Bay Area father shot and killed during Sierra trip with son, who spent 30 hours hiding in wilderness

Bay Area father shot and killed during Sierra trip with son, who spent 30 hours hiding in wilderness

FILE PHOTO: Highway curves through the mountains at Tahoe National Forest, California, USA. FILE PHOTO: Highway curves through the mountains at Tahoe National Forest, California, USA. Photo: Janniswerner/Getty Images/iStockphoto Photo: Janniswerner/Getty Images/iStockphoto Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Bay Area father shot and killed during Sierra trip with son, who spent 30 hours hiding in wilderness 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A doctor from Danville was shot to death by an unidentified gunman during a trip to Sierra County with his 15-year-old son over the weekend.

According to a fundraising page set up for the family, 45-year-old, Ari Gershman, a pulmonary doctor, was off-roading in a new four-wheel drive Jeep with his son Jack near Downieville when a gunman opened fire. The gunman killed Gershman, but his son escaped and called police. The fundraising page says the son hid for over 30 hours in the Tahoe National Forest before a search team found him.

The Sierra County Sheriff's Office corroborated the family's story in a Facebook post, and said the suspected gunman was arrested after leading deputies on a chase in an ATV. He was eventually taken into custody near Saddleback Road.

Deputies stated the gunman is believed to have shot two other people in the area on Friday. The two unidentified victims were taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. After the victims were taken to the hospital the sheriff's office received the call from the boy informing them of the shooting of his father and his getting lost during the escape.

The suspect's identity was not released, and the sheriff's office stated it anticipated releasing more information "in the coming days."

Ari Gershman leaves behind his wife Paige, who is "in the fight of her life right now undergoing Chemo treatments for Cancer," and their three children, according to the family's fundraising page. The page has raised over $109,000 as of Monday night.

Eric Ting is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: [email protected] | Twitter:@_ericting