Gabby had been injured after falling into a creek
Brian wrote that Gabby had been hurt when she fell into a creek in a confession note, stating:
“I found her straining for air, calling my name and gasping for breath. She was chilly. I carried her as far as I could down the stream towards the vehicle, stumbling wearily from shock when my knees gave out, and I knew I couldn’t safely carry her any farther. “It was already the middle of winter, so I started a fire and spooned her as close to the heat as she had been skinny and had already frozen too long. I couldn’t at the time know that I should’ve built a fire first, but I wanted her out of the cold back to the car.”