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2A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2018 Many ‘unknowns’ in SUV cliff plunge that killed family of 8 Family lived in Woodland By PAUL ELIAS and PHUONG LE Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO — Nobody answered the door when a child-welfare worker went to the Washington state home of the big, free-spir- ited Hart family to investigate a neighbor’s complaint that the youngsters were going hungry. Three days later, the Harts’ crumpled SUV was found at the bottom of a 100-foot sea- side cliff in Northern Cali- fornia, all eight family mem- bers presumed dead in a mysterious wreck now under investigation. “There are a lot of unknowns on this,” Men- docino County Sheriff Tom Allman said. “Several of the questions that have been asked today will never be answered.” Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the crash and said there is no rea- son so far to believe it was intentional. But they also said there were no skid marks or signs the driver braked as the GMC Yukon crossed a flat dirt Tristan Fortsch/KATU News Johnny Huu Nguyen The Hart family of Woodland, Wash., at a Bernie Sanders rally in Vancouver, Wash., in 2016. Portland police Sgt. Bret Barnum, left, and Devonte Hart, 12, hug at a rally in Portland in 2014 where people had gathered in support of the protests in Ferguson, Mo. pull-off area, about 75 feet wide, and went over the edge of the Pacific Coast Highway. The case has thrown a spotlight on at least one pre- vious run-in with the law by the Harts, along with neigh- bors’ repeated concerns about the way the home-schooled youngsters were being treated. Some family friends, though, say that doesn’t track with their knowledge of the parents, Sarah and Jennifer Hart, as a loving couple who promoted social justice and exposed their “remarkable” children to art, music and nature. The brood was known as the Hart Tribe, a multiracial family of two women and six adopted children who grew their own food, took sponta- neous road trips to camp and hike, and traveled to festivals and other events, offering free hugs and promoting unity. One of the children, Devonte Hart, drew national attention after the black youngster was photographed in tears, hugging a white police officer during a 2014 protest in Portland over the deadly police shooting of a black man in Ferguson, Mis- souri. Devonte was holding a “Free Hugs” sign. But well before the wreck, FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA TONIGHT SATURDAY SUNDAY 54 39 39 Partly cloudy ALMANAC Mostly cloudy with a little rain 53 42 Cool with intervals of clouds and sunshine Tillamook 42/57 Mainly cloudy Last Newport 42/54 Apr 8 Coos Bay 44/59 First Apr 15 Ontario 46/64 Bend 39/60 Burns 35/59 ON THE RECORD Klamath Falls 36/65 Lakeview 32/62 Ashland 45/70 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018 Source: Jim Todd, OMSI TOMORROW'S TIDES Astoria / Port Docks Time 8:18 a.m. 8:33 p.m. Low 0.2 ft. 0.1 ft. City Baker City Bend Brookings Eugene Ilwaco Klamath Falls Medford Newberg Newport North Bend Hi 64 63 65 59 51 67 71 60 54 57 Today Lo 34 39 49 41 41 36 43 44 42 44 W pc pc pc pc c pc pc c c pc Hi 57 60 65 63 52 65 72 63 54 58 Sat. Lo 31 36 45 36 41 34 42 38 39 41 W pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc City Olympia Pendleton Portland Roseburg Salem Seaside Spokane Springfi eld Vancouver Yakima Hi 57 64 59 67 61 52 55 62 58 66 Today Lo 37 40 44 45 44 40 33 42 43 37 W c pc c pc c c pc pc c pc Hi 60 57 65 69 65 54 51 64 63 64 Sat. Lo 36 39 41 41 38 39 34 38 39 36 W pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER NATIONAL CITIES Today Lo 42 38 38 33 42 33 55 11 70 35 46 61 57 45 69 41 57 38 50 37 41 49 53 43 38 State Sen. Betsy Johnson and state Rep. Deborah Boone will host a town hall meeting Saturday in Seaside. W pc r c pc c pc s pc s pc pc s pc c pc c pc r s r pc pc pc c c Hi 69 54 52 57 46 50 85 31 82 54 56 87 77 71 81 70 75 58 72 58 59 70 69 60 60 Sat. Lo 47 41 22 27 22 27 58 24 71 29 26 64 58 52 71 49 57 43 36 44 30 48 53 41 48 The meeting will be from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at Seaside City Hall at 989 Broadway. The state lawmakers are expected to dis- cuss the last legislative session and public-pol- icy issues. Burglary • On Wednesday, Joshua Henry Marshall, 33, was arrested by Astoria police at 18th Street and Franklin Avenue for second-degree bur- glary. Deputy Police Chief Eric Halvorson said police received a report around 9 p.m. of Mar- shall breaking into the cafeteria at Columbia Memorial Hospital. REGIONAL CITIES Tonight's Sky: After 10 p.m., Jupiter is emerging from the eastern horizon. Hi 66 61 50 63 54 48 83 32 83 51 55 82 80 61 83 60 75 62 65 65 54 69 75 57 68 John Day 42/58 Baker 34/57 Roseburg 45/69 Brookings 49/66 UNDER THE SKY High 9.1 ft. 8.8 ft. Prineville 39/62 Lebanon 44/64 Medford 43/72 Apr 22 Johnson, Boone to appear at Seaside town hall La Grande 37/55 The Daily Astorian Salem 44/65 Eugene 41/63 New Pendleton 40/57 The Dalles 44/65 Portland 44/65 Sunset tonight ........................... 