In July 2023, the bodies of Christine Vance, 41, Rebecca Vance, 42, and Rebecca’s 14-year-old son were found near the Gold Creek Campground in Ohio City, Colorado. The trio was originally reported missing in October 2022. They had informed their extended family they intended to live in the wilderness.
By the time the bodies were discovered, they were severely decomposed. The Gunnison County Coroner’s office performed autopsies on the bodies and determined the cause of death to be malnutrition and hypothermia.
According to the Gunnison County coroner Michael Barnes, the trio lived in a tent. They only ate canned food. They were reportedly attempting to live off the grid.
The unnamed teen was just 40 pounds at the time of his death. His body was found with a rosary, which was given to him by his stepsister Trevala Jara. She is devastated by this loss.
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“I do not wish this on anybody at all,” Trevala stated. “I can’t wait to get to the point where I’m happy and all I can think of is the memories.”
Rebecca was the one who wanted to distance herself from society. She was anxious about the current state of the world after the COVID-19 pandemic. She worried how divided the nation was becoming politically. Christine was skeptical about the venture and only went with them “because she thought that if she was with them, they had a better chance of surviving.”
“We tried to stop them. But they wouldn’t listen,” Trevala recalled. “Their minds were made up.”
The bodies were found by hikers in July. Two of the bodies were inside the tent and one was a little way outside the camp. The bodies were mummified when discovered.
Trevala wants the world to know Rebecca thought she was doing the right thing. “They weren’t crazy. Becky wasn’t crazy,” Trevala stressed. “She believed she was doing what she needed to do to save her son.”
