Sad Postscript

Ellen Chung, Oski, Jon Gerrish, and Miju (Chron)

Last August we first noted the sad story of the young Gerrish family, whose bodies were found on a hiking trail in Mariposa County.

After investigating multiple, even highly improbable possibilities, the coroner's office ruled in October that the cause was "hyperthermia and probable dehydration."

A final unsent text message on Jon Gerrish's cell phone confirms the coroner's finding.

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 Gerrish’s cell phone.

“(Name redacted) can you help us,” the text started at 11:56 a.m. “On savage lundy trail heading back to Hites cove trail. No water or ver (over) heating with baby.”

The text never went through as the Savage Lundy Trail has notoriously poor cellular service.

It's easy to say that the victims should have known or should have done this or that. But how many of us really subject the dozens of decisions we make each day to that kind of deliberation? 999 times out of 1,000 nothing will go wrong.

There was every sign that each member of the family would have a long, happy, and successful life filled with the love of friends and family. Truly a tragedy.