US Family Trying To "Live Off The Grid" Found Dead In Forest

Three partially mummified bodies found at a remote campsite in Colorado have been identified as family members who were attempting to live 'off the grid'.

According to The Guardian, the authorities have identified the bodies of sisters Christine Vance, 41, and Rebecca Vance, 42, as well as Rebecca's 14-year-old son.

Michael Barnes, the Gunnison County coroner said that the mummified remains were recovered in and around a tent near a campsite in the Gunnison National Forest about 14.5km from Ohio City, Colorado.

The coroner ruled that they probably died from starvation or exposure during the cold winter. Mr Barnes estimated that the group who began camping last summed may have died over the winter.

In an interview with Washington Post, Rebecca Vance's stepsister Trevala Jara said, "She didn't like the way the world was going, and she thought it would be better if she and her son and Christine were alone, away from everybody."

Mrs Jara also shared that the group had no outdoor survival experience and had watched online videos to learn about how to survive in Colorado's rugged backcountry.

"You can't go on the internet and watch videos on how to live off the grid, and then actually do it, if you have no experience," Mrs Jara told the Colorado Springs Gazette.

"You just can't do that. They died of starvation because they weren't prepared."

The cause of death was not determined.

Their badly decomposed remains were found by a hiker on July 9 at the Gold Creek Campground in the Gunnison National Forest.

Mr Barnes said that the two bodies were found in a tent, while another was found outside, at an elevation of around 9,500 ft.

In early August, the group came to their stepsister's home "to say goodbye".

"We tried to stop them," Mrs Jara told the Gazette. "But they wouldn't listen. Their minds were made up."