The 14-year-old boy was found dead along with his mother and aunt at a remote campground in Colorado. He weighed just 40 pounds before dying of malnutrition and hypothermia, the autopsy results showed.
The mummified remains of Christine Vance, 41, Rebecca ‘Becky’ Vance, 42, and Rebecca’s unnamed son were discovered in the Rocky Mountains, where they had gone off-grid to “escape society.”
The family had tried to prepare for their new life by watching tutorials on YouTube and reading survival guides.
Exposed to several feet of snow, sub-zero chills, and no food, the family perished.
Their bodies were found in July by a hiker who strayed from the trail.
The 14-year-old (left) weighed just 40 pounds when he died along with his mother Rebecca Vance (second from left) and aunt Christine Vance (second from right). Their stepsister Trevala Jara (center) said she begged them not to leave
Trevala Jara says she tried to warn stepsister Christine Vance about the off-the-grid move that killed her, her sister and her teenage son
The family was found this month about 300 yards from a campground in the Gunnison National Forest. They reportedly prepared for life off the grid by watching survival videos on YouTube
The Gunnison County Sheriff’s Office found the bodies of the two women the next day, when they searched the campground and unzipped the tent. All three had been dead for some time.
Empty food containers and survival books were scattered on the floor.
Last summer, Rebecca convinced her sister to leave her life in Colorado Springs behind and move to the wilderness with her and her son — despite having little to no survival skills, their stepsister Trevala Jara said.
“At first Christine didn’t want to go, but she changed her mind. She felt they had a better chance at life if she went with them,’ Jara said. “And she didn’t want our sister and cousin to be alone.”
Jara, 39, said she and her husband begged her stepsisters to abandon their plan, but Becky refused.
The sisters would have felt that the pandemic and politics brought out the worst in humanity.
They weren’t conspiracy theorists, Jara said, but Rebecca Vance “thought now everything changes and everything, this world will end.” … (They) wanted to get away from people and the influences of what people can do to each other.”
Rebecca and Christine Vance told others they were traveling to another state because of a family emergency. They told Jara of their plans, but not where they would camp.
The sisters had been “disheartened by the state of the world” in recent years and left last summer to live permanently off-the-grid in the remote area
The first of the three bodies was reported to authorities when a hiker came across the campground about 20 miles from the town of Gunnison.
They weren’t conspiracy theorists, Jara said, but Rebecca Vance “thought now everything changes and everything, this world will end.” … (They) wanted to get away from people and the influences of what people can do to each other.”
Jara remembers Rebecca Vance as a little reserved, sharp as a whip, and someone who could read a 1,000-page book in a matter of days. Vance’s son was homeschooled and a math talent, Jara said.
Christine Vance was more outgoing, charismatic, and initially wasn’t convinced by the idea of escaping society, Jara said, “but she just changed her mind because she didn’t want our sister and cousin to be alone.”
Rebecca and Christine Vance told others they were traveling to another state because of a family emergency. They told Jara of their plans, but not where they would camp. They watched YouTube videos to prepare for their life in the wilderness, but they were woefully underprepared, Jara said.
Jara said she tried everything, except kidnapping, to stop them from leaving, but nothing worked. Now Jara wants to warn others about the risks of surviving in the wilderness.
“I don’t wish this on anyone,” Jara said. “I can’t wait to get to the point where I’m happy and all I can think about are the memories.”