‘Mummified’ bodies found in Rockies were family trying ‘off the grid’ living
When police found three “fairly mummified” bodies at a remote campsite in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado two weeks ago, they were baffled. Two of the bodies were found inside a tent that was still zipped up while the other body was in a wooded area a short distance away.
Now, the deceased have been identified as two adult sisters and a 14-year-old son, according to Gunnison County Coroner Michael Barnes.
Christine Vance, 41; Rebecca Vance, 42; and Rebecca’s son, who was not named because he was a minor, all used to reside in Colorado Springs before packing up to live “off the grid,” family members told the coroner.
Their official cause of death has not yet been determined, though they were all emaciated from malnutrition. Barnes believes the group may have succumbed to starvation, freezing temperatures or carbon monoxide poisoning from trying to make fire to stay warm. Authorities will know more once toxicology reports have been processed.
The degree of decomposition of the bodies indicates that the two sisters and the teenage boy died sometime during the winter.
According to the women’s stepsister, Rebecca had been the one to suggest living off the grid — and the three set off in July 2022 to live permanently in Gunnison National Forest.
Trevala Jara told The New York Times that Rebecca dreamed of living in nature, disconnected from a world she saw as chaotic and dangerous. Rebecca’s paranoia intensified during the pandemic, though Jara notes her stepsister didn’t believe in conspiracy theories. She thought a better life was waiting in nature, instead of with society.
“She went for good intentions,” Jara said in an interview on Tuesday. “She thought she was protecting her son and our sister, Christine, because she
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