CU Boulder student Megan Trussell found dead in Boulder Canyon

Megan Trussell

Megan Trussell of Denver, Colorado, United States has died. She was 18.

Trussell has Indigenous ancestry. She was 5’2″ tall and she weighed 130 pounds.

Raised in Denver, Trussell graduated from Northfield High School in Denver. Her father Joe Trusell is originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, USA and he attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Megan was a freshman at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) in Boulder, Colorado majoring in film. She has one sister who also attends the same university.

At around 10:00 p.m. on February 9, 2025, Megan was last seen on the CU Boulder campus. While carrying a distinct blue purse with a pink star and a pink strap, she was wearing a dark jacket, reddish pants and white tennis shoes.

On February 12, 2025, Joe texted his two daughters hoping to drive to Boulder and take them to dinner. Megan did not respond, which he thought was weird.

Joe’s former wife Vanessa Diaz, who is Megan’s mother, also had not heard from their daughter so they alerted police. On February 15, 2025, Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks rangers found the CU Boulder freshman dead near the 40-mile marker of Boulder Canyon, a canyon on the Colorado River, the fifth longest river in the U.S.

“Thank you, everybody, for coming out,” CBS News quoted Joe as saying while addressing a crowd gathered in the snow of Boulder Canyon on February 17, 2025. “The outpouring of love and support has just been overwhelming.”

According to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, it is too soon to determine Megan’s cause of death. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the tip line at 303-492-6666.

CU Bolder

CU Bolder was established on March 14, 1876. Colorado became a U.S. state on August 1, 1876.

Among the alumni of CU Boulder are Lynne Cheney, animators Matt Stone and Trey Parker and actors Robert Redford and Jonah Hill. In 1968, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak entered the university but in 1969, he was expelled after hacking its computer system.

In 1993, Stone and Parker graduated from the university. They created the animated sitcom “South Park“, which was released on August 13, 1997.

Cheney earned a master’s degree at the university. Her husband Dick Cheney served as the 46th U.S. vice president from January 20, 2001 to January 20, 2009.