Missing Teen's Body Found In 'Hard-To-Reach Terrain' - But How Did She Get There??

The search for a missing teenager in Colorado has ended in tragedy.

According to the University of Colorado Boulder, 18-year-old Megan Trussell was reported missing on Wednesday, February 12. Her parents contacted law enforcement after realizing their daughter hadn’t responded to any of their messages. Joe Trussell told FOX31 that he texted his daughters last week to make plans with them. However, he never heard back from Megan, causing him to worry and reach out to her mom, Vanessa Diaz. He recalled:

“When she didn’t respond, I texted her mom and said, ‘Have you heard from Megan? Because it’s kind of weird that I haven’t heard from her.’ And from there, we started looking for her immediately. It’s like, I feel like something’s wrong.”

When they checked Megan’s phone account online, her mother told KUSA that they discovered the college student hadn’t used her cell since Sunday, February 9, at 8:45 p.m. That was 15 minutes before the teen was last seen leaving her residence hall at around 9:00 p.m. the same day.

A search for Megan began from there. The CU Boulder Police Department first posted on social media about her disappearance on Thursday, February 13, and the FBI also shared online that it was “assisting in the search.” The following day, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation issued a “Missing Indigenous Person Activation” for Megan. But sadly, the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office announced she was found dead on Saturday.

At 10:41 a.m. that day, the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks rangers called the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office to report they found a deceased female “in hard-to-reach terrain” near the 40-mile marker of Boulder Canyon that required “a technical evacuation including the need to rappel.” The sheriff’s office said the woman matched “the description of a student recently reported missing to the University of Colorado Police Department” but her identity was not confirmed — until now.

On Tuesday, the Boulder County Coroner’s Office confirmed the body found in Boulder Canyon was Megan. So sad. There are a lot of unknown details about the situation, like what happened to the college student. How did she even get into the “hard-to-reach terrain?” Unfortunately, police do not have too many details to share at this time. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office stated in an update that they have conducted an autopsy and the final cause and manner of death will be determined once the Boulder County Coroner’s Office has conducted additional testing. An investigation also will happen, but they noted:

“Based on our joint investigation thus far, we do not believe that there is, or was, a threat to the community.”

Other than that, nothing! Everyone has been left with a lot of unanswered questions right now! While her family waits for the autopsy results, they have since held a memorial for Megan on Monday near where her body was discovered. Joe said during the ceremony, per The Denver Post:

“The outpouring of love and support has just been overwhelming. We appreciate you more than you know. It’s a terrible thing that’s happened, but the best way we can honor her is to get better, to find out what happened.”

Our hearts break for this family. In a message to the University of Colorado community, Chancellor Justin Schwartz and Vice Chancellor D’Andra Mull said about Megan’s death:

“We understand that this news is devastating to members of our campus community, and we also understand that you may have many more questions about the details of the announcement by the sheriff’s office. The loss of a member of our community impacts our campus. Our hearts go out to family, friends and community members of those that we lose. We also have support resources available in the coming days, weeks and months to support community members as they process grief. … Please take care of yourselves and each other.”

A GoFundMe has been set up for her memorial funds. Anyone with information regarding Megan’s death has been asked to contact local authorities at [email protected].

Rest in peace, Megan. Hopefully, her parents will know what happened to her soon…

[Image via University of Colorado Boulder Police Department/X]