Two college students who went missing on Ice Mountain hike are found dead: ‘A gut punch’

Read the original at New York Post ↗
Cite

Bradford, C. (2026, October 29). Two college students who went missing on Ice Mountain hike are found dead: ‘A gut punch’. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/29/us-news/two-college-students-who-went-missing-on-mountain-hike-are-found-dead/

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New York Post · collected 2026-10-29 · by Chris Bradford

Quick Summary

Jackson Donlon and Kaden Matsuda, two college students from Colorado Mountain College Leadville, were found dead on Wednesday after going missing during a snowstorm while attempting to hike Ice Mountain in Colorado over the weekend. The storm deposited about two feet of snow, which contributed to their disappearance. Police used drones with infrared technology, helicopters, and K9 units for search efforts but did not suspect foul play. Their bodies were discovered half a mile apart near another mountain’s basin, providing some closure though "a gut punch" for the families involved.
Written by AI on 2026-10-29, 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, were found dead in a basin of West Apostle Mountain in Chaffee County, Colorado, after going missing while hiking Ice Mountain. The two students from Colorado Mountain College Leadville left the campus on Friday, October 23, intending to return on Saturday but did not come back as planned. On Wednesday afternoon, their bodies were discovered by a search party involving about 60 people and aided by drones and helicopters. Authorities suspect foul play is unlikely; an autopsy will determine the cause of death. The pair was caught in a brutal mountain blizzard that dropped around two feet of snow on Ice Mountain, leading to harsh conditions for hikers.

Written for “Hikers Found Dead in Colorado Blizzard” on 2026-10-29, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Hikers Found Dead in Colorado Blizzard
Environment · 3 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 12% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
ABC News (US)
Hedges 5 of 22 claims Outlet record 70/100
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
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
12%
2 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Environment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-29 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 14813 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Chris Bradford
84 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Chris Bradford
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 84 articles by Chris Bradford →

Topics

Colorado Colorado Mountain College Leadville New York the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office

Subjects

Colorado GPE · 2× Donlon PERSON · 2× Jackson PERSON · 2× Kaden PERSON · 2× Matsuda PERSON · 2× Colorado Mountain College ORG · 1× Jackson Donlon PERSON · 1× Kaden Matsuda PERSON · 1× Leadville GPE · 1× New York GPE · 1×

Narrative

Colorado Mountain College Leadville students Jackson Donlon, a 20-year-old New York native, and Kaden Matsuda, 19, went missing while trying to scale Ice Mountain – a near 14,000-foot peak – over the weekend as a storm dumped around two feet of snow. They were found near each other in a nearby mountain’s basin half a mile away on Wednesday, the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office said, announcing the deaths with “profound sadness.”
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-29
🔮 “Foul play is not suspected,” the sheriff’s department wrote, while stressing: “We will not offer theories as to what may have happened until an autopsy can be completed.”

Claims (17 extracted, 2 hedged)

Two college students who disappeared while trying to scale a Colorado mountain have been found dead after they were caught up in a snowstorm, police said. asserted
police → disappear → snowstorm
Colorado Mountain College Leadville students Jackson Donlon, a 20-year-old New York native, and Kaden Matsuda, 19, went missing while trying to scale Ice Mountain – a near 14,000-foot peak – over the weekend as a storm dumped around two feet of snow. They were found near each other in a nearby mountain’s basin half a mile away on Wednesday, the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office said, announcing the deaths with “profound sadness.” asserted
Office → miss → sadness
“Foul play is not suspected,” the sheriff’s department wrote, while stressing: “We will not offer theories as to what may have happened until an autopsy can be completed.” uncertain
autopsy → suspect → theories
“Our heart aches for Kaden and Jackson’s family and friends,” the department said. asserted
department → ache → Kaden
“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
Matsuda, an aspiring wildland firefighter from Ridgway, Colorado, and Donlon left campus on Friday ahead of their trip. asserted
Matsuda → leave → trip
They were reported missing on Monday when they failed to return to campus. asserted
they → report → campus
They had told friends they would return to campus by Sunday, with the alarm raised when they had failed to return by Monday. asserted
they → tell → Monday
While they were hiking, a storm pummelled the area, dumping around two feet of snow, the Colorado Sun reported. asserted
Sun → hike → snow
Drones with infrared technology, helicopters and K9s were all deployed as part of the search – but there were no positive sightings of either hiker. asserted
Drones → deploy → hiker
Investigators also found that neither hiker had used their cell phone in the past 48 hours – but cops suspected they may have switched off their devices to preserve battery life. uncertain
they → find → life
On Tuesday, the hikers’ tent was found collapsed under the weight of the snow – but there was still no sign of the pair. asserted
tent → find → pair
Sleeping bags, a stove and clothes were found inside, investigators said. asserted
investigators → sleep → ?
Deputies also found Matsuda’s car — which had roughly eight inches of snow around it, but said none was under the vehicle. asserted
none → find → vehicle
Despite the worrying finds, cops were not ruling out the possibility that the students would be found alive. asserted
students → rule → possibility
Andy Rohrich, the Chaffee County Sheriff, said Tuesday he was optimistic the students would be “hunkered down somewhere waiting to be rescued.” asserted
students → say → ?
He tried to stay optimistic, alluding to Donlon’s experience from studying to become a mountain guide. asserted
He → try → experience
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