Hiker made chilling discovery after finding abandoned campsite in the middle of nowhere

A hiker wandering around an abandoned campsite sounds like the opening of a horror film.

It’s creepy, it’s eerie, you’re prepping yourself for a scare at any minute.

But it was a real-life horror for this person hiking in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains back in July.

Taking in the nature of the popular area, the hiker had stumbled upon an abandoned camp site near by the rather remote Gold Creek Campsite.

And here they made a chilling discovery.

The hiker found a severely decomposed body, quickly calling the Gunnison County Sheriff’s Office to report it. Yes, a dead human body.

And when investigators went down the next morning, they found two more heavily decomposed bodies.

The three bodies were found to be ‘fairly mummified’.

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Gunnison County Coroner Michael Barnes told the Associated Press (AP) that one body was found outside a tent with two more zipped inside.

Gunnison County Undersherrif Josh Ashe told CNN at the time that the bodies had likely been there for a ‘substantial period of time’.

Barnes also said: “At this point it appears that these three individuals began long-term camping at the location near Gold Creek Campground in (approximately) mid-late July last Summer 2022 and attempted to stay through the winter.”

He also added that evidence found at the campsite indicated the three may have planned to live there permanently.

It was later confirmed that the bodies were of two adult sisters and a teenage boy.

The Gunnison County Coroners Office identified them as Christine Vance, 41, Rebecca Vance, 42, and Rebecca’s 14-year-old son.

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According to Ashe, there were no signs to indicate the deaths were a result of foul play.

Barnes told the Colorado Sun he believed that potentially malnutrition and ‘exposure to the elements’ through a harsh winter last year likely contributed to their deaths.

But the coroner did not say when he believed the three could have died.

Barnes added to the AP: “I wonder if winter came on quickly and suddenly, they were just in survival mode in the tent.

“They had a lot of literature with them about outdoor survival and foraging and stuff like that. But it looked like they supplied at a grocery store.”

I mean, it’s probably not the type of scene you hope to stumble upon whilst out for a hike in the fresh air.

Topics: US News

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_