28-05-2025
Missing girl's death sparks mystery in the desert as parents reject coroner's suicide claims
The death of a University of Colorado freshman who went missing in the Boulder Canyon desert has been ruled a suicide - but her parents say they don't believe she killed herself.
Megan Trussell, 18, was discovered four months ago in a 'hard-to-reach' area of the snow-packed desert after she disappeared from her dorm room on February 9.
In a newly released coroner's report, it was ruled that Trussell died 'as the result of the toxic effects of amphetamines', with hypothermia also found to be a contributing factor as she laid in heavy snow in the desert.
The Boulder County Coroner Jeff Martin also found 'undigested prescription medication' in her system that they said validated their conclusion that the 18-year-old took her own life.
But while investigators say they have 'found no evidence to suggest that Megan was physically harmed or killed by another person', Trussell's parents Joe Trussell and Venessa Diaz say they do not accept the official findings.
The grieving parents say their daughter's death still has many unanswered questions, including why her purse was found miles from her body, why Megan had mysterious injuries, and why she was missing a shoe that has never been found.
'We just got the impression that maybe they were either over their heads or too busy with other cases to give this case the attention that it deserved,' Joe told 9News Denver.
He said investigators appeared to decide it was a suicide just two weeks after Megan was found, and officials 'rushed to judgement' instead of looking into other theories.
Trussell's loved ones say they have no answers as to why she left her dorm room on February 9, as surveillance footage saw her leaving campus in dark yoga pants, a blue jacket and white sneakers.
She was reported missing three days later, and her body was found in a remote area near Boulder Canyon Drive just outside Denver on February 15.
Police say that when her body was discovered, it was in 'hard-to-reach terrain, requiring a technical evacuation including the need to rappel.'
In the coroner's report released on Tuesday, it was ruled that the 18-year-old suffered severe hypothermia when she died in a creek near the road.
Martin admitted in his findings released four months after her body was found that his investigation took longer than expected, but hoped that the 'heartbreaking' findings would bring closure to her family.
But Trussell's parents say it has done the opposite, as they allege that a number of mysterious factors were not resolved by the report.
'There's too much outstanding evidence, too many strings attached [and] too many things that don't add up with her behavior with her history [and] with where she was found,' her father said.
Megan's parents said they didn't know until Tuesday morning that their daughter suffered injuries including bruising on the back of her head, chipped teeth and blunt force trauma.
The coroner called them to inform them of the injuries, but said he did not believe they contributed to her death, a conclusion that her parents say they are not convinced by.
'That, to me, also sounds like a struggle or something that was happening to her against her will,' her mother said.
The evidence of undigested prescription pills was also called into question by the parents, who say investigators didn't look into the possibility that someone 'shoved pills down her throat and held her mouth shut with force, causing bruising on her head.'
One of Megan's white shoes that she was wearing when she left campus has also never been found, alongside her phone that was initially missing.
Police reportedly stopped looking for the phone as they surmised that it had fallen down a creek, but one of Megan's friends did their own investigating and found the device before cops did.
They discovered that the phone had been sold in a smartphone kiosk, which was found to have been sold by 50-year-old homeless man Elliot Michael Beafore.
Megan's phone was missing, but after cops decided it was likely lost in a creek, one of the teen's friends reportedly discovered it had been sold in a smartphone kiosk. Cops charged a homeless man with stealing the phone and selling it, but say he had no contact with the teen
Megan's parents said they didn't know until Tuesday morning that their daughter suffered injuries including bruising on the back of her head, chipped teeth and blunt force trauma, which investigators decided did not contribute to her death
Megan's family have launched a fundraiser to pay for private forensic testing in the hopes of finding new evidence that would lead cops to re-open her case
However, police do not believe Beafore ever had contact with Trussell, but did charge him with stealing the student's phone and with false declarations to a pawnbroker.
The homeless man told cops he got the phone from another homeless man, and investigators said they traced the back-and-forth and decided neither man had any contact with Trussell.
The tragic death is now concluded in the eyes of officials, but Megan's family have launched a campaign to re-examine the case.
In a GoFundMe set up by her loved ones, over $70,000 has been raised so far to pay for a private lab investigation to obtain 'comprehensive forensic testing of evidence.'
A $1,000 reward was also set up for information leading to Megan's shoe, a 'critical piece of the puzzle' to determining what happened to her, the fundraiser says.
The family say they hope to uncover more evidence that would force investigators to re-open their investigation.
