In August 2022, two sisters and a teenage boy reportedly set out to live "off the grid" in a remote area of Gunnison County, Colorado. Nearly a year after they left family and friends behind to create a new life, the badly decomposed bodies of Christine Vance, 41, Rebecca Vance, 42, and Rebecca’s 14-year-old son were discovered.
The women’s stepsister, Trevala Jara, told the Colorado Springs Gazette that the women had no survival experience and that she begged them not to go. But they allegedly believed that life would be better away from the modern world and took off despite the warnings. Jara never saw them again.
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According to their sister, the women were not avid outdoorspeople.
Jara explained to the Gazette that Rebecca was uncomfortable with the state of the world and was trying to save their sister and her son from what she feared the future held. Jara explained that a few days before they took off from Colorado Springs in August 2022, the sisters visited her home to drop off possessions and to say goodbye to her and her husband, Tommy.
“We tried to stop them,” she said. “But they wouldn’t listen. Their minds were made up.”
Jara pleaded with the women to live on her land to make sure they could survive before taking off.
The concerned sister told the Gazette she and her husband owned property and wanted her sisters to use it first as a trial before taking off forever. She said that although Christine seemed interested, Rebecca, who she called Becky, refused.
“There’s an RV there, and we have a generator, and there’s a general store not far away,” Jara said. “We offered it to them so they could at least practice before going out there on their own.”
The women seemingly didn’t want anyone to find them.
Jara explained that although the women and young teen said goodbye, they would not tell them where they were headed. She told the New York Post that Becky could not be convinced to stay.
“She was standoffish and an introvert, someone who liked to keep to herself,” Jara said. “But when she opened up, you had her heart. She’d do anything for anybody she loved. She loved life.”
Their inexperience seems to have led to their demise.
A hiker found a badly decomposed body near the Gold Creek Campground back in July. Sheriff's deputies began searching the area and found the remaining corpses inside a tent, the Post reported.
According to the Colorado Sun, the Gunnison County coroner’s autopsy report said the trio died from malnutrition and hypothermia. The teenager reportedly weighed just 40 pounds when his body was found.
Their sister said the women believed they were doing the right thing.
The family wore several layers of clothing and cross pendants around their necks, the Sun reported. Christine reportedly had a whistle around her neck. According to the news outlet, the area received several feet of snow last winter.
Jara defended her sister to the Gazette and claimed Becky had the best intentions. “They weren’t crazy. Becky wasn’t crazy,” she said. “She believed she was doing what she needed to do to save her son.”
