Kaden Matsuda and Jackson Donlon were recovered from a snow-filled Colorado basin after crews searched for them for several days.
BUENA VISTA, CO — Two Colorado Mountain College students who disappeared during a weekend hiking trip were found dead in a basin on West Apostle Mountain after a multi-day search involving dozens of rescuers, helicopters, drones and dogs, authorities said.
Kaden Matsuda, 19, of Ridgway, Colorado, and Jackson Donlon, 20, of Queensbury, New York, were located near each other Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 28, in northern Chaffee County. Their bodies were recovered by helicopter Thursday after gusty winds had delayed efforts to bring them down from the mountain. The Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office said foul play is not suspected and investigators are waiting for autopsy findings before drawing conclusions about how the students died.
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. They told family and friends that they planned to climb Ice Mountain, a 13,958-foot peak near West Apostle Mountain that requires technical climbing. They expected to return Saturday if conditions were unsafe or by Sunday if they continued with the trip. College staff reported them missing Monday morning after they failed to return.
Deputies found Matsuda’s vehicle near the Mt. Huron trailhead after the missing-person report. Search crews later located the students’ tent near Lake Ann, northwest of Ice Mountain. The tent had collapsed beneath snow and contained sleeping bags, a stove and clothing, but neither student was there. Officials said the location of the campsite suggested the pair may have shifted their objective from Ice Mountain toward 13,597-foot West Apostle Mountain.
Weather complicated both the students’ trip and the search that followed. Authorities said rain fell in the area Friday before a storm brought roughly one to two feet of snow to higher elevations Saturday. Snowfall was lighter near the trailhead but significantly deeper on the surrounding peaks. About 60 search and rescue volunteers took part in the operation, supported by helicopters, drones, dogs and other aerial resources as crews worked through difficult mountain conditions.
Investigators said climbing equipment belonging to the students was not found in their dorm rooms, vehicle or tent. That indicated they may have taken the gear with them when they left camp for a technical climb, according to the sheriff’s office. Officials also said evidence inside the tent indicated the students had eaten before leaving. Their bodies were later found about a mile from the campsite in a basin below West Apostle Mountain.
Friends and relatives described both students as experienced in the outdoors. Matsuda was studying wildland firefighting at Colorado Mountain College. Donlon was studying outdoor recreation leadership and was known as an experienced skier and climber who hoped to build a career in the mountains. The college said the two had become part of the close community at its Leadville campus, which sits at more than 10,000 feet in Colorado’s central mountains.
Colorado Mountain College said it was devastated by the deaths and was providing support to students, faculty and staff. Ben Cairns, dean of the Leadville campus, said the students had come to the school to learn, explore and build their futures. The college also thanked the search and rescue professionals and volunteers who spent days looking for them.
Chaffee County Sheriff Andy Rohrich said his department was grateful that searchers found the students before another storm expected later in the week. The sheriff’s office has asked the public to give their families and friends space to grieve. Investigators are working with the Chaffee County Coroner’s Office, and autopsies were scheduled for Monday. Authorities said they will not speculate about the cause of death until that work is completed.
Author note: Last updated October 29, 2026.