Colorado college students found dead after mountain hike in snowstorm
Kaden Matsuda, 19, and Jackson Donlon, 20, were reported missing on Monday; foul play is not suspected and autopsies are pending.
At a glance
- Kaden Matsuda, 19, and Jackson Donlon, 20, were found dead Wednesday in a basin of West Apostle Mountain in Colorado.
- The pair left Colorado Mountain College's Leadville campus Friday to climb Ice Mountain and were reported missing on Monday.
- Causes of death are under investigation, foul play is not suspected and autopsies are pending.
Two Colorado Mountain College students who disappeared on a hiking trip in the Rocky Mountains over the weekend have been found dead, authorities said.
Kaden Matsuda, 19, of Ridgway, Colorado, and Jackson Donlon, 20, of New York, were found on Wednesday afternoon in a basin of West Apostle Mountain, about 100 miles (160km) south-east of Aspen, the Chaffee county sheriff's office said in a statement posted on social media.
Search and discovery
About 60 search and rescue volunteers, supported by helicopters, drones and dogs, took part in the search. On Tuesday a helicopter crew found a tent collapsed under snow, with sleeping bags, a stove and clothing inside, near a lake north-west of Ice Mountain. The students were not there.
Based on where the tent was pitched, officials said the pair appeared to have been heading for the 13,597ft (4,144-meter) West Apostle Mountain rather than Ice Mountain. The sheriff said the location of the bodies indicated the two men were well into a hike when they died.
What is known about the trip
The pair left Colorado Mountain College's Leadville campus on Friday, telling family and friends they planned to climb Ice Mountain, a nearly 14,000ft (4,270-meter) peak requiring technical climbing. They were expected back on Sunday, but college staff reported them missing on Monday morning, after a heavy snowstorm hit the area.
The sheriff's office said their climbing equipment was not in their dorm rooms, tent or vehicle, suggesting they left the tent prepared for a technical climb. Trash inside the tent indicated they had eaten before setting off.
Friends and family described both men as experienced hikers and climbers. Matsuda was studying to become a wildland firefighter and Donlon was studying to become a mountain guide, Sheriff Andy Rohrich said.
Investigation continues
The causes of their deaths are under investigation, but foul play is not suspected. Authorities said they would not offer theories about what happened until autopsies are completed.
"Our heart aches for Kaden and Jackson's family and friends," Rohrich said in the statement. "We are very proud of our team's efforts to find them before this weekend's coming storm. Although this is a gut punch, our prayers were answered that we would find Kaden and Jackson, allowing some closure for the family."
Rohrich said on Thursday morning that the bodies remained in the basin and that officials were waiting for gusty winds to ease so a helicopter crew could fly to the site and retrieve them. Authorities had also been concerned that aerial searches could be limited later in the week because of poor weather expected to begin on Friday.
Source: The Guardian World.
Questions and answers
- What happened to the two Colorado Mountain College students?
- Kaden Matsuda, 19, and Jackson Donlon, 20, went missing during a hiking trip in the Rocky Mountains and were found dead on Wednesday afternoon in a basin of West Apostle Mountain, Colorado.
- Where were the students found?
- Their bodies were found in a basin of West Apostle Mountain, about 100 miles south-east of Aspen, after a helicopter crew located their collapsed tent near a lake north-west of Ice Mountain on Tuesday.
- Were the students experienced climbers?
- Friends and family described both men as experienced hikers and climbers. Matsuda was studying to become a wildland firefighter and Donlon was studying to become a mountain guide.
