Timeline of the event from Fox 26 Modesto.
In their final moments, Jonathan Gerrish and Ellen Chung frantically attempted calling and texting for help from a remote and stifling hot Mariposa County trail, telling one would-be rescuer they were out of water and overheating, according to new data pulled from the husbandâs cell phone.
Shortly before noon on Aug. 15, with temperatures soaring above 100 degrees and the couple, their infant daughter and dog hiking up steep switchbacks with little shade, someone from the family attempted to send a final text from Gerrishâs cell phone.
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of a number of high-profile hiker and runner heat-related deaths in California that year.
â(Name redacted) can you help us,â the text started at 11:56 a.m. âOn savage lundy trail heading back to Hites cove trail. No water or ver (over) heating with baby.â
After months of work with an FBI phone forensic team, the sheriffâs office was able to glean the new details from Gerrishâs Google Pixel 4 that was found in the front pocket of his shorts.
âThe cell phone data results were the last thing both the family and detectives were waiting on,â Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese said. âThe 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.â
A woman spotted the family park their vehicle at the Hites Cove trailhead on Aug. 15 around 7:45 a.m. when the temperature was 76 degrees. Within three hours it would soar to 99 degrees, and by the afternoon it would peak at 109. The ground temperature would have been higher, investigators said, particularly since a wildfire had burned off any shade canopy.
In the new phone data, investigators found a photo and video taken at 7:44 a.m. a few yards from the trailhead. Fifteen minutes later, the family snapped another photo of the trail as they dropped down the steep Hites Cove trail.
By 9:05 a.m., the couple snapped a photo of the South Fork of the Merced River. Between 9:35 a.m. and 9:39 a.m. the couple took nine photos of the river and each other from about the halfway point of the 8-mile loop, according to the records.
Between 10 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., the family took selfies and photos of the river and creek as they made their way to the bottom of the challenging final switchbacks up the Savage Lundy Trail. Those were the final photos taken.
Their situation appeared to become dire shortly before noon when the family attempted to send the rescue text. The couple tried to send the message just slightly below where their bodies were found â only 1.6 miles from the trailhead and their truck.
By 12:09 p.m., the family made the first of five phone calls. The calls went to multiple phone numbers, but not 911, the sheriffâs office said. At 12:25 p.m., a family member took a screenshot of their location on the hiking app. Finally, starting at 12:35 p.m., the family made the final four calls in rapid succession. None of the calls ever connected, investigators said.
The familyâs remains were found two days after their hike on Aug. 17.
In Chungâs backpack, investigators recovered a snakebite kit, knife, bug spray, first aid kit, extra diapers, an empty sippy cup with remnants of what appeared to be formula, another empty sippy cup and a teething wafer wrapper.
Chung was also carrying a 2.5 liter Osprey Hydraulics LT water bladder with only a âfew remaining dropsâ of water, which detectives tested. They detected no toxins in the water.
One expert who was familiar with the trail told investigators that for a hike under those conditions, he recommended 320 ounces of water for an adult couple, and 16 ounces each for a baby and dog. Yet the couple apparently carried only 84 ounces of water in total and no water filtration system to gather supplies from the river.
A Modesto doctor who treats extreme heat victims told investigators that once an individual gets heatstroke, they can die within a couple of hours. The moment the family started their hike â with their lack of water and other deficiencies â the âclock was ticking,â the doctor said.