Search and rescue crews have found two college students dead in the Rocky Mountains after a heavy snowstorm struck central Colorado during their weekend hiking excursion, authorities announced Thursday.
Deputies identified the hikers as Kaden Matsuda, 19, of Ridgway, Colorado, and Jackson Donlon, 20, of Queensbury, New York. Both men were enrolled at the Leadville campus of Colorado Mountain College. Their bodies were discovered Wednesday afternoon in a high basin on West Apostle Mountain, located about 100 miles southeast of Aspen, according to the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office.
Search Sparked by Missed Return
The pair set out on Friday, Oct. 23, intending to tackle Ice Mountain, a rugged peak rising nearly 14,000 feet that demands technical climbing skills, investigators said. Friends told deputies that the students planned to return Saturday if conditions turned unsafe, or by Sunday if they pushed ahead with their ascent. When neither student returned, college employees reported them missing on Monday morning.
Deputies located Matsuda’s vehicle near the Mount Huron trailhead with roughly eight inches of snow surrounding the car, though the ground beneath it remained bare. Rain began across the region Friday before transitioning to heavy snowfall Saturday afternoon. Mountain slopes later accumulated between one and two feet of snow, with drifting and sluffing piling three to four feet in select spots, the sheriff’s office stated in updates reported by ABC News.
Phone forensic checks showed no device activity for 48 hours, though investigators noted poor cellular reception in the remote wilderness might have led the hikers to power down their electronics to save battery life.
Clues in the Snow
Roughly 60 search and rescue personnel from six counties joined the operation, utilizing helicopters, aerial drones and specialized dogs, according to Fox News. Colorado Mountain College faculty members trained in mountain travel also assisted in the field.
A major breakthrough occurred Tuesday when a helicopter crew spotted an object near Lake Ann. Ground teams pushed into the area and confirmed it was the hikers’ tent, which had collapsed under deep snow. Searchers found sleeping bags, a camp stove, clothing and trash showing they had eaten before heading out, but neither student was inside. No footprints emerged around the site, indicating the camp had been established before the storm arrived.
Because the climbing gear was missing from the tent, their dorm rooms and the vehicle, officials concluded the pair had set off prepared for an alpine climb. The camp’s location suggested the men had shifted their target from Ice Mountain to the adjacent 13,597-foot West Apostle Mountain, The Guardian reported.
Searchers located the bodies of Matsuda and Donlon around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday lying near each other in a basin on West Apostle Mountain. Family and friends described both men as skilled outdoor enthusiasts. Chaffee County Sheriff Andy Rohrich noted that Matsuda was studying wildland firefighting, while Donlon was training to become a mountain guide.
Investigation Continues
Sheriff Rohrich said recovery operations remained pending Thursday morning while crews waited for high mountain winds to calm enough for a helicopter to safely retrieve the bodies from the basin. Rescuers pushed to complete the mission ahead of another storm system forecast to move into the mountains by Friday.
“Our heart aches for Kaden and Jackson’s family and friends,” Rohrich said in a public statement. “We are very proud of our team’s efforts to find them before this weekend’s coming storm.”
Authorities stated that foul play is not suspected in the deaths. Official causes of death will remain undetermined until autopsies are completed by the Chaffee County Coroner’s Office.
