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Extremely tragic that the 14 year old was dragged into this.

There's a reason indigenous people and people living sustainably in rural areass of Arica, South America etc virtually *never* do so in isolated couples or small family groups. Its because it is brutally hard work, even on the most productive land. Humans need cooperative, multi-family communities to make it long term.

Please stop doing ads for Better Help. They have scammed and hurt their users and steal their data.

This was a sad one. I feel for the kid big time. What a horrible way to go.

How can you expect to survive off grid if you don't have any kind of permanent structure to use for shelter? This was an "accident" waiting to happen.

Dont let situations like this occur with children ppl. If someone is being sketchy, as these women were, and there is a child involved, report it to someone. Even if a child is with their parent it doesnt make it ok for them to disappear. Especially if their parent is the kind to think the world is ending to the extent they should flee the grid. All the ppl who witnessed the decline of these women, and just let then wander off with that boy smh.

I live in a big bell tent for 3,5 years now, with solar energy, wood stove & petroleum stove, running water just next to my tent and a new bell tent every 18 months (they deteriorate) and all the comforts just next door. Even then it is a challenge in winter! I live in Europe, with a very moderate climate, so no snow storms, extreme cold and long freezing periods. I absolute love my lifestyle, but what that family did was absolute insane and so ill prepared it could only be a death sentence. So sad for the adults, but for the boy...they abused and hurt an innocent boy to death. Thats criminal.

Why didn't the Forest Service report the abandoned car to the police? An abandoned car in a remote area like that that's sat for 2 months should have had them concerned about a possible missing person. Hmmm 🤔

They got sick. There are many bacterial infections that will cause "hypovolimic shock." In a 6 hour time span, you will lose all the water from your body. It's super fast. You must have fluid in your body. If you don't, your heart can't pump, your kidneys can't function, your blood pressure goes down to the 40 range, and you die. It would explain mummified bodies. It would be very unusual for this to be food born illness. It comes from water, or an unknown virus, which is not bacteria. I almost died from it. Living in San Jose, California. Not camping, or living off grid. I just got sick one evening. Vomiting at first, but by 2am I was crawling to the bathroom for the 6th time, with clear water coming out of my butt. I was being mummified while alive. I crawled to the phone and got to emergency room. They stuffed 3 IV bags into me in 5 hours. My blood volume was was gone. I had very little pressure for my organs to function. They thought it was virus? Arsenic poisoning does exactly this. Anyway, it was never determined. There are areas in the Tahoe area off of Highway 50 where you can't use the water in winter. Not even to brush your teeth. You can't use the water.

Their mistake was thinking they were living off grid. All they were doing is camping off the grid.

The fact feces was found around the place is an indication they were very ill. The fact only a small tent was there looks like they didnt mean to stay the winter. Its so sad - especially the 14yr old. 😢

I really appreciate your old school vibe and how you take us way beyond the headlines. This is how real media used to be.

Reminds me a lot of Christopher McCandless’ story. Shame how many people overestimate their own ability while underestimating what it takes to survive outside of typical society.

I can see the appeal of living off-grid - but in a building or houseboat, with solar panels and/or wind turbine, and a reliable source of food and clean water. But life as a permanent camping vacation? This family's inadequate supplies and equipment, and the chaos of their campsite, screams 'mental illness' to me.

Paranoia is an underrated and very dangerous mental disorder. Anyone feeling this way should seek help and I say that with kindness. Living with paranoia is not a healthy or happy way to live. It can destroy your life and in this case lead to death. So sad.

If it's accurate that the boy died first and was moved out of the tent, I could also imagine the women committing themselves to exile. If they did plan to return at any point, how do you go back to your waiting family after that? How do you get back in your car, drive to your waiting loved ones, and tell them their beloved 14 year old son/brother/sibling/nephew/friend died in the woods and he's either left out there, or in the boot of the car? If it were me, I don't know if I could do that. So if he did die first, their plans (if they had any) might have drastically changed.

