(Reuters) - Police on Monday searched the ocean off California and highways for three children missing since the sport-utility vehicle carrying their large family plunged off a cliff, killing at least six people in what may have been an intentional crash.

The family's wrecked GMC Yukon was discovered last Monday below the scenic California coastal cliff, only three days after child welfare authorities in their home state of Washington opened an investigation into allegations the children were being neglected, police and social services said.

According to court records, the family had troubles in the past when one of its two white mothers was charged with domestic assault against one of their six adopted black children.

The Hart family gained attention in 2014 after one of the children, Devonte, was photographed crying in the arms of a white police officer at a protest after the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri.

Driver Jennifer Hart, 38, and Sarah Hart, 38, a married couple from Washington state, were killed. So were at least three of their six adopted children, Markis, 19, Jeremiah, 14, and Abigail, 14, police said.

The bodies of their three other children, Hannah, 16, Devonte, 15, and Sierra, 12, were not recovered, but officials have said they believed all the children were in the vehicle and the other bodies may have been washed into the ocean.

"The search for the additional three children belonging to the family continues both at the scene, through water rescue and recovery, and other locations including routes of travel," the California Highway Patrol said in a statement. "This situation may have been an intentional act and not the result of a traffic collision."

The SUV appears to have stopped at a dirt pull-off area about 70 feet (21 meters) from the cliff at the edge of California's coastal Highway 1 in Mendocino County, about 180 miles (290 km) north of San Francisco, according to the vehicle's on-board computer.

It then accelerated over the edge, leaving no skid marks or other indications of a collision, the statement said. The SUV fell into rocks and was found partially submerged about 100 feet (30 meters) below the highway.

Police searched the family's home in Woodland, Washington, about 500 miles (805 km) north of the crash site, but found no suicide note.

The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services said it opened an investigation into the family for potential child neglect or abuse after a complaint on March 23.

Neighbors Dana and Bruce DeKalb told the Oregonian newspaper that Devonte had asked them for food for himself and his siblings after his parents withheld it as punishment. The DeKalbs did not respond to requests for comment.

Sarah Hart was convicted of misdemeanor domestic assault of Abigail in 2011 in Minnesota. Court documents show that one of the children, Abigail, told a teacher: "Mom hit me." </s> A special coroner's jury has determined that the couple who drove themselves and their six adopted children off a northern California cliff last year did so deliberately.

The jury's verdict of murder-suicide on Thursday confirms authorities' suspicions that the March 2018 crash was intentional. It also concludes thousands of hours of investigation into the widely publicized deaths of Sarah and Jennifer Hart and their children.

Presenting the findings from two days of testimony, Mendocino County Sheriff- Coroner Thomas Allman told reporters that he would accept the jury's ruling.

"It is my belief that both Jennifer and Sarah succumbed to a lot of pressure," sheriff's Lt. Shannon Barney said on Thursday, The Associated Press reports. "Just a lot of stuff going on in their lives, to the point where they made this conscious decision to end their lives this way and take their children's lives."

Authorities said the crash occurred in the days after the married couple took their children and fled their home following a visit from social services authorities, AP reports. Neighbors had filed a complaint stating that the children were being deprived of food by their parents.

A witness who was camping near where the vehicle drove off the cliff, along California's Highway 1, said he heard sounds of a car revving up and accelerating early in the morning on March 26, AP reports.

Later that day, a passing motorist reported the family's smashed GMC Yukon at the bottom of the cliff.

The California Highway Patrol said at the time that there was reason to believe the crash was intentional. Police determined that there were no brake marks where the vehicle accelerated and drove over the cliff, The Washington Post reports.

The bodies of the women and three of their children – Markis, Jeremiah and Abigail – were found inside and around the vehicle on the rocky shore. The remains of two other children — Ciera and Hanna – were also recovered later.

The body of the last child, Devonte, has not been found. Devonte had made headlines several years prior as the young black child pictured crying and embracing a white police officer during a Ferguson-related protest.

"I'm certainly aware of a contingent of citizens who have a belief that Devonte was not in the car," Allman said Thursday. "It is our opinion and the jury's opinion that he lived with his family and unfortunately he perished with his family."

CHP investigator Jake Slates told the jury that Sarah Hart had searched for information on suicide, drowning and overdose methods with her phone. Slates also said that Jennifer Hart, the driver, had a blood alcohol level over the legal driving limit, AP reports, and Sarah and the children had high amounts of generic Benadryl in their systems.

Another crash investigator with CHP, Timothy Roloff, said he had examined the vehicle's computerized data recorder and determined that the vehicle accelerated rapidly before the crash, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.

Authorities pointed out that, since there's no prosecution involved in the case, the jury's verdict can help bring closure to those who were close to the Hart family, as well as the investigators themselves.

