Overview
- Authorities confirmed late Wednesday that search teams recovered the bodies of 19‑year‑old Kaden Matsuda and 20‑year‑old Jackson Donlon in a basin on West Apostle Mountain.
- The students left Colorado Mountain College’s Leadville campus on Oct. 23 planning to climb Ice Mountain and were reported missing when they did not return by Oct. 26.
- Searchers located the pair’s collapsed tent near Lake Ann with sleeping bags, a stove and clothing inside but no clear footprints in fresh snow, and later found the bodies several miles away.
- Rescuers from multiple counties used helicopters, drones with infrared, aircraft and K9 teams but said a sudden storm that dumped deep snow and ice made helicopter landings and safe ground travel impossible.
- Officials say foul play is not suspected, the Chaffee County Coroner and sheriff’s office will complete autopsies and investigators are asking the public to give families space as the review continues.