I don’t want to speak ill of the dead, however the lack of education and basic bushcraft skills in these women is frightening. It was as if they had never even camped before in their lives. The biggest issue was not notifying a friend are family to where they were located. Also, I can’t get past the fact that they didn’t trust the government and wanted to “off grid”, so they set up camp on GOVERNMENT land? The most devastating part of this case is the loss of the innocent child. This was child abuse and neglect. He trusted the adults in his life to care for him and keep him safe. Instead he froze and starved to death. The final days of his life were probably horrifying. Then his Mother and his Aunt drug his body out of the tent and left him outside alone. ALONE.

Mental disorder is devastating in isolation. That poor child - 14 years old. Child abuse. I have a 14 year old son. This is grievous and inspires pure, incandescent rage in my soul. No one knew they were planning to do this? That they were not capable or equipped mentally, physically or emotionally?? It’s obvious just looking at the photos of the adult women they were nowhere near fit enough or had any idea what it would entail to survive like this. They don’t even appear to be weekend warriors hiking as a pastime or even RV glamping. Yet, they expected to survive the winter in a tent in remote wilderness without adequate supplies??? They just disappeared without ANYONE knowing or checking on them or calling a welfare check in dead of winter? How could they possibly think they could survive this way?

Yeah, I live up in the Rockies and them picking Gunnison just really blows my mind precisely because it is known to be very snowy, very low temperatures, and harsh. I have to think they're original plan was to get something started and then leave, but they drank contaminated water and were suddenly too weak to do very much. What really surprises me though, is that the Park Service towed the car without trying to make sure that no one was still camping in the area? I don't want to assume they didn't look, but do we know if they did? Just wondering about what efforts were made on their part to find the owner of the car via VIN or license plate? Anyway, great video and thanks for making it!

That the park rangers apparently didn’t contact the police (or if they did, that the police didn’t listen) when no one retrieved the car they towed after a week or two is insane. That really was a death sentence.

I live in Colorado. I have been to Gunnison and have a family member who attended Western University. Gunnison is known for ridiculously cold winters and getting snow fall that is absolutely absurd. But the summers are lovely as it sits in valley at a lower elevation than the mountains that surround it. It's unfortunate about this family and horribly sad. I've felt how cold it is up there and seen the snow. It's no joke.

How can anyone believe you can live in a tent in winter climate without experience and proper gear? Doing something like this in a remote place would be tough even with the proper preparation and gear, living like this even in summer with this little stuff would be risky. It must have been a real nightmare.

I forgot about that family. My mom lives in Colorado Springs and I live just north of Santa Fe, NM. While I have gone camping off and on for most of my life, and I have recently been watching bushcrafting videos, I know that as a 57 year old woman with diabetes that it's not something I could do, especially during the winter time. You're right that they were ill prepared for their new life, and it's a sad tragedy for their loved ones. Thanks for giving us the information.

This is bugging me. I'm thinking they didn't even make it to winter. Mountains can easily be in the 20's at night in the summer. The placement of everything seemed like they hadn't been fighting deep snow/drifts. The clothing certainly seemed more cold summer than winter. It wasn't even great for that. Not sure how the tent stayed up. I'm a little confused that animals didn't scatter them. I REALLY THINK the authorities need to run plates on all towed vehicles and follow up with families. It could have been stolen or indicated lost hikers.

This kid was starved to death. This was not just an 'accident', this was a CRIME.

I hate ads that show water in the mountains and say something like 'pure as a mountain stream.' They're anything but. I got seriously ill once in Colorado after drinking from a stream while on a hike. Luckily I was staying in a town and could get to medical care. I can't imagine what these folks were going through out there with no way out. So terrible.

Can’t fathom taking a child into a situation like that.

Towing the car without even considering that someone could be out there injured or missing? that seems very negligent.

I bet they thought they could hunt and grow their food and make a nice shelter. Then they realized it was hard. They didn’t clean their water and they got sick. No car with chronic diarrhea equals dehydration, add hypothermia and dead.

