Partially mummified our bodies discovered at campsite have been members of household who deliberate to dwell ‘off grid’

The decomposed and partially mummified our bodies of three individuals who have been lately discovered at a distant western Colorado campsite have been two grownup sisters and one girl’s 14-year-old son, Gunnison County Coroner Michael Barnes stated.

The deceased are Christine Vance, 41; Rebecca Vance, 42, and Rebecca’s son, all from Colorado Springs. Two have been present in a tent down the highway from a campsite within the Gunnison National Forest about 9 miles (14.5 kilometers) from Ohio City, Colorado, Gunnison County Coroner Michael Barnes stated in an interview Tuesday. Officials haven’t named the son as a result of he’s a minor.

Their our bodies confirmed indicators of malnourishment, with two within the tent and one exterior. Though a reason behind loss of life has but to be decided whereas authorities await toxicology experiences to be processed, the group might have succumbed to hunger, freezing temperatures or carbon monoxide poisoning from making an attempt to make fireplace to remain heat, Barnes stated.

The three possible began tenting in July 2022 and died someday over the winter. Family members advised Barnes that the group launched into a visit final summer time and deliberate to dwell “off the grid.”

After a hiker discovered a physique exterior the tent earlier this month, deputies started investigating the location to determine the our bodies. At the campsite alongside the our bodies have been empty meals cans, books and a restroom space, Barnes stated. It appeared they’d begun to construct a “lean-to” sort shelter however not completed by the point final 12 months’s harsh winter started, he stated.

“I wonder if winter came on quickly and suddenly they were just in survival mode in the tent,” Barnes stated. “They had a lot of literature with them about outdoor survival and foraging and stuff like that. But it looked like they supplied at a grocery store.”