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Authorities Await Autopsy After Two Colorado Students Found Dead

By Drooid · Oct 29, 2026 · How we work

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Summary

Sheriff’s office found Colorado students Kaden Matsuda and Jackson Donlon dead in West Apostle Mountain basin.
Authorities said no foul play is suspected and cause awaits autopsy.
60 volunteers, helicopters, drones and dogs searched after the students were reported missing Monday.
They left Colorado Mountain College Leadville on Oct. 23 to climb Ice Mountain.
A snowstorm dumped two feet of snow on Ice Mountain and eight inches around Matsuda’s vehicle.

Summary

Sheriff Andy Rohrich urged residents to avoid the avalanche search zone and requested monetary donations.
He said Flight for Life crews were tracking Donlon’s avalanche beacon.
Officials warned drone operators to stay grounded while aerial assets conduct the search.
He noted no suitable helicopter landing site exists on the mountain.
About 50 volunteers from five counties joined the search.

History

In 1999 an avalanche buried the Austrian Alpine village of Galtür, killing 31 people. The disaster spurred Austria and the EU to adopt stricter avalanche zoning and mandatory beacon checks. Colorado officials now cite those rules while coordinating the Leadville Sheriff’s Office, Flight-for-Life crews and volunteers in the Ice Mountain search.

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In 1999 an avalanche buried the Austrian Alpine village of Galtür, killing 31 people. The disaster spurred Austria and the EU to adopt stricter avalanche zoning and mandatory beacon checks. Colorado officials now cite those rules while coordinating the Leadville Sheriff’s Office, Flight-for-Life crews and volunteers in the Ice Mountain search.

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