42 votes

Family who went 'off the grid' in Colorado wilderness died of malnutrition, autopsy finds

11 comments

  1. [4]
    Sodliddesu
    Link
    I mean, I know Gunnison but at the point you're watching your teen turn to skin and bones why not just pack it up and head into Teacup? Like, burning tinder in a soup can and you think "yeah, this...

    I mean, I know Gunnison but at the point you're watching your teen turn to skin and bones why not just pack it up and head into Teacup? Like, burning tinder in a soup can and you think "yeah, this is fine." Something clearly broke in that woman and subsequently everyone with her. Sad story all around.

    That said, even in the dead of winter, Gunnison was probably a nice place to go out. Granted, I'd rather go in the spring but, still, beautiful winters up there.

    14 votes
    1. [2]
      chocobean
      Link Parent
      Since you know the area: if it wasn't mule stubbornness but rather they went out in winter with not enough gear and on their first scouting outing they got lost, maybe twisted an ankle, can't go...

      Since you know the area: if it wasn't mule stubbornness but rather they went out in winter with not enough gear and on their first scouting outing they got lost, maybe twisted an ankle, can't go back to the truck, and starved to death. Is it a harsh enough place that they could mummify over just one winter?

      2 votes
      1. Sodliddesu
        Link Parent
        I mean, they didn't release pictures and I'm not going to look for them but the article said "partially mummified" and yeah, at that elevation and with how the winds are, it's pretty easy to be...

        I mean, they didn't release pictures and I'm not going to look for them but the article said "partially mummified" and yeah, at that elevation and with how the winds are, it's pretty easy to be somewhat preserved over a winter.

        The Rockies like to squeeze all the water (snow in the winter) out of the air before it gets to eastern CO, so the roads in that area will frequently just close for the winter. Although there's towns and roads on just about every side of the mountains around there (Hell, Aspen is 50mi northish and there's a small airport to the west) that does mean that there's a mountain in the way, every way you go. It can be disorienting if you don't know how to follow the sun.

        With nobody knowing to look for them, meaning no rescue crews, all it would take is the roads not being clear. That said, I've been in rough scrapes in the woods and just had to hoof it back to civilization. I guess when I think about your standard Colorado crazy I think of the loons who already live off the grid not the Platte Ave City folk who decide it can't be that hard.

        14 votes
    2. Asinine
      Link Parent
      Survival of the fittest...

      Survival of the fittest...

  2. [3]
    vczf
    Link
    Becoming paranoid may explain why they didn't tell anybody where they were going. I suppose there's no point in going off the grid if everybody knows how to find you. I find it hard to believe...

    Jara said she pleaded with her stepsisters to go slow and test out living off the grid on a property, that she and her husband own in the mountains, that uses a generator. But she said Rebecca Vance declined.

    None of them were known to be skilled in the outdoors. The sisters had explained in vague terms to other family members that they were going out of state, Jara said, but wouldn't detail exactly why and where.

    Becoming paranoid may explain why they didn't tell anybody where they were going. I suppose there's no point in going off the grid if everybody knows how to find you.

    I find it hard to believe they wouldn't attempt to return to civilization, once things got so bad. They must have been trapped.

    14 votes
    1. [2]
      chocobean
      Link Parent
      Off grid usually refers to the lifestyle where folks choose to lower their need for wired, automated delivery systems of energy and communication. For example in the mountain home of her step...

      Off grid usually refers to the lifestyle where folks choose to lower their need for wired, automated delivery systems of energy and communication. For example in the mountain home of her step sister where they have a generator instead of wired electricity, that's off grid.

      It doesn't mean falling off the reachable map type of evaporation.

      I agree they probably got lost in the woods. Maybe they started to starve/freeze nearly right away. One year after their mum died last year is no time at all. They even picked a place where they mummified instead of ...being found by animals. That's some extreme level of exposure there.

      That poor boy.

      10 votes
      1. nukeman
        Link Parent
        I have heard “off the grid” being used to refer to being hard/impossible to find through tracking via telecommunications. Usually that does overlap with being in a remote cabin unconnected to...

        I have heard “off the grid” being used to refer to being hard/impossible to find through tracking via telecommunications. Usually that does overlap with being in a remote cabin unconnected to public utilities.

        5 votes
  3. [3]
    CriticalBear
    Link
    I'm struggling with the "died of malnutrition" conclusion. The headline feels click-baity.

    I'm struggling with the "died of malnutrition" conclusion. The headline feels click-baity.

    1. spit-evil-olive-tips
      Link Parent
      if it were prior to the autopsy and speculating on what they might have died from, I would agree about it being clickbait. but this is reporting on the official autopsy findings. I don't think...

      if it were prior to the autopsy and speculating on what they might have died from, I would agree about it being clickbait.

      but this is reporting on the official autopsy findings. I don't think that's clickbait.

      and details like this make it pretty clear:

      The teenager, who was not named publicly because of his age, weighed just 40 pounds, according to the autopsy from the Gunnison County coroner's office, first reported by The Colorado Sun. The average weight of a boy his age is 112 pounds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

      18 votes
    2. boxer_dogs_dance
      Link Parent
      It's always a challenge to know whether or how much to change a headline

      It's always a challenge to know whether or how much to change a headline

      1 vote
  4. pedantzilla
    Link
    Cue Jon Krakauer to write a best-selling book romanticising their idiocy...

    Cue Jon Krakauer to write a best-selling book romanticising their idiocy...