Well, I may, or may not share their distrust of the powers that be, but this was just crazy. It's takes training, experience, and a lot of good gear to survive long term in the wild, especially during winter. You need proper clothing, a good quality cold weather tent, and a good source of food for everyone present. That tent looked like cheap crap that came from Walmart. They make great insulated tents that are made for wood burning furnaces and extreme temperatures. You also need good sleeping bags that are rated for the temperatures your going to be in. Also being a gardener myself, it's not just as simple as digging a hole, throwing in seeds, and a few days later you got delicious veggies. You've got to have proper soil, you've got to take care of the seedlings once they start growing with water and fertilizer and so much more. Theirs no guarantee that vegetables would even grow in that area. This is a tragedy that was completely avoidable and just sad.

You would think that if the forest service seen a abandoned car sitting in the same place for 2 months they would find it suspicious and would alert the authorities. I would have had concerns about the situation

Thanks for another well-researced video! If paranoia played a role in their decision to live off-grid, I can imagine them leaving their phones behind intentionally. That could also explain why they hid the details of their plan, even from family members. This is such a sad, cautionary story. I appreciate you taking a respectful look at it.

So they arrived in August when that area is stunningly beautiful and may have decided, lets live here. They had lived in Colorado Springs not too far away but the springs gets a lot less snow than the mountains do. So they decided to try out living there in August. The Forest Service kindly let the car stay there either hoping someone would come back for it or having tried to contact the registered owner but got no response of course. Also no missing persons report was filed so at that point it just looks like an abandoned car. They probably did check the trails nearby but found no evidence of hikers in distress. So no reason to look any further. The camp they made was at 10,000 feet of altitude which requires 2-3 liters of water per day per person. That's a lot of water to carry to and fro and filter especially at that altitude. They may have gotten impatient and drank some of the water right out of the creek or stream exposing them to infection. Then there's altitude sickness. Added to dragging yourself out of your tent to go to the bathroom due to stomach sickness and you have a real exhaustion situation, even if you do have enough food, which they didn't. Ironically they were surrounded by pine trees whose bark can be boiled to make a medicinal tea that could have helped them get over the stomach sickness, as long as they didn't continue to drink the unfiltered water. Seems like all 3 were sick at the same time so all were at reduced capacity and just slowly slipped away. Very sad.

They sold all their possessions and couldnt buy better equipment and more food? Like wtf?

I live on a very popular lake. Last year a family from Chicago were vacationing and rented a pontoon boat. They left the dock and hadnt been out for five minutes when one of the older male passengers decided to jump off the boat and into a lake that is 150 ft deep. They recovered his body the next morning. His family said he didnt know how to swim. He thought the water looked safe. People do dumb things and you sometimes just have to scratch your head.

We go camping a lot and that lean-to is exactly the type of thing my kids would build. I can picture the 14 year old building that to have his own space and privacy and keep himself occupied, all full of gung ho to begin with. Only to have something go terribly wrong. So sad.

What an incredibly sad video. I wish there was an emergency phone at least near the car area to call for help. RIP to all three people.

25:10 They probably didn't take any cell phones. If the reason for moving off the grid was due to paranoia of government, then a trackable cell phone is the last thing they wanted.

My parents have a vegetable garden and I have learned that there’s a time and place when to plant vegetables. Some vegetables don’t mind a late frost, others a late frost would kill them. Carrots can stay in the ground after a frost, but I know from experience that it’s a pain in the neck to get them out of the frozen ground in one piece. Rebecca no doubt overestimated how easy it would be and possibly in her paranoia, didn’t believe that the place was going to be as harsh as it was during the Winter, or, as you suggested, the plan was never to stay for the Winter and when they discovered the car gone they became stranded.

This is not living "off grid" - this is dying out in the open What a pointless tragedy

Sick with giardia, a lack of real calories and no experience with cold weather camping, they may have been dead by the early fall when temperatures first dropped. People who have never cold weather camped do not understand how cold it gets and how you cannot escape the cold. The car battery would have been dead by the time it was towed anyway, it would not have helped.

Insane that the forest service would tow a vehicle without even trying to see if people were camping nearby. They should be charged with negligence or something, because no one who lives in Colorado would underestimate Rocky Mountain winters enough to think that a tent like that would keep them alive through the winter. I can't even fathom the despair they must have felt when the boy died. That huge clump of hair was really freaky though. It practically looked like a whole scalp!

