The Hart family’s crash

A couple with six children are found at bottom of cliff

The mysterious incident of the Hart family’s car crash remains unsolved. A Californian family of eight, parents Jennifer and Sarah Hart and their six children, drove their family vehicle off a cliff. The crash killed the two parents and three of their adopted children, with the other three children missing. However, the family has shown a string of concerning history in the past, leading Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman to investigate the case as a crime.

The reports of conflict in the Hart family go back to years before the incident. In 2006, the couple lived in Minnesota before adopting Markis, Abigail and Hannah from Colorado County, Texas. In 2008, a six year old child of the Hart family was reported to the police for having a bruise on the arm where Jennifer Hart had allegedly struck them with a belt. The Hart family denied that they had hurt their child, but they did say that the child had fallen down the stairs a few days before. In 2009, siblings Jeremiah, Sierra and Devonte were welcomed into the family, adopted from Harris County, Texas. In 2010 through 2018, two incidents of seeming child abuse occurred.

In early 2018, one of the Hart children visited Bruce DeKalb, a new neighbor after the family’s move to Woodland, Washington.

“One of the girls came to the door at 1:30 in the morning and said that she needed help and the parents were not treating her properly, and wanted us to protect her,” DeKalb said.

In March 2018, one of the Hart children began to visit the DeKalb household, asking for food. He said his parents had been taking away his meals for punishment. After this behavior escalated up to three times a day, DeKalb called Child Protective Services on March 23. Officials arrived at the house, but no one answered the door.

On March 24 and 25, the family began to travel around Newport, Oregon. They traveled to Fort Bragg, California, remaining for a day. On March 26, the Hart family SUV was found upside down on the bottom of a 100 foot cliff in Mendocino County, California. It is unknown if all children were in the car at the time of the crash, but officials are unsure whether the incident was an accident or not.

“We have no evidence and no reason to believe this was an intentional act,” Allman said.

The Hart Family investigation is still in progress.