Kaden Matsuda and Jackson Donlon were discovered in a snow-filled basin after an extensive search involving helicopters, drones, dogs and ground crews.
CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo. — Two Colorado Mountain College students who disappeared during a weekend hiking trip were found dead in a snow-filled basin on West Apostle Mountain after severe weather brought as much as 2 feet of snow to the high country, authorities said.
Kaden Matsuda, 19, of Ridgway, Colorado, and Jackson Donlon, 20, of Queensbury, New York, were found near each other Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 28, according to the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office. Their bodies were recovered by helicopter Thursday after strong winds and difficult terrain delayed the operation. Authorities said foul play was not suspected, but the causes of death remained under investigation and autopsies were scheduled.
Matsuda and Donlon left the Colorado Mountain College campus in Leadville on Friday, Oct. 23, for what was expected to be a weekend mountain trip. Family and friends told authorities that the students initially planned to climb Ice Mountain, a 13,958-foot peak in northern Chaffee County that requires technical climbing. They were expected to return by Sunday. College staff reported them missing Monday after they failed to come back.
The weather deteriorated during their trip. The sheriff’s office said it was raining when the students began hiking Friday. Conditions briefly improved Saturday morning before a severe storm moved into the mountains and dropped up to 2 feet of snow at higher elevations. Search crews later found about 8 inches of snow around Matsuda’s vehicle near the trailhead, while substantially deeper snow covered the higher terrain.
Searchers found the students’ collapsed tent Tuesday near a lake northwest of Ice Mountain. Sleeping bags, a stove and clothing remained inside, but their climbing equipment was not found in the tent, their dorm rooms or their vehicle. Investigators said that suggested Matsuda and Donlon had left camp equipped for a technical climb. Trash found in the tent also indicated they had eaten before setting out, according to authorities.
The location of the tent led investigators to believe the pair may have changed their destination from Ice Mountain to the nearby 13,597-foot West Apostle Mountain. Their bodies were eventually found about a mile from the tent in a basin beneath West Apostle. Sheriff Andy Rohrich said the location indicated the students had progressed well into their outing before they died.
Roughly 60 search-and-rescue volunteers participated in the operation, with teams using helicopters, drones, search dogs and ground crews. Recovery conditions were especially difficult. Authorities said rescuers encountered waist- to chest-deep snow along with jagged cliffs, boulder fields and avalanche terrain while reaching the area where the students were found. The bodies were flown from the mountain Thursday and taken to the Chaffee County coroner’s office.
Authorities described both students as experienced and prepared outdoorsmen. Matsuda was studying to become a wildland firefighter. Colorado Mountain College said classmates and faculty remembered him as kind, intelligent and welcoming. Donlon was studying outdoor recreation leadership and had come to Colorado to pursue his interest in climbing, skiing and the mountains.
Rohrich said the circumstances were a reminder that even experienced and well-equipped people can encounter rapidly changing conditions in Colorado’s high country. He praised Matsuda and Donlon for taking many of the precautions recommended to backcountry travelers and said the search team was proud of its work in locating them before another storm arrived.
Colorado Mountain College said the deaths had deeply affected its Leadville campus. Campus Dean Ben Cairns said the two students came to the school to learn, explore and build their futures, and the college was providing support to students, faculty and staff grieving their deaths.
The Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office and coroner continued investigating the deaths Friday. Authorities said they would not speculate about what happened to Matsuda and Donlon until autopsies and the broader investigation were completed. No evidence of foul play had been found.
Author note: Last updated October 30, 2026.