6 Kids, Both Parents Believed Dead in Calif. Cliff Crash

Searchers scoured the Northern California coast Wednesday for three missing children of a couple who were killed along with three of their other children when their SUV plunged off scenic Pacific Coast Highway onto rocks in the ocean. Authorities in Northern California later Wednesday said they believe all six children from the family were in the vehicle that plunged off a coastal cliff. Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allmon told reporters Wednesday that only three bodies of the children have been recovered. The California Highway Patrol said law enforcement officials in Oregon and Washington have been unable to locate the missing children of Jennifer and Sarah Hart at the family home in suburban Portland or with family members and friends. The Harts lived in Woodland, Washington, and recently had a visit from Child Protective Services, Clark County sheriff’s Sgt. Brent Waddell told The Associated Press. He said the sheriff’s office later entered the house and found no obvious signs of trouble or violence. Online court records show Sarah Hart pleaded guilty to a domestic assault charge in Minnesota in 2011. The plea in Douglas County, Minnesota, also led to the dismissal of a charge of malicious punishment of a child. It appeared the family planned a short trip because they left behind a pet, chickens and belongings. The Harts, both 39, and three of the children were killed Monday when their 2003 GMC fell 100 feet from an ocean overlook in Mendocino County, about 150 miles north of San Francisco. The CHP hasn’t determined why the SUV plunged from the overlook. The dead children were identified as Markis Hart, 19, Jeremiah Hart, 14, and Abigail Hart, 14. Searchers were looking for Hannah Hart, 16, Devonte Hart, 15 and Sierra Hart, 12. Searchers were using boats, aircraft and drones to scan the ocean and nearby beach. Choppy conditions prevented divers from joining the search.