Two Colorado hikers remain missing after a search team found a tent, collapsed by snow, with items inside, the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office announced in a social media post on Tuesday.
Kaden Matsuda, 19, and Jackson Donlon, 20, left Colorado Mountain College Leadville’s campus for a hike on Friday and did not return, according to the sheriff’s office.
Authorities said they received a call about the missing hikers from staff at the college on Monday.
“Family and friends were interviewed, and it was learned that Kaden and Jackson planned on hiking Ice Mountain on the far north end of Chaffee County,” authorities said.
Ice Mountain is located southeast of Aspen, in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.
“According to friends, Kaden and Jackson planned on returning from the hike on Saturday if they didn’t feel safe. If they continued to Ice Mountain, they would return on Sunday,” the sheriff’s office noted.
Those close to the hikers also described them as “experienced hikers” and added they “should have had appropriate clothing,” the sheriff’s office said.
Matsuda’s car was found at the trailhead with “about eight inches of snow on the ground but none under the vehicle,” the sheriff’s office said.
Authorities said it was raining in the area on Friday, and began snowing on Saturday afternoon.
The sheriff’s office said search and rescue teams began a search mission for Matsuda and Donlon.
Forensic examinations on the hikers’ phones indicated that they had not been used in 48 hours, authorities said.
“The service in the area would be almost nonexistent, and they certainly could have turned the phones off to preserve the batteries, which makes the 48 hours less concerning,” the sheriff’s office said.
On Tuesday, authorities said a helicopter spotted an object near Lake Ann.
“A search team was sent in on foot to this area and discovered that the object was the hiker’s tent that had collapsed under the weight of the snow,” the sheriff’s office said.
The post continued, “There was no snow under the tent and there were no visible footprints in the snow, which suggested, again, this was all in place before the snow came in. Their sleeping bags, a stove and some clothing were inside the tent, but Kaden and Jackson were not located.”
The sheriff’s office said Ice Mountain “is a very technical climb, and it is recommended that hikers be very experienced when trying to tackle it. That is when it is dry.”
Authorities said the mountain received one to two feet of snow, with three to four feet in some areas due to “sluffing and drifting.”
Chaffee County Sheriff Andy Rohrich said authorities are “still optimistic” that the missing hikers “are hunkered down somewhere waiting to be rescued.”
“Our window of opportunity is closing as poor weather is expected again later this week, so we are putting all our available resources in the field. We are also considering other potential destinations they may have been headed to other than Ice Mountain,” Rohrich said in a statement.
Rohrich said both hikers are “strong” and added, “hope is not lost.”
ABC News has reached out to Colorado Mountain College for more information.
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