Chaffee County Sheriff Andy Rohrich says two missing Colorado hikers have been found dead.
After days of searching, the sheriff’s office said Wednesday afternoon both 19-year-old Kaden Matsuda and 20-year-old Jackson Donlon were found in a basin of West Apostle Mountain in Chaffee County around 3:30 p.m.
“Our heart aches for Kaden and Jackson’s family and friends,” said Rohrich in a Facebook Post Wednesday night. “We are very proud of our team’s efforts to find them before this weekend’s coming storm.”
Matsuda, from Ridgeway, Colorado and Donlon, from New York, reportedly left the Colorado Mountain College Leadville campus Friday planning to hike Ice Mountain on the far north end of Chaffee County.
Deputies said hikers planning this hike would drive near Winfield (County Road 390) and access Mt. Huron trailhead. Deputies responded to the trailhead Monday and found Matsuda’s vehicle, according to a news release.
Friends who spoke with deputies said both planned on returning from the hike Saturday if they didn’t feel safe, but if they felt confident about their hike, they would return on Sunday.
Family and friends told deputies both are experienced hikers and should have had appropriate clothing before leaving for the hike. They also showed deputies a text with a map plot pinpointing Ice Mountain as their destination, with another image showing the area around Winfield and the trailhead circled potentially indicating where they would go in and/or camp, the release states.
When deputies responded to the Mt. Huron trailhead, they noted that there was about eight inches of snow on the ground but none under the vehicle. Deputies said weather conditions were still favorable on Friday as it would have been raining in the area.
On Saturday, however, heavy snow started falling between 1 and 1 p.m., which created what deputies described as “horrific road conditions” around the county. Deputies had to deal with over a dozen slide offs and traffic accidents in a matter of minutes around the County, deputies said.
“Ice Mountain is a very technical climb, and it is recommended that hikers be very experienced when trying to tackle it. That is when it is dry,” said Chaffee County Sheriff Andy Rohrich, adding the mountain received up to two feet of snow by Saturday night, with some areas getting between three or four feet of snow due to sluffing and drifting.
Though avalanche concerns are minimal because it’s only the first big snow the season, boulder fields that search and rescue teams will have to cross to reach the peak “are now covered in all the snow making it extremely dangerous and virtually impossible on foot,” Rohrich said. “There is also nowhere on the mountain a helicopter could land to bring staff in.”
Rohrich said the county’s search and rescue team was deployed Monday to begin the search for the two missing hikers, but the pair were not found.
At around noon Tuesday, a helicopter searching for both hikers spotted an object near Lake Ann and a search team was sent in on foot to the area. At the scene, they discovered that the object was the hiker’s tent that had collapsed under the weight of the snow.
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Deputies said there was no snow under the tent and there were no visible footprints in the snow which suggested that the tent was all in place before the snow came in. The only sign of both hikers were their sleeping bags, stove and some clothing inside the tent.
Sheriff Rohrich said Wednesday their search also included the area near West Apostle Mountain following interviews with friends who've said they've camped there with one of the missing hikers before.
"Kaden and Jackson’s dorms were searched, and their climbing equipment was not found. The equipment was not located in their vehicle at the trailhead nor in their tent, which suggests they were prepared for a more technical climb when they left their tent," Rohrich said.
He also said plenty of food was consumed by both before they left their tent and their "walk in" footwear was found inside, with footwear for advanced climbing missing.
A single set of what are believed to be human foot tracks were found partially buried in the snow near the tent, officials said, with another single set of human tracks found going down into Texas Creek Trailhead.
"It is believed this set of tracks was left by a hunter, but it will not be eliminated until we know for sure," Rohrich said.
Rohrich added that it's believed that Donlon was wearing an avalanche beacon, so search and rescue crews used Flight for Life's beacon technology in hopes to find a signal.
The public was urged not to help in the search as the area is extremely dangerous. Deputies also asked drone pilots to refrain from flying their drones as drones could place pilots are risk.
Matsuda was studying to be a wildland firefighter, and classmates and faculty members described him as kind, intelligent and welcoming, the college said in a written statement Thursday.
Donlon, an avid climber and skier, was studying outdoor recreation leadership and had come to Colorado to pursue his love of the mountains, the statement said.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of Kaden and Jackson,” said Ben Cairns, CMC Leadville vice president and campus dean. “They came here to learn, to explore and to build their futures. Along the way, they built friendships and became part of our community. Their lives were full of promise, and their loss is felt deeply by the students, faculty and staff who knew them. We will remember them not for how we lost them, but for who they were and the lives they touched.”
About 60 search and rescue volunteers, aided by helicopters, drones and dogs, searched for the two men.
Authorities had been concerned that aerial searches could be limited in upcoming days because of poor weather that was expected to begin Friday.
Rohrich urged those who wanted to help during the search to instead donate to search and rescue crews if they have the means to do so.
This story was originally published by Óscar Contreras with the Scripps News Group station in Colorado Springs.
