The lesbian couple who died alongside at least three of their adopted children when their truck inexplicably drove off a California cliff had fled a former home after being targeted by the Ku Klux Klan, it has been claimed.

Married Jennifer and Sarah Hart, both 38, were living in Alexandria, Minnesota when they and their African American youngsters allegedly became a target of the hate group, leaving them terrified for their lives.

The group left a burning cross on the family's front yard - a tactic synonymous with the Klan - to scare and intimidate them into leaving the area, according to former neighbor Eric Cederquist.

Soon after the incident in 2013 the family fled 1,600 miles west to West Linn, Oregon.

In the early 20th century, the Klan regularly burned crosses on hillsides or near the homes of those they wished to intimidate and the practice struck fear into those targeted.

Neighbor and friend Eric, 65, said the women were close with his wife, Rita, 60, and told her of their terror at being singled out by the far right.

'They told my wife about some trouble they had back in Minnesota,' Eric told DailyMail.com from his West Linn home.

Jennifer and Sarah Hart (top) both 38, were living in Alexandria, Minnesota when they and their six children were targeted by the Ku Klux Klan in 2013, a former neighbor told DailyMail.com

The couple and children Markis, 19, Jeremiah and Abigail, both 14, all died when their car plunged 100ft onto rocks from the Pacific Coast Highway last Monday

Three other children are missing but authorities believe it is likely all eight members of the Hart family, including the six children aged 12 to 19, are presumed dead after their 2003 GMC Yukon XL was found crashed on rocks

'It was from a hate group, which sounded to me a lot like the Ku Klux Klan.

'They had a burning cross in their front yard and that's why they moved away from that area.'

But, according to Eric, the couple feared they hadn't gone far enough to escape the hate groups after seeing posters and literature in West Linn advertising local right-wing groups.

The family moved again in May 2017 to Woodland, Washington, 30 miles north.

Eric said the posters pinned on a telegraph pole promoting white power really disturbed them.

'It wasn't about them, it was a general thing, but it really upset the both of them. I think it frightened them.

'Being the non-traditional family that they were, they could have felt like they would be targeted by those kind of people, for sure.

'Not long after that they moved to Washington.'

It was from Woodland, Washington that the family embarked on their tragic journey to Northern California where at least five members of the family of eight perished in horrific circumstances that are still unexplained.

The couple and children Markis, 19, Jeremiah and Abigail, both 14, all died when their 2003 GMC Yukon truck plunged 100ft onto rocks from the Pacific Coast Highway in northern California last Monday.

The Harts' last home in Woodland, Washington, a town of 6,000, is tucked away in the woods, hidden from busy Interstate 5 just a few miles away

It is claimed some neighbors called Child Protective Services to report the Harts shortly before the couple packed their children into the SUV and drove south to California

Other photos provide a glimpse through a large bedroom window showing a Star Wars film poster, a boogie board and storage boxes, one marked hats/accessories

Three other children are missing but authorities believe it is likely they were in the car; Hannah, 16, Devonte, 15, who was famously pictured sobbing in the arms of a policeman in a 2005 demo in Portland, and Sierra, 12.

Eric, who lived just yards from the family in West Linn, 11 miles from downtown Portland, said the deaths could have been a tragic accident as the moms were always taking their children sightseeing and they could have misjudged their drive to the cliff's edge to see the view.

He said: 'My wife is devastated by what happened and doesn't want to talk about it herself.

'She can't bear to watch the news reports about it because she gets upset.

'She was close to the two women.'

He added: 'It seemed like they were always going places as a family.

'They had kayaks for the kids and would go off in the Yukon.

'Jennifer would take them away for days at a time leaving Sarah here.

'Sarah had to stay because of her job; she worked at a local superstore as an assistant manager. I think it was a Kohl's.

'Jennifer taught the kids at home. None of them went to school.

Eric Cederquist, who lived just yards from the family in West Linn, said the deaths could have been a tragic accident as the moms were always taking their children sightseeing and they could have misjudged their drive to the cliff's edge to see the view

'But they both wanted the kids to see and experience different things in the countryside.

'That's why I think it's possible they were driving to the cliff edge to get a look at the view.

'It it was dark, they might have misjudged how dangerous it was.

'Looking at a view like that it very much something they'd be into showing the kids and I am sure that all of the kids would have been in that car.

'Whenever they went out it was always as one big group.'

Eric said it would have taken more than a day's drive to get to the spot where they died and doubts whether their deaths were an intentional act.

'If they wanted to drive off a cliff there are lots of places to do that much closer to home,' he said.

Speaking about his four years as a neighbor to the family, he said: 'They mainly kept themselves to themselves.

'I talked to them once in a while over the fence and they were closer to my wife, like I said.

'They moved out last May and moved in from about 2013.

