Jennifer Jean Hart and Sarah Margaret Hart and their children died when their car plunged 100 feet off a cliff into the ocean (Picture: The Washington Post/Screengrab)
A fatal car crash that killed a lesbian couple and their foster children has sparked an investigation.
Five members of a family of eight from Woodland, Washington, died when the family’s SUV steered off of a cliff on the Pacific Coast Highway and fell 100 ft into the ocean.
The Washington Post reports that three of the children, including identified 15-year-old Devonte Hart – are missing.
Devonte was famously photographed sobbing into the arms of a white police officer in Portland, Ore, in 2014.
Three children reported missing from fatal crash scene
Mums Jennifer Jean Hart and Sarah Margaret Hart, 38 and their foster kids Martin, 19, Abigail, 14, and Jeremiah, 14, died in the crash.
The paper reports that the three children who died were not wearing seat belts, but the two mothers were wearing harnesses.
However, three children – Hannah, 16, Devonte and Sierra, 12 – are unaccounted for.
They were also in the vehicle and on Thursday (29 March) an ocean search effort was underway by investigators.
There are also suggestions that the three missing are with friends in Portland, reports local NBC affiliate KGW.
BREAKING: The women killed in this crash are reportedly the parents of Devonte Hart, the boy photographed hugging a Portland police officer in 2014 that went viral. Unclear whether Devonte is one of the children killed or missing https://t.co/7hq2brU0zv pic.twitter.com/5Cqi2SmVDg
— Shane D. Kavanaugh (@shanedkavanaugh) March 28, 2018
Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman said in a press conference that the scene left investigators confused.
‘There’s a lot of unknowns. However, we do know several things.
‘We know that an entire family vanished and perished during this tragedy,’ said Allman.
‘There were no skid marks, no brake marks.
‘There was no indication of why this vehicle traversed approximately over 75 feet off a dirt pullout and went into the Pacific Ocean.’
Former neighbour Bill Groener said the family had taken a road trip to Northern California when the crash occurred.
