Family from Colorado died in the Rocky Mountains: they wanted to live 'off the grid', but did not survive the winter cold

Two sisters and the teenage son of one of them moved to live in a wild, remote place in the Colorado Rockies last July. They ate canned food and wanted to take a break from the world that upset them. The family died without surviving the harsh winter, reports NewYorkTimes.

Photo: IStock

Last summer, Rebecca Vance told her family about her dream: she wanted to live in a place cut off from the whole world, which she considered chaotic and dangerous.

She told her half-sister Trevala Hara that she could grow and harvest her own food in a remote place, that she and her teenage son could be happy and safe away from the news, the viruses, the politics of modern America.

“I will worry about you,” Trevala told her sister. But Miss Vance was adamant. “I will live off the land,” she replied.

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Her decision proved fatal. On July 25, the coroner stated that he had identified three bodies that were found earlier this month in the Colorado Rockies. These are the bodies of 42-year-old Rebecca Vance, her 14-year-old son and her 41-year-old sister Christine Vance. Trevala said Christine took the risk of going with them for their safety, believing an extra pair of hands might be useful.

The coroner's findings come more than a week after the Gunnison County Sheriff's Office said the family's bodies were found near the Gold Creek campground. This discovery attracted the attention of the whole country. Officials sought to identify the victims and determine why they were apparently trying to survive the harsh winter there.

Pursuit of a better life

Michael Barnes, Gunnison County coroner, said on July 26 that the family members were all from Colorado Springs and lived "off the grid", eating canned food and sheltering in a tent before a harsh winter or malnutrition led to their death.

In recent years, the sisters have been "disillusioned with the state of the world" in recent years, Barnes said, and moved permanently to a location near the Gold Creek Campground in western Colorado last July.

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“She decided to do this with good intentions,” Trevala said. “She thought she was protecting her son and our sister Christina because she didn’t want them to be part of what she thought the world was coming to.”

Rebecca Vance's fears have intensified during the pandemic, Trevala said, noting that her sister didn't believe in conspiracy theories, but was simply afraid of the world and believed that a better life awaited them in nature.

Kristin Vance didn't originally plan to go, but changed her mind "because she realized that if she was with them, they would have a better chance of surviving," Trevala said.

The teenager, whom she described as a smart and caring son, a "mama's boy", was homeschooled. He was upset that he could no longer see his relatives and friends, but he was also glad to be able to join his mother on the journey, Trevala said.

The two sisters and the teenager only told her that they were going to a remote area, but did not say where exactly.

“My husband and I tried to stop them,” Trevala said in a broken voice.

Tragic end

Kristin and Rebecca Vance and the teenager drove their car to a parking spot next to a hiking trail and then most likely walked the rest of the way to their possible campsite.

They tried to spend the winter there. But due to heavy snow falling on them, they had to burn dry branches and build a fire in their tent to keep warm.

According to Barnes, they probably died during the winter.

Another sign that they were struggling to survive in the cold conditions was that they relieved themselves near a tree just a few meters from their tent. “They were cold and didn’t want to go far from the tent,” Barnes said. “Otherwise you would probably do it somewhere else.”

It's also possible that the sisters and the teenager died of malnutrition, Barnes said. According to him, all three ate soup and other canned foods, and their bodies were emaciated.

Their camp was about an hour from Gunnison, a small rural community.

A tourist found the body of one of the three family members on July 9 shortly before 17 p.m., and authorities arrived the next morning and found the bodies of the other two. According to Barnes, they could not be immediately identified because they were badly decomposed.

The only food they found at their camp was one box of soup.

Earlier this month, Gunnison County Sheriff Adam Murdy said tourists often camp near where the Vances lived.
However, he said that people rarely die there.

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Trevala said that Rebecca Vance always preferred to be alone when she was growing up. Vance has always been protective of her family, and both her sisters have "hearts of gold," Trevala added. She said she hopes her family's story will encourage others to think twice before choosing the same lifestyle outside of the civilized world.

“I know this world is a scary place,” Trevala said. “But don’t let that fear, that doubt, that whole thing take over.”

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