# Boy in Police hugging photo dead :( **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 29, 2018, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429 "2018-03-29T19:37:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429/1 "2018-03-29T19:37:01Z")
I’m not normally the feeling having type, but this just made me sad: [Boy in viral 2014 protest photo among 8 family members dead in California cliff crash](http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/03/29/boy-in-viral-2014-protest-photo-among-8-family-members-dead-in-california-cliff-crash.html) ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429/2 "2018-03-29T20:00:36Z")
Ok, I don’t get this. First the article says: > [@](#): > > Devonte Hart, 15, his five siblings and adoptive parents were pronounced dead after the vehicle plummeted 100 feet off an ocean overlook on the Pacific Coast Highway, about 150 miles north of San Francisco, police said. Two paragraphs later it says: > [@](#): > > The bodies of Devonte, Hannah Hart, 16, and Sierra Hart, 12, have not been located. How do they know the other kids were in the car? How can they be pronounced dead when they haven’t been located? Maybe the kids stayed behind in Washington or were left behind at the last motel or maybe they managed to escape the wreckage alive and are curled up on the beach a mile away. The [BBC is reporting](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43581974) that he’s missing; they don’t say for sure that he’s been killed. It’s very sad, but it looks like there’s a chance three of the kids could still be alive. The cops don’t seem to think so but they aren’t telling why. Very strange. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429/3 "2018-03-29T20:16:07Z")
I’m just impressed that, in the tragedy, the comments section is full of people hating on the family because the parents were lesbian women. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429/4 "2018-03-29T20:28:44Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > Ok, I don’t get this. First the article says: > > Two paragraphs later it says: > > How do they know the other kids were in the car? How can they be pronounced dead when they haven’t been located? Maybe the kids stayed behind in Washington or were left behind at the last motel or maybe they managed to escape the wreckage alive and are curled up on the beach a mile away. > > The [BBC is reporting](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43581974) that he’s missing; they don’t say for sure that he’s been killed. > > It’s very sad, but it looks like there’s a chance three of the kids could still be alive. The cops don’t seem to think so but they aren’t telling why. Very strange. [Very strange indeed](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dont-make-me-go-back-troubling-allegations-emerge-after-familys-cliff-plunge/). Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429/5 "2018-03-29T20:29:17Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I’m just impressed that, in the tragedy, the comments section is full of people hating on the family because the parents were lesbian women. I hovered over the link long enough to see that the link went to Fox news. Your observation about the comments there reinforces the reason I didn’t click it. The story is being reported all over the place, here are some links: > **[Family of 8 that’s feared dead after SUV plunged off cliff had troubled home...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/03/30/family-of-8-thats-feared-dead-after-suv-plunged-off-cliff-had-troubled-home-life-neighbors-say/)** > > Officers are still searching for Devonte Hart, who appeared in a viral photo in 2014, and two siblings. [http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/family-killed-cliff-plunge-free-spirits-troubled-54087958](http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/family-killed-cliff-plunge-free-spirits-troubled-54087958) > **[No skid marks, 3 children still missing, a visit from child services:...](https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-missing-children-abuse-20180329-story.html)** > > Some questions came up soon after the grim discovery of an SUV that had plunged off a steep cliff and onto the rocky shore along a remote stretch of the Northern California coast. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429/6 "2018-03-29T22:18:25Z")
I just came from another board where it’s being discussed in more detail. It sounds like CPS had been alerted to the family because of possible (likely?) abuse; among other things, some of the kids had knocked on neighbors’ doors begging for food. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429/7 "2018-03-29T22:21:24Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I’m just impressed that, in the tragedy, the comments section is full of people hating on the family because the parents were lesbian women. I’m hating on them because they weren’t wearing seat belts. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429/8 "2018-03-29T22:32:17Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I just came from another board where it’s being discussed in more detail. It sounds like CPS had been alerted to the family because of possible (likely?) abuse; among other things, some of the kids had knocked on neighbors’ doors begging for food. One of the stories I read had the kids asking neighbors for permission to hide food outside their house because hunger was used as a punishment. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429/9 "2018-03-29T23:06:14Z")
I hope the recent CPS visits didn’t trigger the parents into doing something rash. The old abuse case had been used against them after the hugging photo went viral. Imho There’s a bit of paranoia in their activist activities. Not enough to raise any alarm. But, in hindsight… Very tragic case ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429/10 "2018-03-29T23:18:09Z")
They had a stressful couple years. [https://www.google.com/amp/abcnews.go.com/amp/US/wireStory/child-welfare-officials-visited-family-drove-off-cliff-54079216](https://www.google.com/amp/abcnews.go.com/amp/US/wireStory/child-welfare-officials-visited-family-drove-off-cliff-54079216) > [@](#): > > Zippy Lomax, a Portland photographer who knew the Harts, told the Oregonian/Oregonlive.com that the reaction to the 2014 photo overwhelmed them, with negative attention focused on the multiracial family with lesbian parents. > > “They kind of closed off for a while, honestly,” Lomax told the newspaper. But she added that “Jen and Sarah were the kind of parents this world desperately needs.” ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429/11 "2018-03-30T00:41:49Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I just came from another board where it’s being discussed in more detail. It sounds like CPS had been alerted to the family because of possible (likely?) abuse; among other things, some of the kids had knocked on neighbors’ doors begging for food. > > ☹ Just makes the story sadder. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429/12 "2018-03-30T10:54:50Z")
There are so many, and contradictory, stories being reported. I’ve read everything from the police thinking it was an accident, to the police being sure it was deliberate because they’d refused to open the door when CPS tried to visit hours earlier that same day. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429/13 "2018-04-02T01:42:59Z")
News reports are saying the speedometer was pinned at ninety, and the authorities are saying (without specifics so far) that there is reason to believe it was intentional. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429/14 "2018-04-02T02:33:37Z")
I believe some of the other details were no skid marks or other indications that there were attempts to correct the course to avoid going over. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429/15 "2018-04-02T05:01:09Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > News reports are saying the speedometer was pinned at ninety, and the authorities are saying (without specifics so far) that there is reason to believe it was intentional. Thelma & Louise ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429/16 "2018-04-02T05:17:26Z")
I wouldn’t be surprised if they find this dvd in the family’s home. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4z88U915uq8/hqdefault.jpg "Thelma & Louise:Ending Scene") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z88U915uq8) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429/17 "2018-04-02T12:18:09Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I’m just impressed that, in the tragedy, the comments section is full of people hating on the family because the parents were lesbian women. Are you saying that’s a good thing? ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429/18 "2018-04-02T12:21:28Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > News reports are saying the speedometer was pinned at ninety, and the authorities are saying (without specifics so far) that there is reason to believe it was intentional. Surely driving off of a cliff makes this irrelevant. Regardless of how fast they were actually going as soon as the tires left the pavement or dirt and were free in the air the speedometer would have shot up. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429/19 "2018-04-02T12:33:43Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Are you saying that’s a good thing? Pretty sure he is being sarcastic. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429/20 "2018-04-02T13:07:47Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Surely driving off of a cliff makes this irrelevant. Regardless of how fast they were actually going as soon as the tires left the pavement or dirt and were free in the air the speedometer would have shot up. Only if one still has the accelerator depressed. It’s sounding more and more like a deliberate murder-suicide to me (but that’s just based on what’s been posted in this thread). Either way, a sad day. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boy-in-police-hugging-photo-dead/811429.md?page=2)