California family that mysteriously died hiking near Yosemite had moved to enjoy outdoors

The Mariposa couple found dead in a remote area near the western entrance to Yosemite National Park loved the great outdoors.

Enough so that they packed up their hustle-and-bustle life in San Francisco for the mountains of central California.

The bodies of Jonathan Gerrish, Ellen Chung and their 1-year-old daughter were found by the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday after going for a hike Sunday. They were near an isolated spot called Devil’s Gulch, about 15 miles southwest of the El Portal entrance to Yosemite on Highway 140.

UPDATE: Investigation may have to wait on toxicology

The couple moved to the area during the coronavirus pandemic after Gerrish had the opportunity to work from home as a software engineer, family friend Steve Jeffe told The Bee.

They had envisioned raising their daughter Miju in a quiet, slow-paced environment, surrounded by open air and close to the mountains for hiking and camping adventures.

Sunday’s outing with the family dog, who was also found dead at the site, was supposed to be a day hike, Jeffe said.

But on Monday when their nanny arrived at their home to watch Miju and no one answered the door, those close to Gerrish and Chung became worried.

“You had to figure it wasn’t an overnight hike, because it’s been hot and they had the baby with them,” Jeffe said in a telephone interview. “Jon was supposed to work Monday and never showed up. That raised more concerns.”

A missing persons report was filed Monday.

But by Tuesday morning, it was confirmed that Gerrish, Chung and their daughter weren’t missing: They were dead. Their bodies were found on a hiking trail sometime before 10 a.m. Tuesday near the Devil’s Gulch area in the Southfork of the Merced River drainage.

Mariposa County investigation

How the family died remains a mystery.

The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office called upon a hazmat team to help handle the investigation due to mines in the area and no clear indication of the cause of death, according to deputy Kristie Mitchell.

“It could be a carbon monoxide situation,” Mitchell told Dailymail.com. “That’s one of the reasons why we’re treating it as a hazmat situation.”

Mitchell also did not rule out the possibility of exposure to toxic algae. She added that the bodies showed no signs of trauma, such as gunshot wounds.

Jeffe called the situation “freaky and strange.”

“We’re all just devastated,” Jeffe said. “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.”

Like Gerrish and Chung, Jeffe also moved from San Francisco to Mariposa to enjoy the outdoor life.

It was Jeffe who shared with Gerrish the pros and cons of relocating to Mariposa, having spent the past seven years splitting time between the two areas himself.

Google engineer and yoga instructor

According to Jeffe, Gerrish originally was from England and previously was a software engineer for Google but worked for SnapChat.

Chung originally was from Orange in Southern California and was a yoga instructor prior to her pregnancy.

She was going to graduate school, studying to become a marriage and family therapist, Jeffe added.

In addition to hiking, the couple enjoyed attending events such as Burning Man, the art-and-cultural event in the Nevada desert. The event encourages individuals “to discover, exercise and rely on their inner resources.”

But after having a baby, Gerrish and Chung focused more on simply raising their daughter.

“They were doting parents,” Jeffe said. “For this to happen to them and to their baby girl, it’s exceedingly tragic.”

This story was originally published August 18, 2021 at 2:27 PM with the headline "California family that mysteriously died hiking near Yosemite had moved to enjoy outdoors."