Member-only story
What Killed This Family?
This story is a bit of a departure from what I usually write, since there is no evidence of a crime. However, it’s such an odd tale that I just *had* to write about it.
On August 17, the bodies of John Gerrish, his wife Ellen Chung, and the couple’s one-year-old daughter, Miju, as well as the family’s dog, Oski, were discovered in a remote area of the Sierra National Forest in California along a hiking trail. [1] The family’s nanny had reported them missing the previous day.
It’s not terribly unusual for people to go missing and die in a national forest, but typically, when that happens, it’s the result of a fall, exposure, or an animal attack. But in the case of the Gerrish/Chung family, investigators cannot figure out what killed them.
What is known amounts to very little: They weren’t shot or attacked by another type of weapon, and chemicals emanating from nearby abandoned mine shafts have been ruled out. [1][2]
Toxicology labs on the family and the family’s dog were sent for testing, along with samples of water found on the trail, in addition to the water in the family’s drinking supply. [1]