"The blood relatives and adopted relatives of the entire family," Allman said. "Those are the people who I certainly want to tell you that our hearts are with you." </s> (CNN) We may never know why Jennifer and Sarah Hart's SUV plummeted 100 feet over a cliff, killing the couple and three teens. Or whether their three other children are dead or alive.

But new details about the mysterious family reveal a troubled history. Here's what we know about the couple and their six children:

The bodies of Jennifer and Sarah Hart and three of their children were found in and around their SUV.

All 6 children were adopted

Three of the children were adopted in Texas in 2006 -- siblings Abigail, Hannah and Markis, said Tiffani Butler of the state's Department of Family and Protective Services.

Then another trio of siblings were adopted in 2009 -- Sierra, Jeremiah and Devonte, Butler said.

It's unclear whether one or both of the Hart women adopted the kids.

In 2014, Devonte garnered national attention when he embraced a white police officer during racially charged protests.

Devonte helped quell tensions with his sign offering "Free Hugs," and his photo was shared around the world.

3 children remain missing

Nearly four years after that iconic photo, Devonte and two of his siblings are nowhere to be found.

After the family's SUV crashed on the Northern California coast, the bodies of Jennifer and Sarah Hart were found inside March 26. The bodies of Markis, 19, Jeremiah, 14, and Abigail, also 14, were found nearby.

But there was no trace of Devonte, 15, Hannah, 16, and Sierra, 12. Those children may have been left behind with friends, Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman said. Or they may have been killed when the SUV tumbled into the sea.

There were no skid marks

Perhaps the most troubling clue is what investigators didn't find.

JUST WATCHED Questions surround family killed off cliff Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Questions surround family killed off cliff 02:08

There were no skid marks or brake marks in the area leading up to the fatal crash.

And there were no witnesses to help guide police on what happened. The SUV was discovered only after a passer-by saw the mangled wreckage below the cliff.

Data from the vehicle's software air bag module and software suggest the car had stopped at the scenic highway outcrop overlooking the cliff and then accelerated off the road, said Greg Baarts of the California Highway Patrol's Northern Division.

And that leads police to believe the crash may have been intentional.

"At this point in our investigation, that is the direction we are going," Baarts said.

Where they were in the last days

Their car was found March 26.

Two days prior, the family had been in or around Newport, Oregon, according to the sheriff's office.

They are believed to have headed south on the US 101, reaching Mendocino County in California later that evening on Saturday, March 24.

Jennifer Hart stopped at a Safeway grocery store in Fort Bragg, California, which was captured on surveillance camera the following morning.

Authorities believe the family remained in the area until about 9 p.m. Sunday. After that, the sheriff's office said there's no further information about where they went before the incident.

Bruises discovered

Jennifer and Sarah Hart once lived in Minnesota, where Sarah Hart pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic assault involving one of the children in 2010, according to Douglas County court records.

That child had told an elementary school teacher of pain in her stomach and back, and bruises were discovered.

Sarah Hart told police she had spanked the child over the edge of the bathtub because of the child's behavior. She was sentenced to community service and one year of probation.

Then, about 10 months ago, the Harts moved into their home in Woodland, Washington, neighbor Bruce DeKalb said. He said the family was "very private."

Another neighbor, Bill Groener, said the children were home-schooled and kept inside most of the time.

Pleas for help

DeKalb said Devonte and one of his sisters had told him they were being mistreated. The neighbor recalled two disturbing encounters he had with the children.

"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 (she) wanted us to protect her," DeKalb said.

(Devonte) started coming over asking for food and saying that they were taking meals away from him due to punishment. Neighbor Bruce DeKalb

"We ended up getting her back to her parents ... and then I went over there the next morning and just checked on things, and everything seemed normal, and we let it go from there."

DeKalb said Devonte was the only child he saw doing chores outside, such as taking the garbage bins to and from the street.

Then, starting about two weeks ago, Devonte "started coming over asking for food and saying that they were taking meals away from him due to punishment," DeKalb told HLN.

"It started out as one time a day and escalated up to three times a day, until a week went by and we decided that we needed to get professional help."

DeKalb said he called Child Protective Services on March 23, and officials arrived just after Jennifer Hart came home from work. But she didn't answer the door.

Sarah Hart came home soon after, DeKalb said. By the next morning, the family and their vehicle were gone.

Child Protective Services tried to visit the family twice more, on March 26 and 27, but couldn't make contact, the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services said.

The department said it had no prior history with the Hart family. But the search continues for the three missing children. </s> MENDOCINO, Calif. — Searchers looking for three missing children whose family’s SUV plunged off a Northern California cliff have found a cellphone that could have belonged to a member of the large brood.

There was no sign of the siblings who were missing but presumed dead in the crash that killed Sarah and Jennifer Hart and three of their other adopted children. Five bodies were found March 26 near Mendocino, a few days after Washington state authorities began investigating the Harts for possible child neglect.

