The Rocky Mountains during a LightHawk flight near Keystone, Colorado, US, on Wednesday, July 12, 2023. The Colorado River Basin stretches through seven states - Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico - and is a vital source of water and electricity for the American West. Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images
<p>Last summer, a Colorado Springs <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/shanquella-robinsons-family-speaks-out/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">family of three</a> decided to live &#8220;off the grid&#8221; in the<strong> Rocky Mountains</strong>. One year later, authorities recovered their &#8221; decomposed and partially mummified&#8221; bodies. Now, their relative is warning people about the importance of education and experience before taking on that lifestyle.</p>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">RELATED: <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/grandmother-dies-after-bbl-surgery-doctor-fined-10k/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Grandmother Of 11 Dies After Undergoing BBL Surgery, Doctor Is Fined $10K</a></h5>
<p>A hiker discovered the bodies of <strong>Rebecca Vance</strong>, 42, her 14-year-old son, and her sister<strong> Christine Vance</strong>, 41, on a campsite on July 9. According to <em>The</em> <em>Washington Post</em>,<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/07/26/colorado-family-live-off-grid-dead/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> the discovery included</a> one body lying in front of a tent while the other two lay inside it.</p>
<p>Coroner Michael Barnes of Gunnison County identified the bodies on Tuesday (Jul. 25). Their cause of death is still being determined&#8211;awaiting toxicology reports. However, Barnes speculated in an interview that the trio might&#8217;ve <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/partially-mummified-bodies-found-colorado-campsite-members-family-tryi-rcna96369" target="_blank" rel="noopener">died from starvation</a>, malnutrition, freezing temperatures, or carbon monoxide poisoning from trying to make a fire, per <em>NBC News</em>.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Stepsister Seemingly Suggests Family Was Ill-Prepared For &#8220;Off The Grid&#8221; Lifestyle</h3>
<p><strong>Trevala Jara,</strong> a stepsister to the Vance sisters, spoke to <em>The Washington Post</em> about her family&#8217;s lifestyle decision. She said she was aware of their desired change.</p>
<p>However, she says <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/tammy-slaton-husband-caleb-willingham-dead/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the stepsisters</a> and her nephew were not upfront about their Rocky Mountains location with any family. And despite Jara&#8217;s alleged attempts to stop the family of three, &#8220;they wouldn&#8217;t listen,&#8221; she said.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;[Rebecca] didn&#8217;t like the way the world was going, and she thought it would be better if her and her son and Christine were alone, away from everybody,&#8221; said. &#8220;She didn&#8217;t want influences of the world to get to them. she really thought she was protecting her family.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Jara claims Christine did not plan to join her sister and nephew in their lifestyle change. However, she allegedly believed they&#8217;d have a better chance of survival with her there. Jara says Christine &#8220;didn&#8217;t want them to be alone.&#8221;</p>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">RELATED: <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/apple-watch-automatically-calls-911-after-two-hikers-fall-off-a-cliff/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Apple Watch Automatically Calls 911 After Two Hikers Fall Off A Cliff</a></h5>
<p>In her interview with <em>The Washington Post</em>, Jara seemingly insisted the family was not prepared for the sudden switch. She claims the last time her stepsisters had been camping was &#8220;when [we] were kids.&#8221;</p>
<p>In an effort to help prepare them, Jara says she offered an RV and a generator for practice and had a friend with a similar &#8220;off the grid&#8221; lifestyle give them survival tips.</p>
<p>But her stepsisters decided to rely on their own limited preparation, including online research and watching YouTube <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/russell-simmons-kimora-lee-daughter-aoki-videos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">videos about the lifestyle</a>. Before they headed up the Rocky Mountains, Christine gave Trevala Jara their parent&#8217;s possessions, including her mother&#8217;s urn.</p>
