Two Colorado college students found dead after going missing on a Rocky Mountain hike
Photo: The Guardian USTwo Colorado college students, Kaden Matsuda, 19, and Jackson Donlon, 20, were found dead on Wednesday in a basin of West Apostle Mountain in the Rocky Mountains, the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office said. The pair left Colorado Mountain College's Leadville campus on Friday, telling family and friends they planned to hike Ice Mountain, a nearly 14,000-foot peak that requires technical climbing, and were expected back by Sunday. College staff reported them missing on Monday morning, and searchers found Matsuda's snow-covered vehicle and then their tent before locating the bodies lying next to each other. Matsuda was from Ridgway, Colorado, and Donlon from New York. Authorities said the causes of death are under investigation, foul play is not suspected, and they will not offer theories until autopsies are completed. Sheriff Andy Rohrich said his team's efforts to find the men before a coming storm had brought the families some closure.
Left-leaning sources, led by The Guardian US, use a headline about college students found dead after going missing during a hike and lead with the heavy snowstorm that hit during the trip. They feature the men's ages and hometowns, the campus, the location about 100 miles southeast of Aspen, and Rohrich's statement, including his "gut punch" remark and the autopsy caution. Right-leaning sources, represented by the Daily Mail, frame the deaths as hikers aged 19 and 20 on an expedition to Ice Mountain, and lead with the bodies being found 48 hours after they were reported missing. They add search details the Guardian omits: the October 23 departure, the college's alert around 10am on October 26, the search around Winfield and the Mt Huron trailhead, and the vehicle and tent. Both sides agree on the deaths, the sheriff's comments, and the absence of suspected foul play. They differ mainly in emphasis: the Guardian centers the storm and hometowns, while the Daily Mail centers ages and the search timeline. The alternative TMZ item is brief and largely matches the left-leaning account.
How the sides differ Left sources emphasize the snowstorm and the sheriff's statements; right sources stress the hikers' ages and the search timeline.
Headline, comparison and summary written by AI from the articles below. AI can make mistakes, so check the original articles before relying on a detail.
The Guardian US leads with the snowstorm and the sheriff's statement, using a headline that frames the deaths as occurring during a hike. It emphasizes the families' loss and the hometowns of the two men.
TMZ gives a brief report of the Chaffee County announcement, naming the two students and their college in a headline close to the Guardian's. It offers few details beyond the deaths and the missing hike.
The Daily Mail frames the story as an expedition, putting the hikers' ages in the headline. It gives a detailed search timeline, from the college alert to the discovery of the tent and bodies.