7:41 p.m. Sunrise Saturday ........................ 6:58 a.m. Moonrise today .......................... 7:00 p.m. Moonset today ............................ 6:58 a.m. City Atlanta Boston Chicago Denver Des Moines Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Honolulu Indianapolis Kansas City Las Vegas Los Angeles Memphis Miami Nashville New Orleans New York Oklahoma City Philadelphia St. Louis Salt Lake City San Francisco Seattle Washington, DC 51 37 of Social and Health Services. By Saturday, the family’s SUV was gone from the drive- way, said Bruce DeKalb. The wreck was discovered by a passing motorist Monday afternoon. The women, both 38, were found dead inside the SUV, while three of their chil- dren — Markis Hart, 19, Jer- emiah Hart, 14, and Abigail Hart, 14 — were discovered outside the vehicle. A team on Thursday con- tinued to search the rugged coastline for the three other children, also believed to have been in the SUV: Hannah Hart, 16, Sierra Hart, 12, and Devonte. The DeKalbs also recounted that three months after the Harts moved into their house on 2 acres with a fenced pasture last May, one of the girls rang the DeKalbs’ doorbell at 1:30 a.m. She “was at our door in a blanket saying we needed to protect her,” Bruce DeKalb said. “She said that they were abusing her.” The entire fam- Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs. ASTORIA 39/54 SUN AND MOON Time 2:04 a.m. 2:17 p.m. TUESDAY REGIONAL WEATHER Precipitation Thursday .......................................... 0.00" Month to date ................................... 4.62" Normal month to date ....................... 7.01" Year to date .................................... 23.23" Normal year to date ........................ 24.40" Mar 31 49 38 Times of sun and clouds Astoria through Thursday. Temperatures High/low ....................................... 54°/37° Normal high/low ........................... 55°/40° Record high ............................ 73° in 1964 Record low ............................. 28° in 1938 Full MONDAY 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 adoptive daughter, court records show. Then, last week, Bruce and Dana DeKalb, next-door neighbors of the Harts in Woodland, Washington, called state child protective services on Friday because Devonte, now 15, 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 “pun- ishing them by withhold- ing 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 last Friday but didn’t find anyone home, state offi- cials said. The agency had no prior history with the family, said Norah West, a spokes- woman with the Department ily came over to their house the next morning to apologize and explain it was a bad week, Dana DeKalb said. The sheriff said investiga- tors don’t know exactly when or how the SUV went over the cliff, situated alongside a spot commonly used by motor- ists to walk their pets. Allman appealed to anyone who might have seen the family to come forward. Accident-reconstruction experts said investigators will look at such factors as the weather, road conditions and the possibility of brake fail- ure, a blown tire or some other malfunction. That model of Yukon was also presumably equipped with a black box recorder that would show its speed and use of the brakes, said Marcus Mazza, an engineer and acci- dent-reconstruction expert with Lancaster, Pennsylva- nia-based Robson Forensic. Family friend Max Rib- ner 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.” “This is a tragic accident of a magnitude that cannot be measured,” said Zippy Lomax, a photographer who knew the Harts. “They were really radiant, warm, adventurous, inspiring people. They were always on some grand adven- ture, and the kids were living this life that was kind of like this dream.” Le reported from Seattle. Associated Press writer Tom James contributed from West Linn. MEMORIAL Saturday, April 7, 2018 HOIKKA, Michael W. — A service celebrating Hoikka’s life will be held at 1 p.m. at Hood River Alliance Church, 2650 Montello Ave., Hood River. Hoikka is formerly of Astoria. DEATH Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. March 27, 2018 HILLARD, Lanie Rae, 27, of Warrenton, died in Warrenton. W s s sh c pc r pc pc pc sh c pc pc pc c pc s s c s sh c pc pc s PUBLIC MEETINGS MONDAY Astoria City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. LOTTERIES Thursday’s Lucky Lines: 01- 08-12-16-FREE-20-23-25-31 Estimated jackpot: $20,000 OREGON Thursday’s Pick 4: 1 p.m.: 4-1-3-2 4 p.m.: 1-5-8-2 7 p.m.: 4-8-9-5 10 p.m.: 8-7-4-4 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice. WASHINGTON Thursday’s Daily Game: 5-9-5 Thursday’s Keno: 05-06-11- 14-17-18-32-35-36-37-39-47- 51-52-62-64-69-73-77-79 Thursday’s Match 4: 05-08- 15-17 OBITUARY POLICY LIMITED TIME OFFER DOUBLE YOUR P O W E R PURCHASE A Quiet, Compact and Easy to Use The Daily Astorian publishes paid obituaries. The obituary can include a small photo and, for veterans, a flag symbol at no charge. The deadline for all obituaries is 9 a.m. the business day prior. Obituaries may be edited for spelling, proper punctuation and style. 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