Three found dead at remote Rocky Mountain campsite were trying to escape society, stepsister says - eviltoast

The stepsister of a Colorado woman who was found dead along with her sister and teenage son at a remote Rocky Mountain campsite says the women fled into the wilderness after struggling to cope with societal changes in recent years, but they were unequipped to survive off the grid.

Exposed to several feet of snow, chills below zero and with no food found at their camp, Christine Vance, Rebecca Vance and Rebecca’s son likely died of malnutrition and hypothermia, according to the autopsies released this week. Authorities haven’t released the boy’s name.

Those reports contained another chilling detail that brought stepsister Trevala Jara to tears: The 14-year-old boy’s body was found with Jara’s favorite, blessed rosary that she gave the group before they left.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Yeah, well fuck them. Except the kid. Fuck them for bringing the kid. You want to escape society, fine. But bring the kid after you’ve figured out how to survive in the wilderness.

    • Nintendo@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      can you even imagine? in these situations the kid would be lucky if it died first. if not, the kid was kept alive by the adults long enough for it to watch the adults die, then the kid had to die alone in the tent while it waited in the cold just for nobody to come and help. poor thing. I’m terrified just writing this out.

      • fkn@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        The only way a small number of people survive alone is by having money and a large group of people to buy things from and have those things brought to them by the large group… Oh wait… That’s not alone… Right right. My bad.

  • Stoneykins [any]@mander.xyz
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    1 year ago

    “Mountain campsite says the women fled into the wilderness after struggling to cope with societal changes in recent years”

    I can relate to this.

    …found with Jara’s favorite, blessed rosary that she gave the group before they left.

    “God was with them,” said Jara

    Oh, no I can’t. Huh.

  • guyrocket@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    I don’t have all the details but this sounds like some very stupid campers.

    I have done a lot of camping and I would be very cautious about camping “remote” in the Rockies. And no way in hell would I even dream About not taking food.

    Sounds like they fucked around with nature and found out.

    It also sounds like that boy was a victim of parental stupidity. I pity him.

    • keeb420@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      yeah unless youre prepared to deal with the amount of snow that falls in the rockies and hunt/gather for food during that time its beyond reckless to try camping in those conditions. i knew someone that moved to alaska to do that with a buddy. they were way more prepared than these people and they came back within a year with their tails between their legs from mother nature kicking their ass.

  • autumn@reddthat.com
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    1 year ago

    Jara said she tried everything short of kidnapping to keep them from leaving, but nothing worked. Now, Jara wants to warn others about the risks of surviving in the wilderness.

    “I do not wish this on anybody at all,” Jara said. “I can’t wait to get to the point where I’m happy and all I can think of is the memories.”

    I feel so bad for the stepsister

    • Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Sometimes family members make stupid decisions. It’s a fucking shame that the family went all in by going to the mountains instead of… I dunno, doing a test run in a tent in the backyard for a week?

  • LemmynySnicket@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    It says it was updated today, but pretty sure this is old news. My concept of time is iffy though, could be weeks old story updated, could be months old story.

  • popemichael@lemmy.sdf.org
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    1 year ago

    I am tempted to do this as I have the training.

    I also have type 1, which cuts my chances of doing it significantly.

    I can make my own insulin, but that means boiling a lot of pancreas that are not mine. Turning me into a vampire like creature for others pancreatic juices…

    • fkn@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Technically didn’t that already make you a vampire… Just one that lives in a society where you pay money to a good of people to find and boil those pancreas for you?

      • Rev3rze@lemdit.com
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        1 year ago

        Nah, insulin is produced by bacteria that have been edited to contain the genes to create insulin. No pancreas is harmed to make it.

      • popemichael@lemmy.sdf.org
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        1 year ago

        I have a small amateur lab at home, yep.

        Its really easy to make once you know how. Though it takes a lot of prep and animal pancreas.

        I’d rather use pharma insulin though. I only learned for SHTF reasons.

  • CeruleanRuin@lemmings.world
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    1 year ago

    There are certainly easier and less unpleasant ways to end your life. I always feel bad for the kid in these situations. He didn’t choose to have guardians so incompetent at life they couldn’t look after him.

  • gregorum@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Someone told them they were too stupid to live, and they said “hold my cheese whiz”