Family dies in Mariposa county due to possible mineshaft gasses

firebird

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https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/19/us/yosemite-family-death-trnd/index.html

Be careful out there guys. I've prospected in that area before and I swear I could smell something unpleasant in the water in the creeks there like gas. Authorities are still unsure what killed the family, no obvious signs of death/wounds and best theory so far is either mineshaft gasses from the old mines in the area or algae bloom in the creeks.
 

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crashbandicoot

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And most all were found clothed, not running around buck naked and delirious leaving a trail of clothes in their wake like bread crumbs leading searches to their corpse. So yes, very much Hollywood, as it's the exception not the rule.

You previously mentioned you volunteered from some searches, and though you didn't specifically say you found any corpses, it was written to make us believe you had found corpse with a trail of scattered clothes. What were the names of those missing persons you volunteered to search for, i'd like to research them more?

Edit: If you want a great case study in how people die in arid regions, the grand canyon is a great study. Every year several die of hyperthermia (and some of hypothermia), and though some wander off, most are found right smack dead on or just off the trail, clothed, with their possessions which is consistent with how this couple was found. The heat overtakes them, they become disoriented and they sit down to "rest" and that's all she wrote. In I believe around 2014 (i may be off a year, you should be able to google it) my son and I were making our annual hike in the Grand Canyon and we came across an elderly gentlemen sitting along the trail, about 60 years old and he appeared very distressed and disoriented. I being former LE and a certified first responder, stopped to help him until Rangers arrived. He was airlifted out of there and died shortly thereafter of heat stroke. He still had all his clothes on, including his pack when we found him and that's the case for most. Most hypo and hyperthermia victims are found right were they last sat down to "rest", right on the trail, right at their camp etc. It's the wander off, strip naked stories that stir the imagination and grab the headlines, but they are the exception, not the rule.

Edit 2: And even throwing more cold water on the "it can't be hyperthermia when they weren't found running around buck naked and half delirious leaving a trail of breadcrumbs before they die" theory, a lot of hypothermia victims aren't even dead when they are found, let alone running around naked and delirious, but it's too late, they die at the hospital hours or days later because their organs have already failed and shut down. "Dead men walking".
Just a little personal experience,I was a commercial roofing contractor for many years,never went into full heat stroke,but was a victim of heat exhaustion several times before I lost that Marine I can do it,damn the heat attitude.Heat exhaustion will sneak up on you,it doesn,t just strike you down like a bolt of lightning.Confusion and physical weakness was my warning signs,never had the desire to take off my clothes.An intense desire to get out of the sun and profuse sweating,to the point of absolutely drenched clothes.Only way I could revive was to get out of the heat and cool off.No amount of water would help me. Luckily I learned my lesson and would get cool before the advanced symptoms.My doctor told me that this is accumulative,that each time you get overheated the next time takes less exposure to bring on the symptoms.He was right,I can take a lot of cold,but heat and high humidity does me in right quick like.Nice family you,ve got there,take care of them and Semper Fi even if you,re not a Marine,we,re all brothers in arms after all.
 

Tesorodeoro

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Thank you, they're good kids. Not too needy, not too caught up in the internet like their dad...lol

It is a great country isn't it? If one actually turns off the news and gets out there on a nice tranquil fall day of detecting....bliss i tell you!
Your kind of crossing the line in my opinion by apparently eluding that you think Clay is not being forthcoming with his experiences. To the point you want names of the deceased. There’s your sign. Get a grip man. No need to be insulting (and please don’t debate that). I’ve no problem reading the intellectual debates about certain issues, gotta be better things to try and settle.
 

GoDeep

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As opposed to engaging anyone you challenge everybody to prove you wrong, while at the same time you don’t lay any substantial proof on the table.
Go re-read my posts, i didn't ask anyone to "prove me wrong". I asked them for their reasoning and evidence for why they've formulated the opinions they have.

As far as calling out my "proof", you keep going to that like some sort of "gotcha" moment, umm...hello, i didn't make any contrary claims to the official findings nor was I an investigator on the case.

You said what bothers you. Now, i'll tell you won't bothers me: people posting 15 second snippets of intellectually lazy claims and then feigning outrage when they're called on the carpet about it...

As i said, if you have evidence that supports your claim that the Sheriff was being dishonest because of what you claimed was his "ego" (and by default, also the medical examiner, rangers, biologists, toxicologists and other investigators on the case), i'd be happy to hear it out. You seem to have plenty of time for ad hominem attacks on me, but not for any sharing any of your theories or evidence.
 

