The speedometer on an Oregon family's GMC SUV was "pinned" at 90 mph when the vehicle was found crushed along the rocky California shoreline in Mendocino County early this week, according to a news report.

Authorities included the information in an affidavit for a search warrant to search the Clark County home of Jennifer and Sarah Hart, according to a report by Fox 12 Oregon, which obtained the 12-page document. Investigators wrote in the document that California Highway Patrol officers believe a felony was committed, the news station reported.

Investigators were looking for any suicide notes left at the couple's home, as well as travel plans and other records, Fox 12 reported.

Authorities have maintained that they have no information indicating the crash was intentional. Investigators have said no skid marks, or evidence of braking, was found at the crash site, located off a dirt turnout along the scenic Highway 1.

Authorities with the California Highway Patrol and Clark County and Mendocino County sheriff's offices did not return messages seeking additional information Saturday.

Parents Jennifer and Sarah Hart, both 38, were found dead inside the 2003 GMC Yukon they'd taken on the trip. Jennifer Hart was in the driver's seat. Children Markis, 19; Abigail, 14; and Jeremiah, 14, were also discovered dead at the crash site.

Devonte, 15; Hannah, 16; and Sierra, 12, were also believed to be in the SUV but are still missing.

The family garnered national interest after Devonte Hart was pictured tearfully hugging Portland Police Sgt. Bret Barnum in a 2014 photograph that went viral. Devonte Hart, who was then 12, had been carrying a "Free hugs" sign while attending a Portland demonstration after the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

Barnum released a brief statement late Saturday to The Oregonian/OregonLive.

"As you can imagine, the tragic news about Devonte and his family deeply saddens me," Barnum wrote. "The short interaction with Devonte in November 2014 was certainly one of those moments in my career which reinforced my love, passion, and duty in providing compassion and service to my community."

The family became a national focal point after the photo was published. It first appeared on OregonLive before spreading to NBC News and Time magazine and eventually going global.

The Harts lived in West Linn at the time but moved last year to Woodland, Washington.

Friends have told The Oregonian/OregonLive that the attention was not always positive. The family reported receiving racist emails and death threats and were criticized for having same-sex parents.

Jennifer and Sarah Hart were white. Their six adopted children were black.

The Harts were known as a creative force and source of inspiration to those who knew them.

The idyllic picture of the family portrayed in Facebook posts and through the memories of friends stands in stark contrast to court and police records.

Days before a passerby spotted the wrecked SUV 100 feet below the turnout on the rocky California shoreline, the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services opened a case into the family. The agency was investigating the family because the children were "identified as potential victims of alleged abuse or neglect."

The family's neighbors in Woodland said one child, Hannah Hart, arrived at their doorstep last year and said she was being abused. Devonte Hart had also asked neighbors for food and said his parents withheld it as punishment.

It wasn't the first time abuse allegations were made about the parents.

In April 2011, Sarah Hart pleaded guilty to abusing daughter Abigail after the then-6-year-old told police one of her mothers had hit her with a closed fist, put her head in a cold bath, then hit her again. Sarah Hart was sentenced to a year of probation for misdemeanor domestic assault, court records show.

In July 2013, after the family had moved to Oregon, police responded to a call at their West Linn home. Police characterized the call as a state Department of Human Services referral.

On March 23, the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services attempted to contact the Hart family. The Hart family left home that day.

Jim Ryan and Eder Campuzano of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report.

-- Rebecca Woolington

rwoolington@oregonian.com

503-294-4049; @rwoolington