In this March 28, 2018 aerial file image from Alameda County Sheriff's Office drone video courtesy of Mendocino County shows the pullout where the SUV of Jennifer and Sarah Hart was recovered off the off Pacific Coast Highway 1, near Westport, Calif. The SUV carrying the large, free-spirited family from Washington state accelerated straight off the scenic California cliff and the deadly wreck may have been intentional, authorities said Sunday, April 1, 2018. (Alameda County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)
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MENDOCINO, Calif. (AP) - An SUV carrying a large, free-spirited family from Washington state accelerated straight off a scenic California cliff and authorities said Sunday night the deadly wreck may have been intentional.
Information pulled from the vehicle's software shows it was stopped at a flat, dirt pull-off area before it sped off the steep rocky face and plunged 100 feet, said Capt. Greg Baarts with the California Highway Patrol Northern Division. Speaking at an evening news conference Baarts said the electronic information combined with the lack of skid marks or signs the driver braked led authorities to believe the crash was purposeful.
Five members of the Hart family were found dead. The search continued for three more children believed to have been in the vehicle when it went over a coastal overlook and landed on rocks in the Pacific Ocean below. The missing children may have been washed out to sea, authorities say.
"This specific location is very difficult to search because the ocean currents and tides are strong, it's unpredictable, and the murkiness of the water makes it difficult to see," said Capt. Greg Van Patten, a spokesman for the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.
Known as the Hart Tribe, the multiracial family of two married women - Sarah and Jennifer Hart - and six adopted children often took spontaneous road trips to camp and hike and traveled to festivals and other events, offering hugs and promoting unity.
Authorities don't know exactly when the wreck took place. A passing motorist discovered the vehicle on March 26, three days after social service authorities in Washington state opened an investigation apparently prompted by a neighbor's complaint that the children were being deprived of food. Authorities believe at least one felony was committed but Van Patten declined to specify.
Well before the wreck, Sarah Hart pleaded guilty in 2011 to a domestic assault charge in Douglas County, Minnesota, telling authorities "she let her anger get out of control" while spanking her 6-year-old adopted daughter, court records show.
The two women, both 38, were found dead inside the SUV, while three of their children - Markis Hart, 19, Jeremiah Hart, 14, and Abigail Hart, 14 - were discovered outside the vehicle. Searchers were looking for Hannah Hart, 16; Sierra Hart, 12; and Devonte Hart, 15.
Devonte drew national attention after the black youngster was photographed in tears, hugging a white police officer during a 2014 protest in Portland, Oregon, over the deadly police shooting of a black man in Ferguson, Missouri. Devonte was holding a "Free Hugs" sign.
Two weeks ago, Bruce and Dana DeKalb, next-door neighbors of the Harts in Woodland, Washington, called state Child Protective Services because Devonte had been coming over to their house almost every day for a week, asking for food.
Dana DeKalb said Devonte told her his parents were "punishing them by withholding food." The boy asked her to leave food in a box by the fence for him, she said.
Social service authorities opened an investigation, and a state caseworker went to the house on March 23 but didn't find anyone home. The agency had no prior history with the family, said Norah West, a spokeswoman with the Washington Department of Social and Health Services.
On Thursday, authorities in Washington state combed through the family's home for information. The Clark County Sheriff's Office said deputies were looking for bills, receipts or anything else to shed light on why the family left and other circumstances related to the trip, KGW-TV reported.
"To the best of my knowledge, there was not a suicide note found at the residence," said Baarts, who added that authorities have been interviewing friends and family members of the Harts.
"There have been red flags," he said, but did not elaborate.
Van Patten said he was not aware of any other evidence of abuse.
Family friend Max Ribner last week took issue with the notion it was something other than a tragic accident. The couple adopted the six children, many of whom came from "hard backgrounds," he said. "They transformed these kids' lives."
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Associated Press writer Michelle A. Monroe contributed to this report.
Volunteers with the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue team searches the waters off the coast using a telescope near Mendocino, Calif. on Thursday, March 29, 2018 for any signs of the three children who remain missing after a mysterious wreck now under investigation. Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the Monday crash. (Kale Williams/The Oregonian via AP)
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Deputy Bill Holcomb looks down the cliff near the crash site near Mendocino, Calif., as search and rescue volunteers scour the area behind him on Thursday, March 29, 2018, and resume looking for three children, still missing after their parent's SUV plunged into the ocean Monday. Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the crash. (Kale Williams/The Oregonian via AP)
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The scene of Monday's fatal crash on the Mendocino coast north of Fort Bragg near Mendocino, Calif. was all but deserted Thursday morning, March 29, 2018 before search and rescue teams showed up to resume looking for three children, still missing after their parent's SUV plunged into the ocean. Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the crash. (Kale Williams/The Oregonian via AP)
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A small vase of flowers, at left, sits beside a mile marker Wednesday, March 28, 2018, near the pullout where the SUV of Jennifer and Sarah Hart was recovered off the Pacific Coast Highway near Westport, Calif. The bodies of the two women and three of their adopted children were recovered after the vehicle plunged over the cliff two days earlier, while three more of their children, Devonte Hart, 15, Hannah Hart, 16, and Sierra Hart, 12, have not been found. (Alvin Jornada/The Press Democrat via AP)
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Members of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office drone team pack up their equipment after a search for three missing children Wednesday, March 28, 2018, at the site where the bodies of Jennifer and Sarah Hart and three of their adopted children were recovered two days earlier, after the family's SUV plunged over a cliff at a pullout on the Pacific Coast Highway near Westport, Calif. Three of the children, Devonte Hart, 15, Hannah Hart, 16, and Sierra Hart, 12, have not been found. (Alvin Jornada/The Press Democrat via AP)
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This March 20, 2016 photo shows Hart family of Woodland, Wash., at a Bernie Sanders rally in Vancouver, Wash. Authorities in Northern California say they believe all six children from a family were in a vehicle that plunged off a coastal cliff. Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allmon told reporters Wednesday, March 28, 2018, that only three bodies of the children have been recovered. Their parents also died Monday. (Tristan Fortsch/KATU News via AP)
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This June 2014 photo shows Devonte Hart with his family at the annual celebration of "The Goonies" movie in Astoria, Ore. Authorities in Northern California say they believe all six children from a family were in a vehicle that plunged off a coastal cliff. Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allmon told reporters Wednesday, March 28, 2018, that only three bodies of the children have been recovered. Their parents also died Monday. (Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian via AP)
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FILE - In this Nov. 25, 2014, file photo provided by Johnny Nguyen, Portland police Sgt. Bret Barnum, left, and Devonte Hart, 12, hug at a rally in Portland, Ore., where people had gathered in support of the protests in Ferguson, Mo. Authorities have said two women and three children were killed Monday, March 26, 2018, when their SUV fell from a cliff along Pacific Coast Highway in Mendocino County. Hart is one of the three other children still missing after the vehicle fell off a cliff. He had gained fame when this picture of him hugging the white police officer during the protest went viral. (Johnny Huu Nguyen via AP, File)
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