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Deputies find bodies of missing college students who went hiking on treacherous mountain trail

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Cairns, K. (2026, October 29). Deputies find bodies of missing college students who went hiking on treacherous mountain trail. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/us/deputies-find-bodies-missing-college-students-hiking-treacherous-mountain-trail

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Fox News · collected 2026-10-29 · by Kelsie Cairns

Quick Summary

Kaden Matsuda, 19, and Jackson Donlon, 20, were found dead in a mountain basin near West Apostle Mountain after going missing during a hiking trip in Colorado on October 23. The students from Colorado Mountain College were reported missing by their campus staff on Monday, and their bodies were discovered Wednesday amidst efforts involving 60 search and rescue volunteers from six counties. Sheriff Andy Rohrich expressed condolences for the families while praising the rescue team's efforts to locate the students before worsening weather conditions set in.
Written by AI on 2026-10-30, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Kaden Matsuda, 19, and Jackson Donlon, 20, both students at Colorado Mountain College Leadville's campus in Leadville, Chaffee County, were found dead on Wednesday after going missing during a hike to Ice Mountain on October 23. The sheriff’s office said foul play is not suspected but would not speculate further until autopsy results are available. The pair left the college campus for their backpacking adventure over the weekend and planned to return two days later, but severe weather conditions, including a heavy snowstorm, likely contributed to their disappearance. Search efforts involved 60 volunteers from six different counties who braved treacherous trails and deteriorating weather. Their bodies were discovered in a basin near West Apostle Mountain, approximately 100 miles southeast of Aspen.

Written for “Two College Students Found Dead Hiking Ice Mountain” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 7 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Two College Students Found Dead Hiking Ice Mountain
Crime & Law · 8 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
2 Colorado college students found dead after going missing during hike Same event
Global News
Hedges 7 of 39 claims Outlet record 63/100
Two Colorado college students found dead after going missing during hike Same event
The Guardian
Hedges 2 of 17 claims Outlet record 66/100
2 college students found dead after going missing while hiking, police say Same event
ABC News (US)
Hedges 5 of 22 claims Outlet record 70/100
Hikers aged 19 and 20 found dead after going on expedition to Colorado's Ice Mountain Same event
Daily Mail
Hedges 3 of 27 claims Outlet record 69/100
Two college students who went missing on Ice Mountain hike are found dead: ‘A gut punch’ Same event
New York Post
Hedges 2 of 17 claims Outlet record 66/100
Two college students missing after going on Ice Mountain hike as search team makes devastating discoveries Same event
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 6 claims Outlet record 66/100
Two young hikers found dead in remote Colorado basin after brutal mountain blizzard Same event
The Independent
Hedges 0 of 22 claims Outlet record 59/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
8
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-30 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Running correction rate · 12 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Kelsie Cairns
34 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 Governor Hochul's top priority is public safety and she will always fight to protect all New Yorkers."
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🔮 We will be working to ensure that upcoming renovations to the pedestrian bridge near the scene and the promenade itself will include sufficient lighting."
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🔮 She condemned what she called a "culture" that "has never changed." "The number of people involved and the repugnancy of her allegations would’ve drawn you to local police department fairly quickly," she said.
2026-11-01 · assertive framing · Gov Hochul's cameo in Cornell sex-assault documentary casts ‘air of impropriety’ over investigation: attorney
🔮 "There is a panoply of drugs out there that will destroy your kids," says retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor Paul Mauro.
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2026-10-29 · assertive framing · Judge grills AG’s office in Cornell sex assault case as ex-frat bro’s lawyer demands ouster over alleged bias
🔮 Although this is a gut punch, our prayers were answered that we would find Kaden and Jackson, allowing some closure for the family."
2026-10-29 · assertive framing · Deputies find bodies of missing college students who went hiking on treacherous mountain trail
🔮 Fox News Digital has reached out to the mayor's office for comment.
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 34 articles by Kelsie Cairns →

Topics

CMC Colorado Colorado Mountain College Ridgway the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office

Subjects

Colorado GPE · 3× CMC ORG · 2× Colorado Mountain College ORG · 2× Jackson PERSON · 2× Jackson Donlon PERSON · 2× Kaden PERSON · 2× Kaden Matsuda PERSON · 2× Matsuda PERSON · 2× Ridgway GPE · 1× the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office ORG · 1×

Narrative

Investigators shared detailed updates on social media about the mission in which 60 search and rescue volunteers deployed from six different counties and had to brave treacherous trails and deteriorating weather conditions to try and find the men.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-30
🔮 Although this is a gut punch, our prayers were answered that we would find Kaden and Jackson, allowing some closure for the family."
2026-10-30 · Fox News
Deputies find bodies of missing college students who went hiking on treacherous mountain trail · assertive framing

Claims (21 extracted, 0 hedged)

Two college students who went hiking in Colorado were found dead after they were not seen or heard from for several days. asserted
they → go → days
Deputies discovered the bodies of Kaden Matsuda, 19, and Jackson Donlon, 20, in a mountain basin on West Apostle Mountain, the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office confirmed. asserted
Office → discover → Mountain
Deputies say they left campus for a hike near Ice Mountain Friday, Oct. 23. asserted
they → say → Mountain
Their bodies were found Wednesday after the young men were reported missing by CMC on Monday. asserted
men → find → Monday
The sheriff's office said their bodies were found near one another, and "foul play is not suspected." asserted
play → say → one
Investigators shared detailed updates on social media about the mission in which 60 search and rescue volunteers deployed from six different counties and had to brave treacherous trails and deteriorating weather conditions to try and find the men. asserted
volunteers → share → men
Deputies were able to come up with a possible timeline for the students' doomed hike. asserted
Deputies → come → hike
The pair departs campus for Chaffee County during rainy weather. asserted
pair → depart → weather
- Saturday, Oct. 24: Their planned return day if conditions were poor. asserted
conditions → plan → ?
A heavy snowstorm hit between 1-2 p.m., causing severe local road hazards. asserted
snowstorm → hit → hazards
- Sunday, Oct. 25: Their planned return day if they pushed to the summit. asserted
they → plan → summit
CMC staff officially reported them missing. asserted
them → report → ?
Deputies located Matsuda’s vehicle at a trailhead near Winfield, Colorado. asserted
Deputies → locate → Winfield
Aerial crews spotted their collapsed tent near Lake Ann. asserted
crews → spot → Ann
Kaden Matsuda and Jackson Donlon were found dead. asserted
Matsuda → find → ?
In a statement, Sheriff Andy Rohrich said in part, "Our heart aches for Kaden and Jackson’s family and friends. asserted
heart → say → family
We are very proud of our team’s efforts to find them before this weekend’s coming storm. asserted
We → find → storm
Although this is a gut punch, our prayers were answered that we would find Kaden and Jackson, allowing some closure for the family." asserted
we → answer → family
Their remains were sent to the Chaffee County Coroner’s Office for autopsies. asserted
remains → send → autopsies
The investigation into their deaths continues. asserted
investigation → continue → deaths
Fox News Digital has reached out to Colorado Mountain College for comment on the tragedy. asserted
Digital → reach → tragedy
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