3 decomposed bodies found at a remote Colorado campsite were a family that planned to 'live off the grid': coroner
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- Three decomposed bodies found in the Colorado wilderness were identified as a family.
- Two adult sisters and a teenage boy were trying to "live off the grid" before they died, reports said.
- Their remains were discovered at a remote campsite in Gunnison National Forest.
Three partly mummified bodies that were recently found at a remote campsite in Colorado have been identified as family members who were trying to "live off the grid," a coroner said, according to reports.
The badly decomposed remains of Christine Vance, 41; her sister Rebecca Vance, 42; and Rebecca Vance's 14-year-old son were discovered inside of Gunnison National Forest near the Gold Creek Campground, according to the Associated Press and The Colorado Sun.
Two of the bodies were found inside of a tent in the wilderness, while the other was initially discovered by a hiker outside of the tent earlier this month.
Gunnison County Coroner Michael Barnes told the news outlets that the family likely started camping in July 2022 and probably died sometime last winter.
A family member told the coroner that she believed her relatives were planning to "go live off the grid" before they tragically died, according to The Colorado Sun.
An official cause of death has not yet been determined for the trio, but Barnes told the AP that their bodies exhibited signs of malnourishment.
The Vance sisters and the teenage boy may have starved or died as a result of freezing temperatures, the coroner said.
"It was a significantly harsh winter for us this year, and it always is here," Barnes told The Colorado Sun, adding, "But we did have more snow than we have had in the past couple of winters."
Barnes told the AP that he wondered whether "winter came on quickly and suddenly they were just in survival mode in the tent."
"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," Barnes said, according to the AP.
The coroner said it appeared that the family had started to build what he described as a "lean-to" type of shelter, but that it was not completed by the time winter rolled around.
It is not believed that the family was ever reported missing.