Lifestyle

The Women Who Walked Away

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One Sunday last July, a hiker in Gunnison County, Colorado, told the authorities that he had found a “squatters camp” deep in the forest, with a simple nylon tent and a human form so decomposed he described it as a “mummy.” The body was that of a young boy named Talon; nearby, the authorities found the corpses of his mother, Becky Vance, and her sister Christine. They had inadequate food, gear, and supplies, and little to no camping experience. The little evidence there was about their extended time in the forest indicated the women probably could have gotten themselves to safety as winter approached — and chose not to. What on earth had led Becky, along with her sister, to abandon society and die in the woods? After months of reporting and earning the trust of those who knew the family, New York‘s Elizabeth Weil has written a spellbinding account of the mystery.

—Nick Summers, features editor, New York

The Women Who Walked Away What drove a Colorado mother to flee into the Rocky Mountains with her teenage son and her sister?

Photo: Hugo Yu
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