Authorities have now confirmed missing college student Megan Trussell was found dead last week in a remote area outside Boulder, Colo., days after she was last seen alive in her dorm.
The Bolder County Coroner’s Office said in a brief statement on Tuesday, Feb. 18, that Trussell’s body had been positively identified. She was discovered three days earlier.
In its own update, the the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office said they will be investigating and a final cause of death is still pending determination by the coroner.
But “based on our joint investigation thus far, we do not believe that there is, or was, a threat to the community,” the sheriff’s office said.
Trussell, 18, was first reported missing on Wednesday, Feb. 12, and was last seen in her residence hall on Feb. 9, according to the University of Colorado Boulder.
On Saturday, Feb. 15, both the school police and sheriff’s office said a body matching her description was located in “hard-to-reach terrain” outside the city, “requiring a technical evacuation including the need to rappel.”
Her parents and other loved ones gathered on Monday, Feb. 17, for a memorial near where her body had been found.
“The outpouring of love and support has just been overwhelming,” dad Joe Trussell said, The Denver Post reported. “We appreciate you more than you know.”
“It’s a terrible thing that’s happened,” he said, “but the best way we can honor her is to get better, to find out what happened.”
Megan Trussell.
Boulder County Sheriff’s Office
A movie lover, according to family, Megan, a freshman, had dreamed of filmmaking, the Postreported.
“We just sit around the table and talk about Megan and the memories we have of her,” cousin Rebecca Perez said at Monday’s ceremony. “We’ll have spurts of crying but more so we’ll just talk about how funny she was.”
A GoFundMe initially launched to help search for Megan, and now to raise money in her honor and to support her family, has drawn in more than $45,000 in donations.
In a previous message to the school community, university officials mourned 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,” Chancellor Justin Schwartz and D’Andra Mull, a vice chancellor, said.
“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,” they continued.
“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.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact local authorities at BCSOtips@bouldercounty.gov.
