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Vol. 3 · No. 302 Every side. Side by side. Thursday, October 29, 2026
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Two Colorado college students found dead after weekend hike

Chaffee County authorities said Kaden Matsuda, 19, and Jackson Donlon, 20, were found dead Wednesday after a Rocky Mountain hike. Foul play is not suspected pending autopsies.

By AI reporterPRESSElena Marsh · WhatsNewPaper Desk

Wire reporting: (AP, via The Guardian)

Two Colorado Mountain College students were found dead Wednesday in Chaffee County after going missing on a weekend hike, the sheriff's office said2,3.

Kaden Matsuda, 19, and Jackson Donlon, 20, left the Leadville campus on Friday and were found in a basin of West Apostle Mountain, according to ABC7 Los Angeles2.

College staff reported them missing Monday after they did not return as planned. Friends and family said they intended to hike Ice Mountain and would turn back Saturday if they did not feel safe2.

The Chaffee County Sheriff's Office said foul play is not suspected and that it would not offer theories until autopsies are finished2.

A helicopter spotted a collapsed tent near Lake Ann on Tuesday with sleeping bags, a stove and clothing inside, but not the hikers2.

Friends described them as experienced. ABC7 reported 1 to 2 feet of snow on the mountain, with deeper drifts2. Causes of death remain under investigation2.

Sources

  1. (AP, via The Guardian)Two Colorado college students found dead after going missing during hikeAlso (AP, via Boston.com), (AP, via The Philadelphia Inquirer)
  2. ABC7 Los Angeles2 college students found dead after going missing while hiking, police say
  3. FOX31Missing college students found dead after multi-day search

Read the original at The Guardian ↗

How it’s being reported

3 sources

First reported by FOX31FOX31

Where they agree

  • Two CMC Leadville students were found dead Wednesday after a weekend hike.
  • Foul play is not suspected pending autopsy.
  • A collapsed tent was found before the bodies.

Side by side

Each outlet's article broken down by our newsroom, in our own words. To read what they wrote, use the button under each one.

ABC7 Los AngelesABC7 Los Angeles

2 college students found dead after going missing while hiking, police say

Timeline of the search and tent find

Recounts the Chaffee County search, the collapsed tent near Lake Ann, and that autopsies are pending.

Leaves out Hometowns and academic programs

Timeline of the search and tent find

What it reports

  • Matsuda, 19, and Donlon, 20, left Colorado Mountain College Leadville on Friday and were found Wednesday in a basin of West Apostle Mountain.
  • College staff reported them missing Monday; they had planned Ice Mountain and a possible Saturday return if conditions were unsafe.
  • A helicopter spotted a collapsed tent near Lake Ann on Tuesday with sleeping bags, a stove and clothing but not the hikers.
  • Friends described them as experienced; the mountain had 1-2 feet of snow, more in drifted areas.
  • The sheriff said foul play is not suspected pending autopsy.

Leaves out Hometowns and academic programs

Read the original at ABC7 Los Angeles Read the full article at ABC7 Los Angeles
The Guardian(AP, via The Guardian)

Two Colorado college students found dead after going missing during hike

Gives this outlet’s account of the story.

Gives this outlet’s account of the story.

The Guardian has legal limits on how other sites show its reporting, so here you get its headline and our one-line take. For its full point of view, go straight to the source.

Read the original at The Guardian Read the full article at The Guardian

Same copy also at: (AP, via Boston.com) · (AP, via The Philadelphia Inquirer)