Two college students in Colorado disappeared while on a snowy hike over the weekend — and authorities searching for them say the window to find them is rapidly closing.
Kaden Matsuda, 19, and Jackson Donlon, 20, left the Colorado Mountain College Leadville campus Friday for a backpacking adventure on Ice Mountain — a nearly 14,000-foot peak on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains in Chaffee County, the sheriff’s office said.
Friends who spoke with the pair said they planned on returning from the camping trek Saturday if they didn’t feel safe — or Sunday if conditions were good, the station reported.
The weather, however, quickly turned from rain to heavy snow at around 1 p.m. Saturday, causing “horrific road conditions,” Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office said.
Crews combing the area by helicopter Tuesday found one of the hikers’ tents collapsed under the snow with their sleeping bags and clothing inside — but the students were nowhere to be found.