I can see it where the mom and other woman got sick and the kid didnt want to leave them. When the food ran out, he maybe got scared or just didnt know what to do when his mom died so he just sat down until HE died. So very sad 😢

Feel sorry for the boy ,, bless him

Well written and well delivered sir. I have been waiting for comprehensive coverage of this strange and haunting story.

Thank you for covering this case. Your in-depth research, analysis, and compassion are unparalleled.

What an amazing amount of evidence you put into every story it is like a detective level of research. Well done

These people literally crapped themselves to death -expiring from the effects of diarrhea induced dehydration and malnutrition. Giardia was likely passed back and forth by touching contaminated items as it is highly likely person hygiene in such a setting had become lax. Seen too many people decide to live “off grid” with no research about the place they are moving to, or any other basic preparedness end up sick, tired and worn out living a life they put no preparation into. Truth is modern life is the only hedge against natural selection for a lot of people.

It’s always a good time to watch The Missing Enigma. Keep up the great work man, take care and have a great weekend!

This is the first video of yours that I've watched. I'm impressed. You speak clearly and are empathetic to the people in the story. Thank you for telling their story so kindly. As sad as this story is, watching your video about it was a delight. Keep up the good work.

I am impressed, as always, to see the amount of effort and thought that you put into researching your videos. I also appreciate your non-sensational, dignified and respectful approach to telling these stories. An excellent presentation as always.

Keep on keeping on, Enigma.

This doesn't look like a bug out camp, even if they weren't well versed in survival even one book on survival would have had enough knowledge to make a proper latrine and shelter, and look at the tree branches not burned for warmth, so I think that they may have been poisoned, but beaver fever would do it along with the cold but I think that it was madness that killed them.

Love your channel TME but not too sure about this video's sponsor to be brutally honest. Are they even qualified to be telling people what kind of therapy they need if any? Anyway apart form that I love your content. Thanks again.

I have viewed all your episodes, and am continually amazed and appreciative of your journalistic approach. This story is not only sad, but should be a cautionary tale for those considering similar lifestyle choices. Thank you for your well thought approach to this, and all your segments. I am a fan for life!

If I wanted to live off grid, I would buy I decent camper van with a solar generator to produce power and renewable energy. A tent is insanity. You need to be able to call for help or leave a note explaining you will be back. Sad that she didn't prepare. Especially for the 14 year old.

RIP to those 3 lost souls

The best creator on UKposts is in the house!! Thank you for your hard work.

Love seeing notifications from you, keep up the awesome work!!!

Delighted to see a new show from Missing Enigma. I really appreciate your work.

Wow! From what the campsite looked like, these people werent even prepared for a weekend camping trip, let alone self sustaining "off grid" living.. WTF were they thinking? I find it odd that animals didnt eat these bodies, didnt seem to even touch them.. What a sad situation.😢

I enjoy that you show yourself in your videos for the most part because it lets me know you are not just another Robot Generated site and you are very good and leave no stone unturned . Thank You 🎯

Been waiting too long!! Great content!

Thank you for making this video. I live in CO and saw a vague article about this in the news and was perplexed why there was not more coverage for it and always wondered what had happened. There was also 2 women who recently went missing in CO natl forests over the summer. Think that is also largely unsolved.

Love your channel bro!

It’s a good day when Missing Enigma posts a new video!

Great video, and respectful as always.

Always superior content! Thank you!

Very sad case. I can attest to the fact that videos on UKposts do not show you all the hardships. That was a very good point that I never considered with my own channel. I'm still new in the bushcraft/camping/hiking scene on UKposts and have not been into for all that long (4 or 5 years). As I learned I made the mistake of thinking things would be easier than they actually are. In the cold weather I especially had some bad nights. I've since learned more, but still could not even imagine trying to survive a winter in those conditions.

This is the first time watching your channel and I really enjoyed it, and especially the end of it the way you’re telling people to be aware of what you watch on, UKposts, that a lot of these things are edited and omitted. You’re doing a great job.

Thank you for another awesome video keep up the great work

As always, a pleasure to watch.

