Identified! CO - Gunnison Nat’l Forest, 3 Decomposed Bodies, long term camping near Gold Creek Campground, July 2023 - Rebecca & Christine Vance & Boy, 14

[MrsWatson]

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/12/us/colorado-gunnison-national-forest-camp-site-three-deaths/index.html

A hiker found the first body Sunday in a remote area of the Gunnison National Forest, near Gold Creek Campground, Ashe said. The forest is roughly 100 miles west of Colorado Springs.

When deputies responded to the location Monday morning, they found two other bodies that had likely been there for a “substantial period of time,” based on their conditions, Ashe said.


The three individuals may have died of malnutrition or exposure to the elements, Gunnison County Coroner Michael Barnes told CNN.

 

[iamnotagolem]

Thanks for starting this thread, I’ve been looking for possible missing persons that could line up with this but haven’t had any success. Hopefully they can be identified quickly.

 

[MrsWatson]

Thanks for starting this thread, I’ve been looking for possible missing persons that could line up with this but haven’t had any success. Hopefully they can be identified quickly.

Hopefully, they had some personal stuff with them, like maybe IDs? From what the under sheriff said, it looked like they'd been planning on living there for an extended period.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/12/us/colorado-gunnison-national-forest-camp-site-three-deaths/index.html

A hiker found the first body Sunday in a remote area of the Gunnison National Forest, near Gold Creek Campground, Ashe said. The forest is roughly 100 miles west of Colorado Springs.

When deputies responded to the location Monday morning, they found two other bodies that had likely been there for a “substantial period of time,” based on their conditions, Ashe said.


The three individuals may have died of malnutrition or exposure to the elements, Gunnison County Coroner Michael Barnes told CNN.

a bit fluky point of the article. They do not make specific mention of the first body "being there for a substntial period of time". But then again, July of 2022, doesn't seem to be a substantial amount of time, as they referenced that date in the article. Something must be giving them that date.

 

[Lewie]

Long term camping in that area doesn’t make sense to me, at least not longer than a few (summer) months. If these people were unhoused, I imagine they’d head to lower ground in late August/early September. Two possibilities come to mind: 1) a survivalist challenge of sorts or 2) they intended to return at the end of the summer, but one of them became ill/injured and they decided to wait it out. It seems like someone would’ve reported them missing by now if #2 were the case.

 

[iamnotagolem]

a bit fluky point of the article. They do not make specific mention of the first body "being there for a substntial period of time". But then again, July of 2022, doesn't seem to be a substantial amount of time, as they referenced that date in the article. Something must be giving them that date.

I hadn’t seen July referenced before only that they were there probably since fall. I agree there must be something to indicate a July arrival.

I am starting to think maybe it was a young family, husband, wife and child?

The starve or froze to death seems odd only because you’d think if they froze to death the three would be together but if the two in the tent were near death and the one outside the tent went for help, then succumbed I’d think starvation but that seems like it’d be more obvious. Maybe they’re all wearing a lot of clothes and that’s why they’re leaving freezing as an option.

 

[RedHaus]

I am also happy this thread was started, because at face value, this situation seems quite odd. I was not aware of the July 2022 mention so thank you for that tidbit. Anyone know how far from the tent the 'first person' was found? The Colorado foothills and mountains are well known for homeless folk to reside during the summer, coming down to cities in winter.

My first assumption is they had been there for the summer and had intended to go to lower elevations in the fall. But perhaps they were caught out by unexpected early frigid temperatures with a deep snow fall and got stuck. Perhaps the 'first person', in a last effort of desperation, had left the tent for help, only to succumb to the elements.

There are of course many other possible scenarios. So until we know more, I suppose there is not much more to consider. It sure would be a nice path to closure for some families if these indeed were missing persons. But if not reported missing, then what does that mean about these folks. Perhaps they were simply under the radar and wanted it that way. I have even wondered if there were any fugitives on the run, or prison escapees that might have ended up hiding there.

I may look into historical weather patterns in that area to see if there were any unusally brutal conditions in early fall. And I may poke around any MSM / LE coverage of escapees or people wanted in that part of the country.

 

[vls12345]

Three heavily decomposed bodies are found in Rocky Mountains camp

The condition of three bodies found at the campsite about 20 miles from the small town of Gunnison indicated they had likely been there through winter and potentially since last fall.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[DS2021]

Three heavily decomposed bodies are found in Rocky Mountains camp

The condition of three bodies found at the campsite about 20 miles from the small town of Gunnison indicated they had likely been there through winter and potentially since last fall.

www.dailymail.co.uk

All 3 were in a zipped up tent.

