Me, I don’t see it as complex. There’s an alert and articulate witness who saw it all go down and was a victim herself. And there’s LE discovery in the woods, as they have stated. Both apparent perps are still alive. That’s as about as good as it gets as far as clarity in the early days of a case. IMO
While there may be affordable housing issues that caused a group to live on National Forest land, this has been happening more frequently lately for no “need” reason at all. People are watching “survivalist” channels on YouTube, IG, and “survivalist” reality shows and getting the idea they could go live off someone else’s property forever.
IMO there is nothing “survivalist” about any of these channels, ‘cos there’s no survival necessity. These “survivalists” can quit any time they want, they’re not alone (at least one other person has to be there to take the photos) although they claim to be, and they’re doing it to make money. That’s capitalism, not “survival”.
While “leave no trace” is rule of thumb for those of us who want to see pristine landscapes left to our descendants, “survivalists” are predators. They kill animals, build fires (this can change a whole ecosystem, btw), hack down trees, fish endangered species out of their home waters on our national lands, the ones that belong to all of us and the creatures that make their homes there. And are they packing out their trash and fecal matter? Of course not!
On top of all this, Search and Rescue has to go looking for these types and bringing them out when they get injured or lost.
Canada is now prosecuting these types for the damage they cause. Here are 3 cases, one involving a fatality of a wannabe, another “tip of the iceberg” charges. And all of these folks have large followings on SM that bring them $$$$ and glamorize what they’re doing. Consider as you read, the resources it takes to go after, rescue, or recover these “survivalists”.
A self-proclaimed hillbilly guru has agreed to dismantle the remote — and unauthorized — off-grid Yukon log cabin he built, lived in, and boasted about on his
canadatoday.news
Then, of course, there’s the “Into the Wild” obsession, which has caused yet another death this week.
Here’s a good-read story on that topic. Rangers eventually had to remove the bus, because there were so many SAR trips needed. But still they go there…
A 24-year-old woman drowned while attempting to reach the abandoned bus made famous by Christopher McCandless
www.outsideonline.com