Mystery as family’s 4WD plunges off cliff

On Monday, a passerby spotted the family’s vehicle flipped onto its roof in the Pacific Ocean at the bottom of a 100-foot cliff in a rural part of California’s Mendocino County, according to officials.

Sheriff’s personnel are also checking into a less-likely scenario, that the three children unaccounted for were with friends in the Portland area.

Today, Devonte Hart is missing and feared dead after his parents and three of his siblings were killed in a crash.

Combined with recent reports of the extreme physical and sexual abuse of stepchildren, it is way overdue that the Government and courts take concrete action to ensure that children affected by divorce are not denied the guidance and protection of both biological parents.

Accident-reconstruction experts said investigators would look at road conditions along with such possibilities as brake failure or a blown tire.

Five members of a Washington family were killed after their SUV went off a Pacific Coast Highway cliff and crashed into the rocky ocean, authorities said.

The incident was one of several that concerned the DeKalbs about the family that moved in previous year: married couple Jennifer and Sarah Hart, both 38, and their six adopted children.

Crews are now searching for Devonte, along with 16-year-old Hannah Hart and 12-year-old Sierra Hart, after their family’s auto plummeted off a cliff near Mendocino.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman said there were no skid marks at the scene to indicate braking as the vehicle traveled over 75 feet of dirt before the cliffside. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

KGW reporter John Tierney confirmed that the child asking for food was Devonte.

What happened to this family on the gravel pullout off a curvy roadway, almost 600 miles south of their home, has left troubling questions.

Mike Coupe, Chief Executive Officer of Sainsbury’s, said: ‘This is an absolute tragedy and we will do everything we can to support the family’.

Devonte Hart told neighbors Bruce and Dana DeKalb that his parents withheld food as a form of punishment and asked them to leave it by the fence so his parents wouldn’t find out, the newspaper reported.

One of the mothers pleaded guilty to charges of domestic assault in 2011, after police in Minnesota said Sarah Hart hit one of her daughters. By the time the CPS employee returned on Monday, the Harts were gone, DeKalb said.

But neighbors Dana and Bruce Dekalb told KOIN 6 News the Harts nearly never left home and that signs of trouble started to become glaringly obvious. “[She] also stated that she had missed lunch this past Saturday”.

“When kids are coming to the house in the middle of the night, I can’t help but think there’s something wrong”, DeKalb said.

Experts say accident reconstruction experts will have information to work with as they study how fast the auto was going and other factors.

Child protection workers in Washington were looking for the family when they vanished, but the family may not have been aware of that. “We are working with all involved law enforcement agencies on their respective investigations”, the department stated.

Authorities said that there is no reason to suspect foul play. They were presumed to be taking a road trip to Northern California at the time of the crash.

One of their children reportedly went to the neighbor’s house and begged for food.

Police also interviewed the girl’s older stepsister, who told investigators that Brakvatne drank a lot and had, on a couple occasions, told her she was attractive while kissing and licking her face, according to the complaint. Jennifer and Sarah Hart, along with Markis, 19, Jeremiah, 14, and Abigail, 14, were all found dead. Sarah reportedly admitted that she had lost control of her anger and spanked the girl while bending her over a bathtub.

During an interview with authorities, the girl said that over the years Brakvatne had put his hands up her shirt and grabbed her breasts.

The family had most recently lived in Woodland, Washington. Sarah Hart said she had done so to discipline the child. “No bruises or nothing like that”.

Kristina Pescatore, another family friend, added: “The kids were angels – always beamed with smiles”.