![Missing family of 3 and their dog found dead on hiking trail in remote area of Sierra National Forest](https://cbsnews3.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2021/08/18/bc2ea245-55f8-49ea-9f18-29a77a8b23f7/thumbnail/1200x630/2318568cb6011201041d77ea53546967/ap21170043244108.jpg)
Missing family of 3 and their dog found dead on hiking trail in remote area of Sierra National Forest
CBSN
A Northern California family of three that had been reported missing was found dead Tuesday along with the family's dog on a hiking trail in a remote area of the Sierra National Forest, authorities said.
Search teams initially located the family's vehicle near a gate to the Sierra National Forest and then found the bodies of all three - identified as John Gerrish, Ellen Chung, their 1-year-old daughter, Muji - and their dog near an area known as Devil's Gulch in the Southfork of the Merced River, the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office said. A family friend had reported them missing Monday evening. There was no clear cause of death, prompting authorities to treat the area as a hazmat scene, said Kristie Mitchell, a spokeswoman with the sheriff's office. "It could be a carbon monoxide situation. That's one of the reasons why we're treating it as a hazmat situation," she said.![](/newspic/picid-6252001-20250214202746.jpg)
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It was Labor Day weekend 2003 when Matt Scribner, a local horse farrier and trainer who also competes in long-distance horse races, was on his usual ride in a remote part of the Sierra Nevada foothills — just a few miles northeast of Auburn, California —when he noticed a freshly dug hole along the trail that piqued his curiosity.