Missing college students found dead in Colorado mountains

Lauren Penington, The Denver Post on Oct 29, 2026

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DENVER — Two college students who vanished in Colorado’s mountains over the weekend were found dead on Wednesday, sheriff’s officials said.

The bodies of Colorado Mountain College students Kaden Matsuda, 19, and Jackson Donlon, 20, were recovered from a basin of West Apostle Mountain at about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office wrote on social media. The two were found near each other, sheriff’s officials said.

“Foul play is not suspected, and we will not offer theories as to what may have happened until an autopsy can be completed,” sheriff’s officials wrote.

Matsuda and Donlon were reported missing Monday after Colorado Mountain College staff learned they had gone hiking days earlier and hadn’t returned, according to the sheriff’s office. Investigators believed the two had planned to hike Ice Mountain in northern Chaffee County, but later shifted search efforts to the adjacent West Apostle Mountain.

Investigators believe the men arrived at the trailhead Friday and set up camp. The next day, a snowstorm dropped 8 inches of snow on the trailhead and 1 to 2 feet of snow on Ice Mountain.

Chaffee County deputies found Matsuda’s car at the Mount Huron trailhead on Monday. Their tent was found near Lake Ann, collapsed under the weight of the snow with some gear still inside, sheriff’s officials said.

Lake Ann sits at the base of the mountains, west of both the West Apostle Mountain and Ice Mountain peaks.

“Although this is a gut punch, our prayers were answered that we would find Kaden and Jackson, allowing some closure for the family,” Chaffee County Sheriff Andy Rohrich said in a statement. “We ask that everyone give time and distance to family members and friends as they mourn their loss.”

Roughly 60 search and rescue members across seven agencies combed the mountains for the missing college students on Wednesday, according to the sheriff’s office. Helicopters and drones joined the search from the sky.

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