Last year, two sisters and one of their teenage sons announced their plan to live off the grid. Sadly, their "partially mummified" remains were recently recovered at a secluded campsite in the Gunnison National Forest. An autopsy revealed that the family died of hypothermia and malnutrition, and the 14-year-old boy, whose name remains private due to his age, was found to weigh only 40 pounds.
From NBC News:
Loved ones said that they were surprised the sisters would choose to forgo modern conveniences, but that Rebecca Vance had grown increasingly fearful of society after the Covid pandemic.
"It's hard to wrap your head around why they chose to go," Trevala Jara, their stepsister, said in July. "It's hard for me."
She said that Rebecca Vance had confided in her that she wanted to live in the wild.
Initially, Christine Vance didn't seem like she was going to accompany her sister but last summer, she arrived at her stepsister's home with an urn of their mother's ashes and their deceased parents' belongings for safekeeping, Jara said.
Jara said she pleaded with her stepsisters to go slow and test out living off the grid on a property, that she and her husband own in the mountains, that uses a generator. But she said Rebecca Vance declined.
None of them were known to be skilled in the outdoors. The sisters had explained in vague terms to other family members that they were going out of state, Jara said, but wouldn't detail exactly why and where.
"If you think you can go live off the grid and do it by just watching YouTube and the internet, think twice," Jara said. "You need to experience it first."
While these deaths are incredibly tragic, this sadly could've been all been avoided had more preparation been in place.