What a strange case. They were clearly unprepared and I'll equipped to survive for any time in the wild. They must have realised pretty quickly that it wasn't working out so why did they not revise their plans and seek better arrangements? Toilet arrangements in the wild are well known and you never relieve yourself near camp or water sources. It's not paranoid to mistrust any government these days so I doubt Rebecca's paranoia was pathological. Such a tragic case.

This is such an excellent video. Thank you for doing all the work to bring us these tough lessons.

your videos are so well researched and presented. really top quality. really like the outro as well.

Better help was called out years ago for not hiring actual therapists or doing background check on their employees. That lead to their employees telling people to delete their irl subscription and homophobic, racist, and sexist hate being directed to patients who specifically requested therapists who were sensitive to these topics. We've known for years they are a scam and they do not deserve a second chance after disappearing for a few years until they felt like enough time had passed for them to slip back in unnoticed. They are a horrifically scummy company to promote.

Wish all of you a healthy and productive weekend!

You always do such a great job with these videos! Thank you so much!!

Authorities dropped the ball. There should’ve been a small search or at the very least found out who the vehicle belonged to. Under any circumstance why would a car be left in the middle of the Rockies?

Where is the footage shown found? I am unable to search anywhere to find the raw footage on this case, nor recorded information.

Once you take the mental illnesses/paranoias of the adults into account, its understable that no preventive measures where taken for the case they needed to leave (phones, car, check-ins, etc) because the adults clearly didn't want to be found. The paranoia wouldn't allow them to. Its heartbreaking to see a child died because of that.

Thanks for your honest and non-judgemental coverage of this incident. I hope it will help someone in the future.

I just started seeing a therapist and I'm glad I did. They help you put some things in perspective.

Once I heard that there was ample evidence of canned food and Ramen noodles, my heart sank. Canned food weighs a lot, so there is a limit as to how much can be comfortably packed anywhere. Ramen noodles are great for carbs but have the nutritional value of heavily salted styrofoam. With that kind of diet, and clearly no knowledge about things like filtering water, hunting/fishing skills, even the know-how to just dig a basic, uhm, pit for waste....land just a flimsy nylon tent for shelter.... they just didn't stand a chance. RIP.

I love this channel 🖤

Very sad, very sad story. Well-made clip again. Thanks!

Discovered your channel today. Keep up the great work.

Someone please answer me this in case I missed it. I thought there were journals found. If they were, were they journals about them or more like journals used for notes on how to do things? When i hear journals I tend to think personal journals/diaries. Perhaps the police do not want to reveal what were in the journals...idk. But I would love to know.

This sounds like a case of mental health issue. They don't sound like they were prepared.

Thank you so much for another awesome video. These stories are so sad and strange.

Love what you do. The reporting is top notch. I could listen to you for hours.

It is so sad that one sick person caused three lives. Even a life of a poor boy. What hell he had to experience before he died. Very ill, weak, malnourished, with heavy diarrhea... none of that made those two adults look out for a help? :-( Even the auntie did think initially that there is something wrong with her sister. Yet, she decided to follow her instead of stopping her and save the boy. He was failed by both. Sadly, this is not a first case where a few people died after being mentally brainwashed by a mentally unwell individual. The poor boy!!!

30:00 No a little boy is dead. A child is dead. The mother deserves all of the blame as does the aunt. They lied to his father, dragged him out there and when he died out there due to THEIR irresponsible and neglectful choices, they dumped him outside the tent like trash. @#$- them. If they were in that bad of an emergency situation they should have set a tree or a power line on fire to bring rescuers to their location. No I think it is important to not let irresponsible and neglectful parents off the hook when their child dies due to their actions. It would have been completely different if this had only been adults in this situation. But it wasn't.

Amazing video thank you!

Awesome.. been anticipating a new episode.!!

How did you obtain the body cam footage and pictures? I’m very very curious

Makes no sense. I often wish I could "run away" and live off the land but I don't like to hunt animals so I know that wouldn't last long. They should have gone in and out of somewhere for a time working on some kind of shelter at least. Can't live off grid in just a tent. At least move to the campground to get help when someone shows up.

Thanks Nick, Great job as always! :)

Great video!