DENVER (AP) — 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 her 14-year-old son likely died of malnutrition and hypothermia. Authorities haven't released the boy's name, but according to the coroner, he was 40 pounds when he died.
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.
