Local authorities in Colorado recovered the bodies of two college students who disappeared during a weekend hiking excursion in the state’s mountainous terrain, officials announced late Wednesday. The Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office reported on social media that search teams located the remains of 19-year-old Kaden Matsudu and 20-year-old Jackson Donlon in a basin near West Apostle Mountain earlier in the day. Both young men were students at the Colorado Mountain College campus in Leadville.
The pair had been reported missing on Monday after failing to return from what investigators determined was a planned hiking trip to Ice Mountain in northern Chaffee County. Friends of the students told authorities that the hikers had established a flexible schedule, intending to return on Saturday if conditions felt unsafe, or by Sunday if they proceeded all the way to Ice Mountain. Weather records for the area indicate that rain fell in the region on Friday, followed by snowfall on Saturday.
Investigators stated that foul play is not suspected in the deaths. Autopsies are scheduled to be conducted by the local coroner’s office to determine the exact cause and manner of death.
Leadership at Colorado Mountain College expressed deep sorrow over the tragedy in a public statement released following the confirmation of the discovery. “We are devastated by the loss of Kaden Matsuda and Jackson Donlon, two members of our Colorado Mountain College community,” the school said. “Our hearts are with their families, friends, classmates, faculty and everyone who knew and cared about them. Our focus tonight is on supporting those closest to Kaden and Jackson and making sure our Leadville students, faculty and staff have the emotional support they need in the difficult days ahead.”