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GoDeep

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Your kind of crossing the line in my opinion by apparently eluding that you think Clay is not being forthcoming with his experiences. To the point you want names of the deceased. There’s your sign. Get a grip man. No need to be insulting (and please don’t debate that). I’ve no problem reading the intellectual debates about certain issues, gotta be better things to try and settle.
Ironic you call me out for "alluding" but make no call out to the clear "alluding" they did to having found dead hyperthermia victims when in point of fact, if you read their post real carefully, they never actually claimed to have found anyone.

It's apparent you aren't genuinely concerned about anyone's "alluding" or you would have called them out too. You chose a side and it isn't evidence you seek, it's white knighting for another poster when you see it's getting sticky.
Clay's a big boy, he can defend his own claims.
 

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Tesorodeoro

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Ironic you call me out for "alluding" but make no call out to the clear "alluding" they did to having found dead hyperthermia victims when in point of fact, if you read their post real carefully, they never actually claimed to have found anyone.

It's apparent you aren't genuinely concerned about anyone's "alluding" or you would have called them out too. You chose a side and it isn't evidence you seek, it's white knighting for another poster when you see it's getting sticky.
Clay's a big boy, he can defend his own claim
Ironic you call me out for "alluding" but make no call out to the clear "alluding" they did to having found dead hyperthermia victims when in point of fact, if you read their post real carefully, they never actually claimed to have found anyone.

It's apparent you aren't genuinely concerned about anyone's "alluding" or you would have called them out too. You chose a side and it isn't evidence you seek, it's white knighting for another poster when you see it's getting sticky.
Clay's a big boy, he can defend his own claims.
Have a good night.
 

Red-Coat

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The Mariposa County Sheriff has said that the FBI is still attempting to unlock one of the couple's cellphones (believed to be Mr Gerrish’s, and the one found in his shirt pocket). He said that the agency is “making good progress” and “our hope is that that cellphone will continue to give us more answers about that day.”

As things stand, it appears that:

- The hike was seemingly not well planned, and Mr Gerrish had apparently only done some cursory research for the route the night before. The attraction may have been that the areas near the river are known for their wild flowers and perhaps that would have had appeal for their small daughter.

- The app Mr Gerrish used for his route planning would not have told him how steep or arduous the terrain would be, nor given him the actual length of the hike taking into account the vertical ascent as well as the horizontal distance, nor a realistic indication of how long it would take. Although they were experienced hikers, they lacked local knowledge and may have been over-confident.

- Although they set out quite early when temperatures were reasonable, they may have misjudged how hot it was going to get before the hike could be completed, how exposed the terrain is to full sun later in the day, and how little shade is available (effectively none).

- They were wearing suitable clothing for high ambient temperatures, but not for full exposure to overhead sun beating down on them. In particular they had uncovered limbs and no protective headgear.

An average adult should drink at least 2 litres of water per day in normal climates. Generally, a total daily intake of 3.7 litres for men and 2.7 litres for women (including fluids from foods) would be a healthy amount. The bodily needs rise dramatically in higher temperatures and the ‘per day’ requirement is irrelevant in full-sun exposure conditions because your needs become more immediate and the consequences of not fulfilling them can be both rapid and dire. Their only water container held 85 ounces so, assuming it was full when they set out, they had a maximum of 2.5 litres between them for a trek that would likely have taken them about 7 hours to reach the spot where they were found.
 

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Tesorodeoro

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“The attraction may have been that the areas near the river are known for their wild flowers and perhaps that would have had appeal for their small daughter.”

That seems to be a little bit of an assumption but reads good and very well could have been what they were thinking.

What app did the man use to plan his route? I remember when a paper map was good enough. Lastly who is Mr. Merrish?
 

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Tesorodeoro

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Appears to be a 4000-foot elevation change down and back up. The trail goes to the river. If the guy couldn’t tell from the trailhead (looking 2000 feet down at the river) that it was going to be a brutal hike, he really was a moron. The many switchbacks on the trail are a dead give away to someone experienced in hiking. No need for an “APP” to clue you in. The USFS describes the trail as the most difficult of all the trails along the Merced River. Nothing I’d ever attempt even in high 90 deg. weather. If I did, I’d be hitting the trail and hiking the first half in the dark.

486D06A6-61A6-4786-909C-1143C6E0FAAC.jpeg
 

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Red-Coat

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“The attraction may have been that the areas near the river are known for their wild flowers and perhaps that would have had appeal for their small daughter.”

That seems to be a little bit of an assumption but reads good and very well could have been what they were thinking.