 

[RedHaus]

All 3 were in a zipped up tent.

Good old DM... the title conflicts with the body of the article. In the article you cited I read this: "Two of the bodies were inside a small, zipped-up tent and the other was outside in the camp, which was in a remote wooded area where hikers typically wouldn't pass by, Gunnison County Sheriff Adam Murdie told the Associated Press."

p.s. Thank you @vls12345 for posting this article, even with the incorrect title.

 

[JimInOrlando]

With no signs of foul play, remote campsite, and long term camping as the clues, my guess would be that they tried to pick some mushrooms to augment their food supplies, and ended up with poisonous ones. Unless you know what you are doing, some wild mushrooms can kill you by causing severe damage to your liver. This may have hit them so suddenly that they didn't have time to seek help.

 

[airportwoman]

Mushroom poisoning can take hours or even days to exhibit symptoms. Hemlock can, however, kill in a few minutes.

I just hope they're able to figure out who these people were, and how and why they ended up there.

 

[atomicsciencegal]

The only missing three from around the area I can think of are the three missing LDS boys from American Forks UT.

 

[RedHaus]

The only missing three from around the area I can think of are the three missing LDS boys from American Forks UT.

Interesting. For the good of the order, here are some details regarding this case, thank you @atomicsciencegal.

As well, here is a Google Map calculation of the distance from American Forks, UT to Gunnison, CO - 376 miles. But late October is a rough time to be trying to camp out in the wildnerness at those altitudes. On their way to Colorado Springs?

 

[Magnum P.E.]

Another head scratcher. Perhaps they were caught in extreme cold or ran out of food and one died first. The others put him outside and returned to the tent where they later died.
Just looking for a scenario that satisfies the known facts while not falling into the realm of a TV crime movie.
I doubt there was identification on them or LE wouldn’t have specifically been described as “working to identify“them, just withheld names until family was notified.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

the three missing LDS boys from American Forks UT.

I can't find a thread here for three missing LDS boys. If there is one, could someone please post the link?

How sad - both cases.

 

[RedHaus]

Another head scratcher. Perhaps they were caught in extreme cold or ran out of food and one died first. The others put him outside and returned to the tent where they later died.
Just looking for a scenario that satisfies the known facts while not falling into the realm of a TV crime movie.
I doubt there was identification on them or LE wouldn’t have specifically been described as “working to identify“them, just withheld names until family was notified.

Good points. And I hate to say this, but youth under 16 (before driving permits, etc.) are less likely to have ID on them.

 

[Magnum P.E.]

Good points. And I hate to say this, but youth under 16 (before driving permits, etc.) are less likely to have ID on them.

Yep. And also more likely to do something foolish.
Something no one has asked is “How did they get there”. No vehicle was reported so I wonder. Someone dropped them off? It looks like quite a hike from the nearest town with equipment, provisions and all.
Another thought, it is possible to asphyxiate in a tent if you use a stove to stay warm. There is at least one other case on Websleuths where that probably happened. No evidence of that in this case, not that I have read anyway.

 

[RedHaus]

Yep. And also more likely to do something foolish.
Something no one has asked is “How did they get there”. No vehicle was reported so I wonder. Someone dropped them off? It looks like quite a hike from the nearest town with equipment, provisions and all.
Another thought, it is possible to asphyxiate in a tent if you use a stove to stay warm. There is at least one other case on Websleuths where that probably happened. No evidence of that in this case, not that I have read anyway.

It sure is possible. CO poisoning from using a portable stove in a closed tent ( without venting from the top) is not uncommon... akin to using a generator inside a garage during a power outage.

Here is some info on this camping risk:

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Tents—A Review

This review discusses the overlooked problem of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning within small tents. It summarizes previous case reports, reviews the toxicity of CO, and attempts to draw conclusions from experimental work. Finally, practical recommendations are developed on avoiding CO poisoning...

www.wemjournal.org

 

[Magnum P.E.]

It sure is possible. CO poisoning from using a portable stove in a closed tent ( without venting from the top) is not uncommon... akin to using a generator inside a garage during a power outage.

Here is some info on this camping risk:

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Tents—A Review

This review discusses the overlooked problem of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning within small tents. It summarizes previous case reports, reviews the toxicity of CO, and attempts to draw conclusions from experimental work. Finally, practical recommendations are developed on avoiding CO poisoning...

www.wemjournal.org

Yep, sure is possible. But they’d have found a stove with the remains I would think. OTOH, they don’t tell us everything.....