Dozens of people combed miles (kilometres) of coastline Wednesday. The Mendocino County sheriff’s office told Portland, Ore., TV station KOIN that a searcher found a cellphone that was being analyzed.

Authorities have said that data from the vehicle’s software suggested the crash was deliberate. They said the SUV had stopped at a coastal highway overlook before speeding straight off the cliff and plummeting 100 feet (31 metres) into the rocky Pacific Ocean below.

Sarah Hart pleaded guilty in 2011 to a domestic assault charge in Minnesota over what she said was a spanking given to one of her children.
• Data from SUV shows deadly California cliff wreck may have been intentional
• Family famed for protest photo died when SUV goes off cliff

Bruce and Dana DeKalb, the family’s next-door neighbours in Woodland, Wash., called child welfare officials two weeks ago because the couple’s 15-year-old son, 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.

Devonte, a black boy who is still missing, drew national attention after he was photographed in tears while hugging a white police officer during a 2014 protest. </s> Police said the SUV found at the bottom of a California cliff may have been intentionally driven off the road, CNN reported.

The family of eight from Washington state had been driving along the Mendocino Coast. The bodies of Jennifer and Sarah Hart were discovered inside the overturned GMC Yukon in northern California on March 26. The bodies of three of the children in the vehicle -- Markis, 19, and Jeremiah and Abigail, both 14 -- were found outside the car, which landed upside down on the shoreline below the cliff, CNN reported..

Three other children -- Hannah, 16, Devonte, 15, and Sierra, 12 -- are missing, police said.

Police said preliminary information suggested the vehicle may have been intentionally driven off the edge of the cliff.

According to Greg Baarts, acting assistant chief of the California Highway Patrol’s Northern Division, data from the vehicle's air bag module and software indicated that the car had stopped at the pull-out and then accelerated off the road.

>> Three children still missing in crash

"At this point in our investigation, that is the direction we are going," Baarts told CNN.

Baarts said that while investigators are still verifying that information, they believe a felony had been committed in the crash, CNN reported.

He denied rumors that a suicide note had been found at the Harts' Washington house but said investigators were still evaluating some items found at the residence.

Devonte, who is black, earned national attention when a photo of him at age 12 went viral. In the image, the teary-eyed boy embraces a white officer in the middle of a demonstration in Portland, Oregon, related to the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Devonte had been holding a sign offering "Free Hugs." </s> As the search continued Tuesday for three siblings and questions mounted over how the rest of their family ended up dead at the bottom of a California cliff, investigators hope a laptop and iPad yield clues, an affidavit shows.

Police seized the devices from the Woodland, Washington, home of Jennifer and Sarah Hart, on Thursday, according to court documents related to the search warrant.

In the affidavit requesting the search warrant, a Clark County, Washington, sheriff's deputy says he is seeking evidence that will shed light on what happened to the family. That evidence could include travel itineraries, bank records, phone records, credit card receipts, hotel receipts or "handwritten or typed journals or notes related to travel, care for the children and or suicide note/s."

It adds that the California Highway Patrol's investigators believe "a felony has been committed."

The bodies of Jennifer and Sarah Hart and three of their children were found in and around their SUV. The bodies of the mothers, both 38, were discovered inside their overturned SUV near a remote stretch of Highway 1 in Northern California on March 26. Jennifer Hart was in the driver's seat, according to the search warrant affidavit. What we know about the mysterious crash Emergency responders found the bodies of three of their six adopted children -- Markis, 19, and Jeremiah and Abigail, both 14 -- outside the car, which landed upside down on the rocky shoreline below the cliff. Evidence from the scene and data retrieved from the car has led investigators to believe Jennifer Hart may have intentionally drove the SUV off the cliff. Their other children -- Hannah, 16, Devonte, 15, and Sierra, 12 -- are missing. Nobody reported seeing the crash. Though a police news release says the California Highway Patrol and Mendocino County Sheriff's Office are continuing an "active search" for the missing children, the search warrant affidavit says they, too, may have been in the SUV. The kids "have not been located and it is feared that they may have also been involved in the collision and presumed deceased," the affidavit says. </s> MENDOCINO, Calif. (AP) - Another search for three children missing after their family's SUV plunged off a Northern California cliff has turned up no sign of them. But authorities discovered a cell phone near the crash site that could have belonged to one of the family members.

Sarah and Jennifer Hart were found dead at March 26 along with three of their adopted children. The crash happened days after Washington state authorities began investigating the Harts for possible child neglect.

Dozens of people on Wednesday combed miles (kilometers) of coastline near the site.

