A family moved to the Colorado wilderness to escape the stress of modern life. Life ‘off the grid’ likely killed them

Coroner suggests the three could have died from the harsh winter conditions or from malnourishment

The 14-year-old son, Rebecca Vance, Trevala Jara, Christine Vance and Ms Jara’s husband, days before the trio left for the Colorado wilderness (Trevala Jara)

Colorado Springs resident Rebecca Vance wanted a simpler life, away from modern stressors.

Her decision to move last summer to a remote Colorado campsite, along with her sister Christine and teenage son, turned deadly.

“She went for good intentions,” Trevala Jara, Rebecca Vance’s stepsister told the New York Times. “She thought she was protecting her son and our sister, Christine, because she didn’t want them to get wrapped up in what the world was coming to in her eyes.” The Covid-19 pandemic amplified her underlying uneasiness, Ms Jara said.

“I’m going to worry about you,” Ms Jara said to her stepsister, trying to discourage her from going, but Ms Vance had already made up her mind. She responded, “I’m going to live off the land.”

Growing up, Ms Jara recalled that her stepsister had always preferred to be alone. And then last July, she decided to distance herself – and her son – from partisan politics, the neverending news cycle, and the virulent viruses plaguing America.

Christine Vance initially resisted joining the mother and son but ended up going “because she thought that if she was with them, they had a better chance of surviving,” Ms Jara told the Times.

They told Ms Jara only that they were going “off the grid,” but did not disclose the exact location.

Yet Rebecca Vance’s decision to go off the grid ended up attracting more attention than she may have expected. The story of three “heavily decomposed” bodies that were found – and the mystery surrounding what had happened to them – gripped the nation.

On 9 July, a hiker noticed a body at a remote Rocky Mountain campsite and notified the police, who found two other bodies the next day. The condition of the bodies? “Fairly mummified,” the sheriff said.

It wasn’t until Tuesday, though, that the Gunnison County coroner identified the bodies as belonging to Rebecca Vance, 42, her 14-year-old son and her sister, Christine Vance, 41.

The mystery surrounding the unusual deaths has mostly come to a close, but still, questions surrounding the exact cause of death linger. It seems that the decision to live off the grid proved fateful.

Michael Barnes, the coroner, proposed that their deaths were likely caused by either the harsh winter conditions or malnourishment. He told the publication that the sisters had been “discouraged with the state of the world” recently and had left last July to permanently live in a tent near Gold Creek Campground – just an hour’s drive from Gunnison, Colorado.

The coroner thought the family passed away in the winter. Not only was a lean-to built from logs over a fire pit found earlier this month, suggesting they were using it for warmth, but Mr Barnes said they would relieve themselves near a tree, which was only a few feet from their tent. He explained that the evidence suggests they were “cold and not wanting to venture far from the tent…Otherwise you’d probably do that elsewhere.”

Mr Barnes said malnourishment also could have led to their deaths, as their bodies were emaciated, and explained that the trio had been surviving on soup and other prepackaged items.

Ms Jara told the outlet that both Rebecca and Christine Vance had “a heart of gold.” She added a word of caution to those who may also be inclined to try living off the grid: “I know this world is scary…But don’t let that fear, that doubt, all of that take over.”