The evening of July 23, 2008, began as a serene tribute to a lost loved one in the Bridger-Teton National Forest of Wyoming. Hannah Kendrick, a seventeen-year-old recent high school graduate, and her older sister Lillian, a twenty-one-year-old university student, had traveled from Denver to continue a cherished family tradition. Since the passing of their father three years prior, the sisters made it a point to go camping every summer to honor his memory and strengthen their own connection. They were surrounded by dozens of other campers at the Granite Creek Campground, feeling safe in the presence of families and park rangers.
Their mother, Deborah, had expressed the typical parental worries before they left, even insisting they pack deterrents for local wildlife. Lillian had reassured her that the area was well-patrolled and populated, promising that everything would be fine. As the sun set, the sisters shared laughs over a campfire and planned for Hannah’s upcoming college semester. Around 9:00 p.m., they exchanged friendly goodnights with their neighbors, Tom and Linda Hoffman, before retiring to their blue two-person tent. Those would be the last words anyone heard from the Kendrick sisters for nearly a month.
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