An Indirect Murder in Alaska

How a False Self-Image Pushed Christopher McCandless to His Death

On September 6th, 1992, hunters found a young man’s decomposing body in the deserted wilderness of Alaska. They would later find out it was the body of 24-year-old ‘Chris’ (Christopher) McCandless, who since 1990 had completely cut all ties with his parents, sister, and family. Since the start of the year when he was found, Chris had been living off wild plants and the animals he shot dead with his rifle. His story became known to the public after writer Jon Krakauer wrote the best-selling and later filmed book Into the Wild about it.

Since his voluntary disappearance, without money, and on foot, sometimes for months at a time, Chris roamed large parts of America’s west coast, Northern Mexico, and his final destination Alaska. Chris called himself an “aesthetic traveler”, but an experienced backpacker he was not.¹ In his rucksack, he carried along a larger weight of philosophical literature than survival gear. He largely left his travels to chance. In the Alaskan wilderness, he stumbled upon an abandoned bus that would protect him against the cold, but after over a hundred days of social seclusion, he still died of the consequences of hypothermia and starvation.