What happened to this California family?

[Anonymous]

Dog is a chow chow mix per instagram. A chow could have more trouble in the heat, although I still don't buy it would be simultaneously like that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The mom’s IG page: https://instagram.com/echungster?utm_medium=copy_link

The doggy even had its own hashtag: #oskipup

I’ve been reading the Websleuths forum plus comments on the local media covering the case. People are really thinking it may have been heat exhaustion. The weather was absolutely brutal that day and they were in the process of climbing very steep, unshaded switchbacks to get back to their car. Water alone can’t save you from heat stroke, so they were probably trying to conserve some for the moment they got into the car.

Hard to imagine a couple that hiked all across California on weekends and did a 10-day hike in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia being overcome by heat exhaustion in their own backyard.

Just saying.

The 10-day Gobi hike, while sandy and hot, is not really relevant. I doubt they spent the days in total isolation and it is probably a popular (maybe even semi guided?) route. There were some camels involved, I doubt they just walked out with some backpacks and two camels they just met. It's a vacation, not a local day hike.

[Anonymous]

Re the temperatures a PP posted, someone on Websleuths updated later to say the 6:51 temperature was 73, rather than 53, degrees. The Gobi desert picture is interesting. Maybe they figured the local trail at its hottest would be easy compared to that without taking into account the extra burden of the baby (and maybe the dog if it was struggling). Or maybe they meant to go out for only a couple hours and then the unknown thing or things went wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The mom’s IG page: https://instagram.com/echungster?utm_medium=copy_link

The doggy even had its own hashtag: #oskipup

I’ve been reading the Websleuths forum plus comments on the local media covering the case. People are really thinking it may have been heat exhaustion. The weather was absolutely brutal that day and they were in the process of climbing very steep, unshaded switchbacks to get back to their car. Water alone can’t save you from heat stroke, so they were probably trying to conserve some for the moment they got into the car.

Hard to imagine a couple that hiked all across California on weekends and did a 10-day hike in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia being overcome by heat exhaustion in their own backyard.

Just saying.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkhLD4khDUY/

Here's the temps from the nearest town, which is a higher elevation than where they were located (I took this from WebSleuths):

As there has been some discussion about temperatures in the area I thought I would post what the weather station in El Portal was recording for Temp/ Humidity that day.

6:51AM 53°F 49%
7:51AM 77°F 47%
8:51AM 85°F 37%
9:51AM 92°F 28%
10:51AM 99°F 22%
11:51AM 103°F 20%
12:51PM 107°F 17%
1:51PM 108°F 16%
2:51PM 109°F 16%
3:51PM 107°F 18%
4:51PM 105°F 19%
5:51PM 101°F 22%
6:51PM 98°F 24%
7:51PM 94°F 28%

This town is at a higher elevation than where the couple was found. The canyon they were in unshaded from the sun was probably even warmer temps.

I'm not saying the weather wasn't horrible. I'm saying they both have extensive experience as hikers, as California residents, and with extreme temperatures in unfriendly arid environments.

Do I believe baby would have been overcome? Sure.

But the parents? Not likely.

Even the dog has been traveling with them in the desert since at least 2016.

[Anonymous]

One thing I find puzzling I are the reports that the husband was found sitting down. Wouldn’t you fall over if you were sitting when you died?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about respiratory failure?

On 21 November 2016, a powerful southerly change in Melbourne, Australia, resulted in the death of 10 asthmatic people who succumbed to respiratory failure.[321] This was due to a stark 60-kilometre-per-hour (37 mph) wind that distributed ryegrass pollen into the moist air, rupturing them into very fine specks, particles small enough to enter people's lungs.

Unlikely that all of them including dog suffered from asthma.

Maybe the boulder had asthma and accidentally rolled over them while suffering an attack.

[Anonymous]

Listen, we broke Hilaria. We can break this too.

Let's stick with it.