'My wife and I were shocked reading about how Devonte was begging for food up in Washington. We never saw anything like that here.

'We'd see them mowing the lawn or tending to their vegetable plot and the kids would sometimes play at the bottom of their garden.

'They also kept chickens here and they seemed to grow enough food to keep the kids fed.

'They'd spend a lot of time indoors, too. They weren't outside here at home all the time.

One of couple's neighbors in Woodland, told DailyMail.com that the women had claimed to be victims of prejudice because of their sexuality and non-white children.

All six children were said to have been homeschooled by Jennifer Hart

Since the deaths there have been several allegations of a troubled home life surrounding the family. Neighbors in Woodland say their teenage son Devonte (second from right) repeatedly knocked on their door, asking for food

'One of the last times I saw them was when my wife and I were having a yard sale, and Jennifer decided to sell some of her things, too.

'She wanted to raise money for the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline and she wanted the money to go to a Native Americans group.

'I recall her saying she was part Indian so she was passionate about it.'

The Harts' last home in Woodland, Washington, a town of 6,000, is tucked away in the woods, hidden from busy Interstate 5 just a few miles away.

A long gravel driveway leads to the gray, two-story home the Harts bought last May.

Photos of the home taken by DailyMail.com show cows grazing in a pasture to the side of the property.

Other photos provide a glimpse through a large bedroom window showing a Star Wars film poster, a boogie board and storage boxes, one marked hats/accessories.

Since the deaths there have been several allegations of a troubled home life surrounding the family.

Neighbors in Woodland say their teenage son Devonte repeatedly knocked on their door, asking for food.

And it's claimed some neighbors called Child Protective Services to report the Harts shortly before the couple packed their children into the SUV and drove south to California.

One of the couple's children 15-year-old Devonte, whose body has not yet been found, made headlines in 2014 when a photo of him tearfully hugging a police officer at a rally went viral

Devonte Hart, pictured above, is one of the three Hart children still missing after the crash. He is pictured above at a Bernie Sanders rally in Portland in 2016

Dana DeKalb, 59, one of couple's neighbors in Woodland, told DailyMail.com that the women had claimed to be victims of prejudice because of their sexuality and non-white children.

Dana, who gave Devonte peanut butter and tortillas when he begged for food at her home several times before the tragedy, said: 'The women claimed to have suffered prejudice when they were living in Oregon.

'One time, a lie, they said they had pulled the kids out of school in West Linn because one of the children was being bullied.

'Only, we found out later the kids were taught at home. They didn't go to school.

'I asked Jennifer why and she replied, "Dah, we're two white women, lesbians, with six black kids, so…"

'I think they were also harassed after Devonte's picture with the policeman was taken years ago by some local news media.'

She added: 'I hardly ever saw friends visiting them. I saw one car there twice. That was it.

'I only ever really met the two children. They were thin, tiny, and small. Hannah I thought was around seven, but she was 16 and they lied and told me she was 12.

'I don't know why they lied to me and said that.'

The Harts' friends have defended the family, however.

The family's car was spotted at the bottom of the cliff on Monday and firefighters had to rappel down to retrieve the bodies

This is an aerial view of the cliff the family plunged over in their car on the Pacific Coast Highway in California. To reach the cliff edge, the women would have had to have driven off the Pacific Highway and traversed 75ft of rugged dirt road before going over the cliff edge

Samantha Sinclair, a Portland trauma nurse who has known the family since 2014, described their home as one of joy, filled with books, music and healthy food.

'Their story is not about abuse,' she told the Washington Post. 'It is a story of triumph and love.'

Sarah Hart's father, Al Gengler told DailyMail.com: 'As you can imagine it's hit us hard, we are pretty much in a fog right now.'

Jennifer Hart was behind the wheel of the SUV when it plunged off the cliff, California Highway Patrol spokesman Olegario Marin said.

California Highway Patrol officials say preliminary evidence shows the cliff crash that killed the couple and their six adopted children may have been intentional.

Capt. Greg Baarts with the CHP Northern Division says information pulled from the SUV's software shows the vehicle was stopped at the highway pullout before it accelerated straight off the cliff.

'While it has been documented that the car was traveling at 90 mph upon impact, it is not conclusive whatsoever,' Baarts said.

'We do have reason to believe, however, that the crash was intentional. This is all based on preliminary information.'

Baarts says the electronic information combined with the lack of skid marks led officials to believe it was intentional.

'Pure acceleration all the way,' was how one spokesperson for the CHP described it, according to KGW-TV.

A Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office spokesman says authorities believe at least one felony was committed but declined to specify.

Five members of the Hart family were found dead.

Searchers are looking for three more children believed to have been in the vehicle when it went over a scenic coastal overlook and landed on rocks in the Pacific Ocean below.