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| Family’s Fatal Plunge Off Cliff May Have Been Intentional, Authorities Say | Family’s Fatal Plunge Off Cliff May Have Been Intentional, Authorities Say |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| A crash in which a sport utility vehicle carrying a family plummeted off a California cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean last week may have been intentional, the authorities said on Monday. | A crash in which a sport utility vehicle carrying a family plummeted off a California cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean last week may have been intentional, the authorities said on Monday. |
| The vehicle, carrying Jennifer and Sarah Hart and at least three of their six adopted children, had stopped on a dirt pullout off Highway 1 on March 26 before accelerating about 70 feet to the edge of the cliff, the California Highway Patrol said, citing an analysis of the vehicle’s onboard computer. Investigators also did not find skid marks at the scene that might have indicated a collision. | The vehicle, carrying Jennifer and Sarah Hart and at least three of their six adopted children, had stopped on a dirt pullout off Highway 1 on March 26 before accelerating about 70 feet to the edge of the cliff, the California Highway Patrol said, citing an analysis of the vehicle’s onboard computer. Investigators also did not find skid marks at the scene that might have indicated a collision. |
| “It was pure acceleration from the last brake application until it hit the bottom of the cliff,” Greg Baarts, the acting assistant chief of the California Highway Patrol’s northern division, told reporters on Sunday night. | “It was pure acceleration from the last brake application until it hit the bottom of the cliff,” Greg Baarts, the acting assistant chief of the California Highway Patrol’s northern division, told reporters on Sunday night. |
| Preliminary evidence indicated that when investigators reached the S.U.V., its speedometer showed a reading of 90 miles per hour, Mr. Baarts said. | Preliminary evidence indicated that when investigators reached the S.U.V., its speedometer showed a reading of 90 miles per hour, Mr. Baarts said. |
| But the authorities cautioned that did not mean that the vehicle reached 90 m.p.h., because the S.U.V. could not have reached “a significant speed” from the spot where it stopped and the edge of the cliff. The speedometer reading, rather, could have been affected by the crash or the recovery effort, the authorities said. | But the authorities cautioned that did not mean that the vehicle reached 90 m.p.h., because the S.U.V. could not have reached “a significant speed” from the spot where it stopped and the edge of the cliff. The speedometer reading, rather, could have been affected by the crash or the recovery effort, the authorities said. |
| The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said it was alerted to the wreck along Highway 1 last week by an individual who was using a pullout and spotted the vehicle upside down on the rocks below. The crash occurred more than 500 miles south of the Harts’ Washington home and about 200 miles north of San Francisco. | The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said it was alerted to the wreck along Highway 1 last week by an individual who was using a pullout and spotted the vehicle upside down on the rocks below. The crash occurred more than 500 miles south of the Harts’ Washington home and about 200 miles north of San Francisco. |
| Investigators have so far recovered the bodies of the parents, both 38, and three of their children: Markis, 19, Jeremiah, 14, and Abigail, 14. The authorities were still searching for the other three children. They are Hannah, 16; Devonte, 15; and Sierra, 12. | Investigators have so far recovered the bodies of the parents, both 38, and three of their children: Markis, 19, Jeremiah, 14, and Abigail, 14. The authorities were still searching for the other three children. They are Hannah, 16; Devonte, 15; and Sierra, 12. |
| While it wasn’t clear why the family was so far south of their home, it appeared they were on a short trip because they had left behind many belongings, a pet and some chickens, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. | While it wasn’t clear why the family was so far south of their home, it appeared they were on a short trip because they had left behind many belongings, a pet and some chickens, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. |
| Just days before the crash, the family had been reported to the state for alleged abuse or neglect, according to a spokeswoman for the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. | Just days before the crash, the family had been reported to the state for alleged abuse or neglect, according to a spokeswoman for the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. |
| The department tried to reach the family at home the day that it received the complaint, on March 23, but no one answered the door. It tried again on the day of the crash and once more the day after that. | The department tried to reach the family at home the day that it received the complaint, on March 23, but no one answered the door. It tried again on the day of the crash and once more the day after that. |
| “There was no findings made because we had not made any contact with the family,” the spokeswoman, Norah West, said. She declined to describe the nature of the referral. | “There was no findings made because we had not made any contact with the family,” the spokeswoman, Norah West, said. She declined to describe the nature of the referral. |
| Dana DeKalb, who lives near the Harts’ home, told the NBC affiliate KGW that she had called child services after one of the children, Devonte, had visited her and her husband, Bruce, multiple times asking for food, which he said was being withheld as punishment. | Dana DeKalb, who lives near the Harts’ home, told the NBC affiliate KGW that she had called child services after one of the children, Devonte, had visited her and her husband, Bruce, multiple times asking for food, which he said was being withheld as punishment. |
| Soon after the visit from child services, the family and their car were gone, Mr. DeKalb said. | Soon after the visit from child services, the family and their car were gone, Mr. DeKalb said. |
| “We figured that they saw the business card and loaded up the kids as quick as they could and took off,” he told KGW. | “We figured that they saw the business card and loaded up the kids as quick as they could and took off,” he told KGW. |
| Sarah Hart was convicted of misdemeanor domestic assault in Minnesota in 2011, according to court records. A copy of the complaint shows that she had initially been charged with a count of malicious punishment of child. | Sarah Hart was convicted of misdemeanor domestic assault in Minnesota in 2011, according to court records. A copy of the complaint shows that she had initially been charged with a count of malicious punishment of child. |
| According to the complaint, Ms. Hart admitted to spanking one of her children, then 6 years old, and said that marks on the child’s stomach were probably from having been bent over the edge of a bathtub while being spanked, according to the complaint. | According to the complaint, Ms. Hart admitted to spanking one of her children, then 6 years old, and said that marks on the child’s stomach were probably from having been bent over the edge of a bathtub while being spanked, according to the complaint. |
| “The defendant admitted that she let her anger get out of control,” the complaint said. | “The defendant admitted that she let her anger get out of control,” the complaint said. |
| Public records show that Sarah Hart had lived in Minnesota for years before moving to West Linn, Ore., and finally Woodland, Wash. | Public records show that Sarah Hart had lived in Minnesota for years before moving to West Linn, Ore., and finally Woodland, Wash. |
| The family spent a fleeting moment in the global spotlight in 2014, thanks to a widely shared photograph of Devonte, who is black, tearfully hugging a white police officer at a rally to protest police violence in Portland, Ore. | The family spent a fleeting moment in the global spotlight in 2014, thanks to a widely shared photograph of Devonte, who is black, tearfully hugging a white police officer at a rally to protest police violence in Portland, Ore. |
| The officer, Sgt. Bret Barnum, told The Oregonian at the time that he had spotted Devonte carrying a “Free Hugs” sign, called the boy over and asked him why he was crying. | |
| The photograph of their embrace, captured by a freelance photographer, was shared around the world and may have driven the family to relocate to Washington from Oregon, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said. | The photograph of their embrace, captured by a freelance photographer, was shared around the world and may have driven the family to relocate to Washington from Oregon, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said. |