- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Mendocino County authorities confirm that body found in surf was one of Hart children
Sheriff’s Capt. Greg Van Patten said the agency’s coroner’s division was notified on Tuesday by the Richmond DNA laboratory that the body was that of 12-year-old Ciera Hart.
Van Patten said the sheriff’s office’s examination of legal documents led to them finding the legal spelling of the girl’s age and confirmation of her actual age. She previously had been believed to be 15 years old, with the spelling of her name given as Sierra.
The girl’s two adopted mothers, Jennifer and Sarah Hart, both age 38, and three of her siblings, Markis, 19, Jeremiah Hart, 14, and Abigail, 14, all of Woodland, Wash., had been found dead at a crash site in the area of Juan Creek near Westport on March 26, as Lake County News has reported.
A passerby spotted their upturned GMC Yukon SUV at the base of a 100-foot cliff off a turnout along Highway 1.
At that time, the two women were found inside the vehicle while the three children were found outside of it. None had been wearing seat belts, and with no signs of braking or skid marks, the California Highway Patrol – which his conducting the crash investigation – has said it appeared to have been an intentional crash.
Last week the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office also reported that Jennifer Hart had a blood alcohol limit of 0.10, which surpasses California’s legal drunk driving limit, and that Sarah Hart and two of the children had a positive toxicology finding in their blood for diphenhydramine, an active ingredient in Benadryl.
At the time of the crash’s discovery, all but three of the family members were found. Ciera, her sister, Hannah, 16, and brother Devonte, 15, were missing.
Authorities had concluded the entire family was traveling together and that the missing three children possibly had gone into the water at the time of the crash.
Since the crash exhaustive searches have been conducted of the coastline looking for the three children.
Then, on April 7, authorities responded to a report of a black female whose body was found in the surf not far from the crash site, as Lake County News has reported.
Due to the condition of the body the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Coroner's Division enlisted the assistance of the California Department of Justice Bureau of Forensic Services Richmond DNA laboratory in identifying the body, Van Patten said.
With the child now identified, Van Patten said autopsy results – including blood alcohol and toxicology analysis – are pending.
The search for Devonte and Hannah Hart also is continuing, authorities said.
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