What app did the man use to plan his route? I remember when a paper map was good enough. Lastly who is Mr. Merrish?

Yes, the possibility of the wild flowers being a motivation for taking a small child was my conjecture, although it was mentioned as being a particular attraction for some people doing that hike.

The name of the app used has not been given in any 'official' comments as far as I'm aware. Only what capabilities it had for the way he used it, the fact that he only entered 'way points' into it, and wouldn't have obtained information about the difficulty of terrain, the high amount of vertical climb, or the actual length of the trail taking into account that ascent. It would to him, from the app, have appeared to be a rather shorter journey than was actually the case.

Sorry for the "Merrish" error. I wasn't concentrating and it should of course have been "Gerrish" (now corrected in the above).
 

Tesorodeoro

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Yes, the possibility of the wild flowers being a motivation for taking a small child was my conjecture, although it was mentioned as being a particular attraction for some people doing that hike.

The name of the app used has not been given in any 'official' comments as far as I'm aware. Only what capabilities it had for the way he used it, the fact that he only entered 'way points' into it, and wouldn't have obtained information about the difficulty of terrain, the high amount of vertical climb, or the actual length of the trail taking into account that ascent. It would to him, from the app, have appeared to be a rather shorter journey than was actually the case.

Sorry for the "Merrish" error. I wasn't concentrating and it should of course have been "Gerrish" (now corrected in the above).
Check out my post above. The guy clearly didn’t need an app to determine the difficulty of the hike. He was at the top of a mountain peak with the destination being the river located 2000 feet below him. Just saying.
The people were just clueless literally and cost them everything.
 

Red-Coat

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Check out my post above. The guy clearly didn’t need an app to determine the difficulty of the hike. He was at the top of a mountain peak with the destination being the river located 2000 feet below him. Just saying.

Sure. But the indications are that he only 'researched' the hike the night before, and in a limited manner. Sounds like a spur of the moment decision for a family outing without the realisation he was biting off more than he could chew... until he actually started the hike of course.

The view that he was an "experienced hiker" came from his friends and is open to interpretation exactly what "experienced" really means and in what types of terrain (and weather). To me the whole thing smacks of over-confidence by someone out of their depth with an element of 'bravado'. But that's just an opinion.
 

Tesorodeoro

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Sure. But the indications are that he only 'researched' the hike the night before, and in a limited manner. Sounds like a spur of the moment decision for a family outing without the realisation he was biting off more than he could chew... until he actually started the hike of course.

The view that he was an "experienced hiker" came from his friends and is open to interpretation exactly what "experienced" really means and in what types of terrain (and weather). To me the whole thing smacks of over-confidence by someone out of their depth with an element of 'bravado'. But that's just an opinion.
I suppose. I guess I’d have serious concerns how far it was to the river the entire way I drove my way up to the top of that mountain. I’d probably be questioning if I was on the right road…grabbing a map to verify. I agree…out of their element.
 

SeabeeRon

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Heat Exhaustion / hyperthermia / dehydration:

I go with the official explanation, thanks!
 

GoDeep

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I go with the official explanation, thanks!
Seabee, long time no see! How are you doing?! The new format has the way i search and see threads a bit disoriented so i'm not seeing the same crew i usually do.
 

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Treasure_Hunter

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Would ‘yours’ be grammatically correct if I used it like...Up Yours
Onewolf would "you're" be grammatically correct if I said "you're on time out for violating our rules?

End the insults and attacks on GoDeep, if his posts bother you you can move to another thread, if there is an issue you think is violating rules hit the report icon at bottom of each post, please leave the moderating to the moderators.
 

Treasure_Hunter

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"On Thursday, Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese said investigators concluded the family died from hyperthermia, a condition caused when a person's body temperature is dangerously high after exposure to hot, humid weather. It's unclear what killed the dog, an 8-year-old Australian shepherd and Akita mix. But Briese said evidence indicates the dog was "possibly suffering from heat-related issues."

"This is an unfortunate and tragic event due to the weather," he said."


 

GoDeep

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Onewolf would "you're" be grammatically correct if I said "you're on time out for violating our rules?
Darn, i need to up my game, because that is some boss level witty verse you be laying down!
 

Tesorodeoro

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Darn, i need to up my game, because that is some boss level witty verse you be laying down!
Battle of witty written responses. So glad I never encounter that type of stuff outside the internet. Honest, that would just be weird.
 

crashbandicoot

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Not intended for any particular person.If you lay down witty written verse you should probably expect the same in response.Maybe weird,but we engage in that all the time here in person.Makes for lively arguments.
 

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