FILE - This March 27, 2018, file photo provided by the California Highway Patrol shows a helicopter hovering over steep coastal cliffs near Mendocino, Calif., where a vehicle, visible at lower right, plunged about 100 feet off a cliff along Highway 1, killing all passengers. The SUV carrying the Hart family, from Woodland, Wash., accelerated straight off the scenic California cliff and authorities said the deadly wreck may have been intentional. (California Highway Patrol via AP, File)

KOIN reports the Mendocino County Sheriff's office says a searcher found a cell phone that is being analyzed.

Authorities have said the crash was probably deliberate. </s> The California Highway Patrol says that a crash involving an SUV that plunged off a cliff killing a family may have been an intentional act.Capt. Greg Baarts with the CHP Northern Division says information pulled from the SUV's software shows the vehicle was stopped at the highway pullout before it accelerated straight off the cliff.Baarts says the electronic information combined with the lack of skid marks led officials to believe it was intentional.A Mendocino County Sheriff's Office spokesman says authorities believe at least one felony was committed but declined to specify.The California Highway Patrol identified the adult victims Wednesday as Jennifer Hart and Sarah Hart, both 39. The agency says their SUV was driving Monday on the Pacific Coast Highway when it pulled into a dirt turnout and continued driving off the cliff.Jennifer and Sarah were a married couple who had previously resided in West Linn Oregon. It was later learned they had 6 adopted children. Three children were confirmed to have died in the crash.The Sheriff's Office, the California Highway Patrol, and the United States Coast Guard out of Fort Bragg initiated a second search after learning that three other children were missing following the crash.Fifteen-year-old Devonte Hart, 16-year-old Hannah Hart, and 12-year-old Sierra Hart are still unaccounted for. But, investigators say it's unknown if the children were with their parents or might be staying with friends.Devonte drew wide media attention after being photographed hugging a Portland Oregon Police Sergeant during a demonstration over the unrest in Ferguson Missouri.Child welfare officials in Washington state had recently visited the home of two women who died along with three children in that crash according to officials.Clark County sheriff's Sgt. Brent Waddell told The Associated Press that the family lived in Woodland, Washington, and recently had a visit from Child Protective Services.He says the sheriff's office later entered the house and found no obvious signs of trouble or violence. </s> Authorities believe the parents behind the wheel of an SUV that plunged off a California cliff with their adopted children did so intentionally, according to a report Sunday.

The GMC Yukon stopped in a highway pullout about 70 feet from the cliff’s edge before speeding forward and over the cliff, according to California Highway Patrol officials.

The vehicle’s speedometer was “pinned” at 90 mph, suggesting the vehicle had logged the speed before the fatal March 26 crash.

“We do have reason to believe, however, that the crash was intentional,” said Greg Baarts, acting assistant chief for California Highway Patrol’s northern division.

The state law enforcement agency made the stunning disclosure after searching Jennifer and Sarah Hart’s Woodland, Wash., home for possible suicide notes. A search warrant affidavit revealed the vehicle's speedometer was "pinned" at 90 mph, according to court papers obtained by KPTV-TV.

The crash killed Jennifer and Sarah Hart and three of their kids. Three other children adopted by the couple are presumed dead.

Baarts warned the evidence was preliminary and that the speedometer may have been altered upon impact, when the vehicle crashed into the rocky shore 100 feet below.

“While it has been documented that the car was traveling at 90 mph upon impact, it is not conclusive whatsoever,” Baarts told KGW-TV in Portland.

Family famed for protest photo die when SUV goes off cliff

The affidavit said state police were working under the belief that “a felony has been committed,” according to KPTV-TV. The felony was unspecified.

Investigators initially said they had no evidence that the crash near Mendocino was a deliberate act. But no skid or brake marks from the Yukon.

All of the couple’s six kids are believed to have been killed in the 26 crash, including a 15-year-old African-American boy whose tearful moment hugging a white police officer during a protest against police brutality went viral. Devonte Hart protested the Ferguson, Mo., police shooting death of Michael Brown in 2014.

The bodies of three children have not been located, officials said. The two women, both 38, were found dead inside the SUV. The bodies of three of their children — Markis Hart, 19; Jeremiah Hart, 14, and Abigail Hart, 14 — were discovered outside the vehicle. Searchers were still looking for Devonte, Hannah Hart, 16, and Sierra Hart, 12, and said they may have been washed out to sea when the SUV plunged over a scenic coastal overlook and landed on rocks in the Pacific Ocean.

Before the crash, neighbors reported Devonte’s parents to the state Child Protection Services and accused them of abuse.

Bruce and Dana DeKalb, next-door neighbors of the Harts, said they called 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” and asked her to leave food in a box by the fence for him. She told The Oregonian newspaper that Devonte asked for things like tortillas and peanut butter and eventually was coming over three times a day.
A same-sex couple and three of their adopted children have been found dead at the bottom of a cliff at the coast of northern California, along with the wreckage of their SUV. After further investigation, authorities eventually deduced that it was very likely that the couple, which was previously known to have abused their children, intentionally drove off the cliff with them.