Mobile phone could be key to revealing how Brit family died on US hiking trip as baffled cops probe family’s final calls
INVESTIGATORS are examining a mobile phone belonging to a British family who mysteriously died on a US hiking trip.
Baffled cops hope the phone could offer clues about how Jonathan Gerrish, his wife Ellen Chung, their daughter Miju, and dog Oksi died.
The family were all found dead by search teams in a remote area of the Sierra National Forest last Tuesday.
Phone signals were dead in the area where the bodies were found but analysts told that they will examine whether the family tried to make calls or if they recorded voice messages.
Jeremy Briese, sheriff of Mariposa County, California, said: “We’ve searched from the air and on foot and all over, looking for anything that may give us a clue to what occurred.
“Basically, it’s baffling and we’ve got to work through the different scenarios looking for answers.”
Meanwhile, cops hoped that the autopsy of the family's dog could help solve the riddle of their mysterious deaths.
Detectives at first launched a murder probe - but cops now say they are ruling out homicide, despite not yet having an explanation or cause of death.
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Police are however hoping that the autopsy of the family's dog who was also found dead at the scene could help solve the mysterious case.
And they also said the toxicology reports from the family could help shed some light on the baffling case.
Cops have however pledged they will not give up the trail until they get answers.
Mariposa County Sheriff's spokeswoman Kristie Mitchell told : "Initially, yes, when we come across a family with no apparent cause of death, there's no smoking gun, there's no suicide note, there's nothing like that, we have to consider all options.
"Now that we're five days in, no, we're no longer considering homicide as a cause of death."
She added: "We're hoping that within the next week, two weeks, we'll have a better idea.
"There's toxicology that we're waiting for from the autopsies themselves, and then also from the [necropsy for the dog]."
Investigators are still considering a number of possible causes included toxic algae that were reported in a river nearby and noxious gases from abandoned mines.
In July, the US Forest Service warned that toxic algae had been discovered in the Merced River and urged people not to swim in it or to allow their pets to drink from it.
The family's water bottle has been sent for analysis to check it they have filled it from the river to where the trail leads.
We've never seen anything like this, and I don't think this is a typical case that any agency throughout the nation has seen
Kristie Mitchell
Cops initially treated the mysterious case as a "hazmat situation" - and Mitchell said they are also carrying out toxicology reports from nearby water sources and water found in the family's supplies.
Mitchell said: "We've never seen anything like this, and I don't think this is a typical case that any agency throughout the nation has seen.
"When you come across, like I said at the beginning, a family, seemingly healthy family, and you come across mom, dad, dog, and baby all deceased, that's not normal."
Real estate agent Sidney Radanovich, one of the couple's friends, told the that the family had recently moved from San Francisco after "falling in love with the Mariposa area."
Radanovich said: "They were such a loving couple, they loved each other quite a bit.
"He loved showing the baby all sorts of things and explaining them to her. She didn’t understand, but he would explain them to her anyway."
According to the , Sheriff Briese said: "I've been here for 20 years, and I've never seen a death-related case like this.
"There's no obvious indicators of how it occurred.
"You have two healthy adults, you have a healthy child, and what appears to be a healthy canine all within a general same area."
None of the bodies had physical wounds such as gunshots or signs of trauma, and no suicide note was found, Mitchell said.
"It makes for a very unique, very strange situation," she said. "I think it's going to be a very long and in depth, thorough investigation because it isn't as clear cut as what some cases are."
The couple had reportedly moved to Mariposa from San Francisco to raise their daughter in "a quiet, slow-paced environment, surrounded by open-air and close to the mountains for hiking and camping adventures".
Jonathan, who was originally from Lancashire and had worked for Google and Snapchat, was out last Sunday with his family for what was supposed to be a day hike.
But when their nanny arrived at the family home to look after little Miju, no one answered the door and friends became worried.
They were reported missing by a relative last Monday and authorities found the family's car near the Sierra National forest gate the same day.,
Their bodies were located last Tuesday evening two miles from their car in an area with no phone reception.
Close pal Steve Jaffe described the mysterious deaths as "freaky and strange".
"You had to figure it wasn't an overnight hike because it's been hot, and they had the baby with them," he told the Mirror.
"Jon was supposed to work Monday and never showed up. That raised more concerns."
'DEVASTATED'
He added: "We're all just devastated.
"They were really beloved by the people. A super generous, sweet and loving couple that was devoted to their daughter.
"It's just a tragedy. You have people who pass away and die. And that's always sad.
"This one is just so freaky and strange, and it's really, really sad. They had so much going for them."
Following the discovery of the bodies, cops could not initially rule out carbon monoxide emitted from old mines as the cause of death.
But Sherriff Briese said detectives couldn't find any disused shafts in the area.
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"We have not found any old mine shafts near the area," he said.
"There are some mine shafts, but we can't confirm if that's the cause yet."
