A body was found floating in the Pacific Ocean surf Saturday near the site of the crash that killed at least five members of a single family and left three children missing. One of the children missing is Devonte Hart, who appeared in a viral 2014 photo with a police officer.
CNN reports that vacationers spotted the body and appears to be an African-American girl’s body, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s office. Investigators could not immediately identify the body, and the autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.
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“Positive identification will most likely be done by DNA analysis, a process that can take several weeks,” the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said in a sentence.
On March 26, a passerby saw the SUV belonging to Jennifer and Sarah Hart at the bottom of a 100-foot cliff near the Pacific Ocean coast in Northern California. The bodies of the parents were found, along with the bodies of children Markis, 19; Jeremiah, 14; and Abigail, 14. However, the bodies of Devonte, 15; Hannah, 16; and Sierra, 12 are still missing.
Police later determined that the SUV was travelling at around 90 mph when it went off the Pacific Coast Highway, and they found no skid marks. Authorities now believe the crash was intentional.
“I’m to the point where I no longer am calling this an accident; I’m calling it a crime,” Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman told HLN.
“Based upon the California Highway Patrol investigation, it is their belief ‘a felony has been committed,’” court documents state.
According to authorities’ timeline, the family was in the Newport, Oregon area at around 8:15 a.m. on March 24, two days before their SUV was found. They drove sound along U.S. 101 until they reached Leggett, California. They took Route 1 to reach Fort Bragg at around 8 p.m. that night. California Highway Patrol found security camera footage from a Safeway store showing Jennifer Hart there at around 8 a.m. on March 25.
Jennifer and Sarah Hart have a troubling history with their children, which might provide clues in the case.
The couple, who adopted their six children, have faced allegations of child abuse and were investigated by Child Protective Services. In 2010, Sarah Hart pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor domestic assault charge involving one of the children. She received a year of probation and community service.
Just three days before the crash, neighbors in Woodland, Washington called Child Protective Services about strange meetings with their children. Authorities could not get in touch with the parents.
In 2014, Devonte was seen in a viral photo, hugging a white police officer during a Portland, Oregon protest of related to the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The Mendocino Sheriff’s Office told Oregon Live that the family moved to Washington State to avoid the attention the photo brought their family.
Photo credit: Facebook/ Mendocino Sheriff’s Office
