Chicago Sun-Times (Sunday)

‘Maddening’: Man tracing Calif. trail where family died has to be rescued

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MARIPOSA, Calif. — A tourist from Michigan who tried to retrace the steps of a family who died during a grueling summer hike in Northern California had to be rescued in late June after getting lost, a frustrated sheriff said.

The man, who has not been identified, was reported missing near the trail in Mariposa County where officials last year found the bodies of Jonathan Gerrish, his wife, Ellen Chung, their 1-year-old daughter Aurelia “Miju” Chung-Gerrish and their dog, Oski, Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese said in a statement posted on social media.

After a two-month investigat­ion, authoritie­s determined the family and their dog died of extreme heat exhaustion after running out of water while hiking last year on a sunny August afternoon when temperatur­es reached 109 degrees in the steep mountain terrain.

On June 29, a hiker called authoritie­s after noticing the man’s car was still parked at the trailhead. The caller had met the tourist from Michigan a day earlier when he told him he was investigat­ing the family’s deaths because he found the cause of death “odd,” Briese said.

A search and rescue crew with the help of a helicopter from the Fresno County sheriff ’s office found the man later that day.

The tourist was described as being in his mid-60s, about 5-6 and 200 pounds and wearing sweatpants “on some of the hottest days we have seen this year,” Briese said.

The man began his hike in an area with a closed gate and marked with a “CLOSED” sign. He had finished the water from the two one-gallon water containers he was carrying and had to drink water from the nearby river, he said.

After rescuers found him, the man wanted to know if there had been updated algae testing on the water, Briese said.

He was treated for dehydratio­n and badly blistered feet before he left in his rental car against medical advice, Briese said.

“It is hard not to be angry about this particular rescue mission,’’ Briese said. ‘‘To have someone purposely put themselves in danger, using vital resources and potentiall­y putting the safety of our staff in danger all to try and prove us wrong is maddening and quite frankly sickening,” he added.

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