found dead on a hiking trail near the Merced River last August.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Snazzylass]

'Help us. No water, overheating with baby': British Snapchat engineer sent desperate last text before he and his family died in 100F heat on California hiking trail - but message failed to go through due to poor reception

• Jonathan Gerrish, 45, his wife Ellen Chung, 31, their baby Aurelia, and their dog Oski were found dead on a hiking trail near the Merced River
• One text made shortly before noon on August 15 to a person whose name wasn't released asked: 'Can you help us. No water or ver (over) heating with baby'
• Last fall, investigators concluded that the family died of extreme heat stroke.
• Temperatures that afternoon reached 109F in the steep mountain terrain and the family had run out of water

Family that died in California mountains made desperate plea

Jonathan Gerrish, 45, his wife Ellen Chung, 31, their one-year-old daughter Aurelia 'Miju' Chung-Gerrish, and their dog Oski were found dead on a hiking trail near the Merced River last August.

www.dailymail.co.uk

This tragedy still haunts me. They were found 1-1/2 mi from their car. Think about that!

And, just as I suspected, no cell service. Garmin makes little satellite-connected GPS models which would have allowed them to contact emergency services. I think they are about $300 at REI. Still, it's unknown if rescue services could have made it in time

 

[mayamart]

So sad. We just purchased a cabin close to where this tragedy took place.