Three "heavily decomposed" bodies have been recovered from a campsite in a remote, heavily wooded area of Colorado's Rocky Mountains. And due to the condition of the bodies, as well as the circumstances in which they were found, authorities are currently unsure as to how the three people died.
A hiker stumbled upon the first body at the campsite on Sunday, July 9 and alerted authorities, who discovered two more bodies inside a small, zipped-up tent the following Monday. Personal belongings and tarps were also found at the scene, as well as a lean-to built over a fire pit constructed from logs.
Investigators described the bodies as "fairly mummified," and that they had likely been at the campsite since at least late last year. No signs were found that a crime or murder-suicide had occurred, and an animal attack was likewise ruled out given that two of the bodies were found zipped up in a tent.
"This is not a typical occurrence anywhere, by any means," Gunnison County Sheriff Adam Murdie told CBS News. Despite the mysterious circumstances, Murdie says his department doesn't believe there is any further risk, and that the area remains open to hikers.
For now, investigators are attempting to determine what the campers were actually doing there and why. The tent and bodies were found only about 350 yards from Gold Creek Campground, situated along a dirt road, and about about 6.5 miles away from the nearest town of Ohio City.
"It looked to me that they set up camp there and wanted to be there and unfortunately, tragic events occurred,” Gunnison County Undersheriff Josh Ashe told USA Today. "How they ended up there, why they chose that location, that’s still something we’re trying to decipher."
However, Ashe conceded that there are "lots of environmental factors" when camping in a remote wilderness known for having a harsh environment. "There are a lot of different variable outcomes,” he added. "There could be starvation, hypothermia, infection."
Authorities hope that autopsies will help solve the mystery, but that will take at least three weeks due to the degradation of the bodies. Meanwhile, the sheriff's department is looking through missing persons reports, but has yet to turn anything up.
The identities of the three bodies likewise won't be released until the coroner's department can notify their next of kin.
from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/gDcbXLC
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