Todd and Lisa Byers had two sons, Brayden and Bryce, and two daughters, Alyssa and Mariah. Brayden, their son, was just a fourteen-year-old freshman at Clovis High School and he always spends his Thursdays at Mountain View Community Church where he was deeply involved.
Friends said that the struggles they had overcome as a family made them close together.
According to a family friend, Erick Petersen, that last year had been exceptionally hard for the Byers family and that year alone, they'd lost their home, and they moved into Todd's mother's home.
Just a month ago, Todd's daughter, Mariah, was involved in a serious hit and run accident. She had multiple surgeries, so they had to stay at the hospital. Then, an infection came in, so they had to prolong their stay, said Peterson.
Todd was an archeologist who worked in the state Department of Transportation and was said to love hiking and looking for treasures according to the GoFundMe account for the family. On the other hand, as what Fresno Bee reported, his son, Brayden loves to join his father on his adventures and enjoys the exploration also.
A week ago, November 12, 2016, Todd brought along his son, Brayden Byers and his wife, Lisa Byers for an afternoon hike and hunt for treasures on a mountain which is on the west side of the Shaver Lake. Unfortunately, the lovely afternoon hike ended in a horrible tragedy when they meandered off the trail and fell 400 feet off an embankment into a deep canyon to their deaths, said the Fresno County Sheriff's Office. Aside from that, the office doesn't have any other details on what happened.
The remote location, along with a power failure of a helicopter, made the recovery mission to search for the bodies difficult for the rescuers. Due to this, the rescuers were forced to resume the search last Sunday, 13th of November, 2016.
Their friends said that the family needs financial assistance.
Combs said, "That is why we are here. We are hoping that the community can come together and fill in the gaps."
Principal Denver Stairs, the principal of the school that Brayden went said, "We are heartbroken over this tragedy and have reached out to the family to offer our resources and support."
A GoFundMe account, which is open to the public, was created three days after the accident to financially help the remaining family members -Lisa Byers, Todd's wife, Mariah Byers, their daughter and Bryce Byers, their other son to rise from such tragic events.
