The 13-year-old boy who died when his conspiracy-theorist mother and aunt took him to a rugged area of Colorado to live off-grid revealed in his journal how his gaming friends pleaded with him not to go and how he had a "mini breakdown" at a fast-food restaurant with his aunt "because nothing feels the same anymore."
Talon Vance weighed just 40 pounds when authorities found the mummified remains of him, his mother, Rebecca, 42, and aunt Christine, 41, last July in a remote campsite near Gunnison, Colo., where they set about living despite having no knowledge or experience living in the wilderness, Outside Magazine reported.
The 24-page journal was found next to his body.
The three left their home in Colorado Springs in August 2022 when Talon's mother, caught up in theories about the coronavirus vaccine and the global elite on social media, told friends and family about the " insane plots to take away our soul and humanity" and how they had to "move to be safe."
Before they left, Talon bid his online gaming friends farewell.
"NOOO COME BACK," a friend with the username Fluffy wrote. "Please I will give anything for you to come back."
Talon also describes in the journal how his mother, as part of her plan to leave society behind, urged him to learn skills like tying knots, foraging and building shelters.
He wrote to a friend, "Side note: I did the trucker's hitch first try!!"
Rebecca chose a Forest Service campground outside Gunnison that sits at an elevation of 10,000 feet, that is closed from October to April and that lacks any cell service as the place where they would set up their shelter.
Investigators would later describe their dwelling as an "eighty-dollar Walmart tent."
Family members said Rebecca, Christine and Talon were completely unprepared for survival in the rugged Rockies.
"It appears that the trio mostly ate prepared food. Trash found at the campsite the following summer included cans and wrappers for ramen noodles, Campbell's soup, fruit juice, Vienna sausages, candy bars, and Tuna Creations," Outside reported.
Hunger appeared to take an early toll on Talon, who would write in his journal about the restaurants he missed - "Mi Mexico, Shin Sa Dong, Chick-fil-A, Buffalo Wild Wings ..."
He also wrote about going into Gunnison with his mother and aunt in entries that focused on what they ate.
"On the 22nd of August, me and mommy went to Gunnison and she got us a breakfast crunch wrap, two hashbrowns ... and two fountain drinks! Mommy also found beany weenies, chili flavored noodles, shrimp flavor noodles, six pack apple juice for me, and two bags of Chipies for me and Aunty!" he wrote.
In another heartbreaking entry, Talon wrote about going to an Arby's with Christine in which he described the emotional upheaval he was experiencing.
"I also had a mini breakdown at Arby's because nothing feels the same anymore [sad face]. During my breakdown, she took us to Safeway and let me pick out candy of my choice!," he wrote."I was so sad, that nothing really sounded appealing to me anymore. So I picked out chocolate for mommy mostly, and then Aunty suggested fruit snacks for me, so I just said 'OK.'" Talon continued.
