California family found dead on hike killed by extreme heat, sheriff says

The Guardian says the California family that died in August while hiking in Sierra national forest was killed by extreme heat and probable dehydration, law enforcement officials announced on Thursday, providing some answers to a mystery that had baffled investigators for months.

The Mariposa county sheriff’s department believes 45-year-old Jonathan Gerrish, originally from the UK, his wife, 30-year-old Ellen Chung, their one-year-old daughter, Miju, and their dog, Oski, died while on a hike on the Hites Cove trail on 15 August. Temperatures were as high as 109F (42.8C) that day, and the majority of the eight-mile trail has little shade or trees.

“Heat-related deaths are extremely difficult to investigate,” said Jeremy Briese, the Mariposa county sheriff.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/21/california-family-hike-cause-of-death