Colorado college students missing after Ice Mountain hike, search teams intensify efforts

Two Colorado Mountain College students, 19-year-old Kaden Matsuda and 20-year-old Jackson Donlon, left the Leadville campus on Friday for a backpacking trip on Ice Mountain, a nearly 14,000-foot peak in Chaffee County. They were expected to return Saturday or Sunday, depending on conditions, according to friends.

A sudden shift from rain to heavy snow around 1 p.m. Saturday created hazardous road conditions, the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office said. Search crews using a helicopter on Tuesday found a collapsed tent buried in snow, containing the students’ sleeping bags, a stove and clothing, but no footprints or additional snow beneath the tent, indicating the tent was in place before the snowfall.

Investigators also located Matsuda’s vehicle, which was surrounded by about eight inches of snow, though no snow was found under the car. Forensic analysis of the students’ cell phones showed no activity in the past 48 hours.

Sheriff Andy Rohrich expressed sympathy for the families and said officials remain hopeful that the pair may be sheltering somewhere, but warned that deteriorating weather later in the week is reducing the rescue window. Both students are described as physically fit; Matsuda is studying to become a wildland firefighter, and Donlon is training to be a mountain guide.