CLAIMS of violence, abuse and neglect followed the Hart family across three states before the family’s fatal crash on the Californian coast last week, authorities and neighbours have revealed.

Investigators are examining “red flags” in the Washington state family’s past in hopes of explaining why their SUV went off a 30-m cliff in an apparent suicide plunge last week.

It came as investigators revealed early evidence indicated the SUV was going 140km/h and there was no sign the brakes had been applied on its death drive.

The wreckage was discovered last week on rocks along the coast near Mendocino, California, a few days after child welfare authorities in Washington began investigating whether the children were being abused or neglected.

The Hart family’s two mums — Jennifer and Sarah Hart — and three of the six adopted children were found dead; the three others are missing and presumed dead, possibly washed out to sea.

Days before the wreck was discovered, neighbours called Washington state child-welfare authorities to say one of the boys — Devonte Hart — had been coming to their house almost daily asking for something to eat and complaining that his parents were withholding food as punishment.

Dana and Bruce DeKalb said Devonte would regularly ask for tortillas, cured meats, and non-perishable food items.

They were worried about how thin and small all of the children were, they told KGW news.

And they were especially troubled by the fact one daughter, aged 12, was missing her two front teeth. So much so that they questioned the mothers.

“They were all small,” Mr DeKalb said.

“One girl who was 12 looked like she was 7. Both of her teeth were missing, front teeth, and we questioned [the mothers], ‘What’s up with the teeth thing’ and they said, ‘She didn’t want them replaced.’ We thought that was a little weird,” he said.

The neighbours said another daughter had arrived at their home one night ‘covered in blackberries’, having walked in the dark through blackberry bushes to escape her home.

“She said that she wanted us to take her to Seattle and that they [the parents] weren’t treating her right, and don’t make her go back,” Mr DeKalb said.

“You know, kids can do stuff sometimes when they’re at a certain age, they run away from home and stuff like that.

“By that time, [the family was] all out looking for her with flashlights so we tried to get some story as to what was going on and, of course, they told us what we wanted to hear, I guess.

“Life went on for another eight months and here we are today.”

Over the past decade, the family had lived in Minnesota, Oregon and Washington.

Known as the Hart Tribe, the multiracial family of Sarah and Jennifer, both 38, and their six adopted children often took spontaneous road trips to camp and hike and travelled to festivals and other events, offering hugs and promoting unity.

The family grew much of their own food. The kids were homeschooled.

The three children found at the crash scene were Markis, 19, Jeremiah, 14, and Abigail, 14. There was no sign of Hannah, 16; Sierra, 12; and Devonte, 15.

Friends said it was a loving family. But records show several allegations of abuse or neglect dating back almost a decade.

“MUM HIT ME”

Authorities don’t know exactly when the SUV crashed, but it was found three days after social service authorities in Washington began investigating the family after the children were identified as potential victims of neglect and abuse.

Neighbours believe the hart family “took off” hours after child services visited the home. Three further “welfare checks” went unanswered.

Captain Greg Baarts, of the California Highway Patrol, said authorities had been interviewing friends and family members of the Harts.

“There have been red flags,” he said, but did not elaborate.

Long before the death crash, in 2011, Sarah Hart pleaded guilty to a domestic assault charge in Minnesota over what she said was a spanking given to one of her children.

KGW reports according to the complaint, six-year-old Abigail said she had “owies” on her stomach and back and when a teacher saw the bruises, Abigail told her: “mum hit me.”

Interviewed by detectives, Sarah admitted to spanking her daughter and she said she let her anger get out of control. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 90 days in jail but wasn’t required to serve time due to terms of her probation.

Jennifer Hart told investigators she knew that Sarah spanked her daughter.

Police also revealed on Monday that social service authorities in Oregon contacted the West Linn Police Department about the family in 2013 while they were living in the area.

The questions were referred to the Oregon Department of Human Services, which cited privacy laws in refusing to confirm or deny the agency was involved.

Investigators last week obtained a search warrant for the family’s home in Woodland and looked for itineraries, bank and phone records, credit card receipts, journals or other documents that might shed light on the case.

Family friend Max Ribner said he was not ready to believe the crash was intentional.

He said the Harts left Alexandria, Minnesota, for Oregon looking for a change of weather and pace. He said the greater Portland area was more accepting of LGBTQ people.

“As much love as they put in the world, there were times when it was challenging for them to be a family with six kids and hold the energy of what they put out,” Mr Ribner said. “I don’t think people realise what it takes to be a mother, raise six kids, many of whom came from hard backgrounds.”

“DELIBERATE”

Data from the SUV’s software suggests the crash was deliberate.

The SUV had stopped at a pull-off area then sped straight off the cliff, Capt Baarts, of the California Highway Patrol said. He said that as far as he knew, investigators had not found a suicide note.

Capt Baarts says the electronic information, and the lack of skid marks led officials to believe it was intentional.

It’s understood the speedometer was “pinned” at 90 miles/h (140km/h) when found.

Marcus Mazza, an engineer and accident-reconstruction expert with Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based Robson Forensic, said investigators could use data to determine factors such as the speed of the vehicle; the engine speed; how much force the driver was exerting on the gas pedal; and whether the driver had depressed the brake.