<p>Despite the family promising to call if trouble hit, Jara didn&#8217;t hear from Rebecca, Christine, or the teen again.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Local Sheriff Says It&#8217;s &#8220;Rare&#8221; For People To Die In That Rocky Mountains Area</h3>
<p>Coroner Barnes revealed the family has &#8220;a lot of literate with them about outdoor survival and foraging,&#8221; but findings at the scene suggested they &#8220;supplied at a grocery store.&#8221; Authorities reportedly believe <a href="https://gazette.com/news/3-dead-at-gunnison-county-campsite-are-from-colorado-springs-coroner/article_f3dc70ea-2a9b-11ee-8e0a-374a4ddcef42.html#tncms-source=infinity-scroll-summary-siderail-next" target="_blank" rel="noopener">they survived</a> on &#8220;canned food, soup, and prepackaged items, per the <em>Colorado Springs Gazette</em>. Investigators found a single package of ramen at the campsite, per Barnes.</p>
<p>The family of three settled about 30 miles northeast of Gunnison near Gold Creek Campground. According to Sheriff Adam Murdie of Gunnison County, it&#8217;s not uncommon for people to camp where the Vance family had. However, he clarified that it&#8217;s &#8220;rare&#8221; for them to die there, per <em>The New York Times</em>.</p>
<p>Gunnison County Sheriff&#8217;s Office believes the Vances passed away during the winter&#8211;which was &#8220;significantly harsh,&#8221; per Barnes.</p>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">RELATED: <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/arkansas-man-jailed-finger-gun-malnutrition-family-lawsuit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arkansas Man Jailed Over Finger Gun Gesture Dies In Custody From Malnutrition, Family Files Lawsuit</a></h5>
 <div class="wpra-reactions-wrap wpra-plugin-container" style="justify-content: center;;"> <div class="wpra-reactions-container" data-ver="1.3.10" data-post_id="134027" data-show_count="true" data-enable_share="onclick" data-behavior="regular" data-animation="true" data-share_url="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/family-dead-live-off-the-grid-rocky-mountains/" data-secure="6042cd2d6f"> <div class="wpra-call-to-action" style="color: #000000;font-size: 25px;font-weight: 600;">What Do You Think Roomies?</div> <div class="wpra-reactions wpra-static-emojis size-medium" style="border-color: #ffffff;border-width: 0px;border-radius: 50px;border-style: solid;background: #ffffff;">					<div class="emoji-8 wpra-reaction wpra-pad-fix" data-count="" data-emoji_id="8"> <div class="wpra-plus-one">+1</div>	 <div style="background-color: #ff0015" class="wpra-arrow-badge arrow-bottom-left hide-count"> <span style="border-top-color: #ff0015" class="tail"></span> <span style="color: #ffffff" class="count-num">0</span> </div>	</div><div class="emoji-10 wpra-reaction wpra-pad-fix" data-count="" data-emoji_id="10"> <div class="wpra-plus-one">+1</div>	 <div style="background-color: #ff0015" class="wpra-arrow-badge arrow-bottom-left hide-count"> <span style="border-top-color: #ff0015" class="tail"></span> <span style="color: #ffffff" class="count-num">0</span> </div>	</div><div class="emoji-4 wpra-reaction" data-count="" data-emoji_id="4"> <div class="wpra-plus-one">+1</div>	 <div style="background-color: #ff0015" class="wpra-arrow-badge arrow-bottom-left hide-count"> <span style="border-top-color: #ff0015" class="tail"></span> <span style="color: #ffffff" class="count-num">0</span> </div>	</div><div class="emoji-5 wpra-reaction" data-count="" data-emoji_id="5"> <div class="wpra-plus-one">+1</div>	 <div style="background-color: #ff0015" class="wpra-arrow-badge arrow-bottom-left hide-count"> <span style="border-top-color: #ff0015" class="tail"></span> <span style="color: #ffffff" class="count-num">0</span> </div>	</div><div class="emoji-2 wpra-reaction" data-count="" data-emoji_id="2"> <div class="wpra-plus-one">+1</div>	 <div style="background-color: #ff0015" class="wpra-arrow-badge arrow-bottom-left hide-count"> <span style="border-top-color: #ff0015" class="tail"></span> <span style="color: #ffffff" class="count-num">0</span> </div>	</div><div class="emoji-7 wpra-reaction" data-count="" data-emoji_id="7"> <div class="wpra-plus-one">+1</div>	 <div style="background-color: #ff0015" class="wpra-arrow-badge arrow-bottom-left hide-count"> <span style="border-top-color: #ff0015" class="tail"></span> <span style="color: #ffffff" class="count-num">0</span> </div>	</div><div class="emoji-12 wpra-reaction" data-count="" data-emoji_id="12"> <div class="wpra-plus-one">+1</div>	 <div style="background-color: #ff0015" class="wpra-arrow-badge arrow-bottom-left hide-count"> <span style="border-top-color: #ff0015" class="tail"></span> <span style="color: #ffffff" class="count-num">0</span> </div>	</div> </div> <div class="wpra-share-wrap wpra-share-buttons-bordered" style="">				 </div> <!-- end of share buttons -->			 </div> <!-- end of reactions container --> </div> <!-- end of reactions wrap -->		
