From: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12975359
Denver Post, 8/03/2009

Winston Branko Churchill loved the purity of the outdoors. He hated the materialism and greed that, in his view, prevented people from connecting with nature. And he was frustrated that he could not change that. So, in a story that has dark parallels to the book and film "Into the Wild," this philosophical former Denver disc jockey and Silverton coffee-shop owner, went into the wilderness of western Colorado last summer to think through this quandary — or to die.

"He couldn't figure out how to make people change so they were not so caught up in money and cars and big houses and all that," said his sister, Jovanka Mersman, of Colorado Springs. "He ultimately ended up checking out." Churchill's emaciated body was found a month ago in a remote high-mountain valley northwest of Lake City, nearly a year after he disappeared. He had set out in June 2008 to hike the Colorado Trail from Denver to Durango, but then left the trail and purposefully roamed the wilderness, slowly dying of starvation.

When two hikers came upon his body lying outside the door of an old miner's cabin, a small backpack still slung over the shoulder of his mummified corpse held no food, just a journal, camera, marijuana pipe and a vial of pills. His clothing was inadequate for the wintry weather he would have encountered before he is believed to have died in late November or early December. He was 41. Hinsdale County Coroner Jerry Gray determined he died of starvation and exposure. His hands were badly frostbitten. The journal he kept meticulously updated was soaked by the 20 feet or so of snow that had entombed his body through the winter. The few decipherable words gave no clue to his thoughts. His camera had a final, brief disturbing video he took of himself. He was in a tent in an emaciated state. He said he had gone 40 days without food and thought he would die on his birthday the next day — Oct. 13.

Message alarms friends On Aug. 27, he had walked into Lake City, left his dog Townsend with a woman working at the Lake City Chamber of Commerce, and called two friends from a pay phone. They periodically had been sending him food and gear, which he picked up in Lake City or Creede. He told them he didn't need any more care packages. His message for Jonathan Wrobel of Chicago, was: "Dude, thank you for everything. I don't need anything else." Wrobel and the other friend were disturbed enough by the messages and by the fact that he abandoned his dog to call Hinsdale County authorities. Sheriff Ron Bruce quickly organized a search party and for the next two days they scoured the backcountry in places where other hikers had seen Churchill. They found no trace of him.

"Those mountains are very big. It's very difficult to find anyone in those mountains who doesn't want to be found," Bruce said. Whether Churchill ultimately wanted to be found or saved can only be guessed at from clues. He had lined his trekking poles neatly at the top of his head. One of those poles was bent at the tip and some who knew him take this as a sign that, in the end, Churchill wanted to live: Maybe he was trying to pry open the door with the pole to get to the canned food inside. Maybe he hoped to get enough sustenance to make his way back to civilization and help. "That is the hardest thing for everyone in Silverton who really cared about him," said friend Karen Hoskin. "Was there a moment when he would change his mind and choose life?"


His mother, Mirjana Churchill of Alamosa, has a different idea. "My hypothesis is that he wanted his body to be found," she said. "My son wanted people to know that he died so that maybe they would hear his message." Mirjana is blunt about that message: "I don't understand what it was."

Rambling writings Churchill previously had written a 600-page manuscript explaining his philosophies of life, but those who tried to read it said it was rambling and disjointed. Churchill wasn't that way in person. Friends describe him as witty, friendly and "cool" in terms of being on top of trends.

"He was the most genuine person I have ever met. I don't think he was crazy or suicidal. He just didn't want to live in a society where people didn't take care of each other. In so many ways, he wasn't right for this world. He saw things totally different from most of the rest of the world," Wrobel said. "He didn't commit suicide per se," he added. "He just walked down that road and didn't come back."

more