[Anonymous]

They did find a cell phone in the husband's pocket. That's an odd place if they were truly desperate. Even with little to no reception, there is always the possibility that it would connect at some point. Heat exhaustion seems unlikely. Everything points to something sudden.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dog is a chow chow mix per instagram. A chow could have more trouble in the heat, although I still don't buy it would be simultaneously like that

Ok here is the dog in motion, while in the care of a dog sitter, maybe a chow but definitely not full chow. The dog was 7.5 and looks to have lived an incredibly active and outdoors focused life. I do not buy that that dog died of heatstroke at the same time as its people.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B07zFfAn2gs/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing I find puzzling I are the reports that the husband was found sitting down. Wouldn’t you fall over if you were sitting when you died?

Not with a baby hiking pack on his back. It would have kept him upright and balanced while seated. They even have bars on the back for that purpose when you take it off.

Also made it impossible to reach the baby but that's another story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing I find puzzling I are the reports that the husband was found sitting down. Wouldn’t you fall over if you were sitting when you died?

If you can’t breathe, you might sit. Especially if he found a small spot of shade for him, the dog and baby

[Anonymous]

I was one of the original murder-suicide posters, but I am now coming around to potential heat stroke, given the temperatures and the fact that they seemed to be going for a daylong hike as opposed to an hour or two in the morning. It does seem unlikely that all of them, including the dog, would have succumbed together in around the same area, but it seems more likely than freak algae blooms or CO gas releases.

That said, her instagram points to some possibilities back to suicide:

- she notes that 3 years ago she was diagnosed with a "debilitating health condition"
- she mentions finding yoga after a "dark and lost time" in her life
- she posted frequently, at least monthly, several years ago, but last posted a photo of their baby 7 months ago and nothing afterward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was one of the original murder-suicide posters, but I am now coming around to potential heat stroke, given the temperatures and the fact that they seemed to be going for a daylong hike as opposed to an hour or two in the morning. It does seem unlikely that all of them, including the dog, would have succumbed together in around the same area, but it seems more likely than freak algae blooms or CO gas releases.

That said, her instagram points to some possibilities back to suicide:

- she notes that 3 years ago she was diagnosed with a "debilitating health condition"
- she mentions finding yoga after a "dark and lost time" in her life
- she posted frequently, at least monthly, several years ago, but last posted a photo of their baby 7 months ago and nothing afterward.

That coincides with the birth of the baby and PPD. Nothing else changed.

However the idea of her being able to and willing to take out the husband at the same time is not usual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dog is a chow chow mix per instagram. A chow could have more trouble in the heat, although I still don't buy it would be simultaneously like that

Ok here is the dog in motion, while in the care of a dog sitter, maybe a chow but definitely not full chow. The dog was 7.5 and looks to have lived an incredibly active and outdoors focused life. I do not buy that that dog died of heatstroke at the same time as its people.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B07zFfAn2gs/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Dogs with heavy fur like that don't do well in the heat. Do you know how many dogs die running with their owners on hot days? I hope a vet pops in on this conversation. I went to a dog show in the summer in Virgnia several years ago and the number of dogs requiring medical intervention from heat stroke was astounding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dog is a chow chow mix per instagram. A chow could have more trouble in the heat, although I still don't buy it would be simultaneously like that

Ok here is the dog in motion, while in the care of a dog sitter, maybe a chow but definitely not full chow. The dog was 7.5 and looks to have lived an incredibly active and outdoors focused life. I do not buy that that dog died of heatstroke at the same time as its people.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B07zFfAn2gs/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Dogs with heavy fur like that don't do well in the heat. Do you know how many dogs die running with their owners on hot days? I hope a vet pops in on this conversation. I went to a dog show in the summer in Virgnia several years ago and the number of dogs requiring medical intervention from heat stroke was astounding.

Dogs without continuous exercise don't do well. There are plenty of footage of it in high-heat environments of the past 5+ years. Also that dog's fur isn't particularly heavy. It doesn't have a double-coat of insulation like a Alaskan Malamute or a Siberian Husky.