Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So I just read this entire thread, start-to-finish. At the beginning, I was in the mass asphyxiation camp, like a gas or carbon monoxide, because I assumed the hikers were on an easy hike, close to their car and were overcome with a freak environmental toxin.

Then, as a few more facts were released, I moved firmly into the heat stroke camp. The fact that the sheriff thought they were near the end of an 8 mile hike. The extremely difficult terrain and elevation, combined with the heat of the day. Learning more about heart stroke and how it can come on suddenly and lead to delirium. I think that a number of plausible scenarios could lead to all 4 of them succumbing close to each other.

I wonder how many pictures they'll find on their phones (assuming they used the dad's phone to take some). I wonder if it will reveal more clues.

I think it's likely that a series of mistakes and bad judgment calls all resulted in a tragic situation. I'm not victim-blaming here. We are only human.

It seems that you skipped the last half of this thread.

Anonymous wrote:Toxicology aside, I think they biggest clues in this investigation are going to come from the GPS data on Jonathon's phone. What time did they start the hike? Which direction did they go? How long did it take? How long did they linger at the river? Was there any wandering or doubling back on the trail? How fast were they moving? All of those questions could be answered.

Anonymous wrote:So I just read this entire thread, start-to-finish. At the beginning, I was in the mass asphyxiation camp, like a gas or carbon monoxide, because I assumed the hikers were on an easy hike, close to their car and were overcome with a freak environmental toxin.

Then, as a few more facts were released, I moved firmly into the heat stroke camp. The fact that the sheriff thought they were near the end of an 8 mile hike. The extremely difficult terrain and elevation, combined with the heat of the day. Learning more about heart stroke and how it can come on suddenly and lead to delirium. I think that a number of plausible scenarios could lead to all 4 of them succumbing close to each other.

I wonder how many pictures they'll find on their phones (assuming they used the dad's phone to take some). I wonder if it will reveal more clues.

I think it's likely that a series of mistakes and bad judgment calls all resulted in a tragic situation. I'm not victim-blaming here. We are only human.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The theories on this thread are now running in circles because posters are not reading prior posts. And how the heck did gluten free donuts enter the mix? I don’t have the will or fortitude to sift through for the answer.

because absolute stupidity.

A donut shop owner near where they lived was quoted as saying mom often stopped by with baby to buy a gluten-free, sugar-free donut. People theorized that she had an eating disorder or some other issue.

Anonymous wrote:I'm coming into this late, I know, but was the dog leashed? What compelled the dog to stay? Wouldn't the dog have wandered off instead of staying with the family? It also seems strange to me that they all would have succumbed to heat stroke at the same time. Not everyone's bodies reacts to extreme temperature at the exact same time. The mom was found only 90 feet away. Let's say dad was beginning to suffer from heat stroke, sat down with the baby in tow and with the dog beside him, and the mom was well enough to try to go get help. She only made it an extremely short distance before she succumbed too. I guess it is plausible they were both already in the later stages of heat stroke, he sat down, she started to walk to get help or try to get to the car, and she too became overcome by it and died a short distance away. I am starting to think this was gaseous and related to some sort of freak CO2 poisoning. The way they were found seems like whatever this was was acute and happened too fast for them to react or get help. I really hope toxicology helps sheds some light on this

Anonymous wrote:Do we yet know what time they started the hike?

Seems crazy to hike in 90+ degree heat with a dog, let alone a baby. It's not like their phones wouldn't have shown the high temps for the day. The high on Sunday was 110 degrees?! 99.99% of people would cancel any planned hike if their iPhone weather app showed such an extreme number.

Anonymous wrote:I'm coming into this late, I know, but was the dog leashed? What compelled the dog to stay? Wouldn't the dog have wandered off instead of staying with the family? It also seems strange to me that they all would have succumbed to heat stroke at the same time. Not everyone's bodies reacts to extreme temperature at the exact same time. The mom was found only 90 feet away. Let's say dad was beginning to suffer from heat stroke, sat down with the baby in tow and with the dog beside him, and the mom was well enough to try to go get help. She only made it an extremely short distance before she succumbed too. I guess it is plausible they were both already in the later stages of heat stroke, he sat down, she started to walk to get help or try to get to the car, and she too became overcome by it and died a short distance away. I am starting to think this was gaseous and related to some sort of freak CO2 poisoning. The way they were found seems like whatever this was was acute and happened too fast for them to react or get help. I really hope toxicology helps sheds some light on this