Missing Freshman Was Found Frozen, Hair Peeking Out in the Snow. Police Saw a Suicide, but Parents Saw a Murder Mystery

Megan Trussell was only a week into her freshman year at the University of Colorado Boulder when she texted her dad at the end of August last year.

“I just had my first film class, and my assignment is to watch a movie and then comment on it,” wrote the 17-year-old, who loved music, writing, and playful humor. She played bass, had a knack for mimicking her teacher’s Scottish accent, and had even written a sharp critique of Ben Stiller’s Reality Bites.

Settling into campus life, she seemed happy.

“COLLEGE RULES,” she told her father, Joe Trussell.

Six months later, on Feb. 12, Joe realized he couldn’t reach her. He had texted both Megan and her older sister about meeting for lunch that weekend, but Megan — who had just turned 18 — never replied. The family soon discovered she hadn’t been seen in three days.

On Feb. 15, two park rangers found Megan’s body on a snowy incline outside Boulder, near a drainage culvert and creek. About two inches of snow covered her, leaving only her face and red hair visible. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

By late May, the coroner ruled she had died by suicide, citing “toxic effects of amphetamine” with hypothermia as a contributing factor.

Her parents, Vanessa Diaz and Joe Trussell, dispute that conclusion. They’ve been conducting their own investigation while pressing local authorities to keep digging. They believe the official ruling doesn’t explain what really happened.

“She wasn’t suicidal,” Diaz insists. “It doesn’t make sense.”

The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, however, maintains that its detectives carried out a full investigation. “Sheriff [Curtis] Johnson believes that his detectives and deputies conducted a thorough investigation into Megan’s death based on all available evidence,” a spokesperson said.

Her parents disagree. Joe says, “I would be willing to accept a suicide finding if you had definitive proof that that’s what happened. But there is too much evidence.” Diaz adds, “The circumstances are very suspicious. She’s missing a shoe that has never turned up.”

Megan was last seen leaving her dorm on Feb. 9 at around 9 p.m., captured by security cameras. She wore yoga pants, a sweater, jacket, and tennis shoes, and carried a handmade purse with a large pink star — a design inspired by the Scott Pilgrim franchise.

That evening, she had argued with her roommate and new boyfriend after they were caught together in the room. According to case reports, her boyfriend broke up with her shortly after and blocked her number. Investigators later noted it was unusual for Megan to wander alone, as she normally avoided walking long distances.

In the following days, her absence went largely unnoticed. Her roommate assumed she was with her sister, also a student at the university. By Feb. 12, when Joe couldn’t reach her, the family reported her missing. Volunteers searching near a homeless encampment eventually found some of her belongings, including a backpack and an Adderall bottle, on Feb. 15.

The coroner’s reports — two were released, one in May and an updated version in July — concluded that Megan died by suicide from amphetamine toxicity. Empty Adderall bottles were found in her dorm and near her body. Hypothermia was also listed as a contributing factor.

An independent forensic pathologist, Dr. Priya Banerjee, who reviewed the records for PEOPLE, agreed with the coroner’s findings, noting the amount of medication in her system indicated an intentional overdose.

But Megan’s parents argue the details point elsewhere. She had no history of suicidal behavior, left no note, and by all accounts was looking forward to upcoming events. Her sister told investigators that while Megan sometimes struggled with academics and their parents’ divorce, she was excited about college life and didn’t believe her sibling would end her life.

Some details continue to trouble the family. Megan’s phone was missing at first, later traced to a Boulder grocery store kiosk where a homeless man allegedly tried to sell it. Authorities charged him with theft, but no connection to Megan’s death was found. Another homeless man claimed to have first discovered the phone and purse. Neither was charged in relation to her death.

Her parents believe Megan left campus to buy a Diet Coke — her favorite drink — and may have been attacked along the way. Diaz suspects she was forced to take the pills and injured while resisting.

Both parents have criticized the sheriff’s office, saying investigators locked onto a suicide conclusion too quickly. “They did nothing to rule anything out,” Diaz says. “It was confirmation bias.”

Megan’s family has since hired a private investigator and launched outreach in Boulder’s homeless community to gather leads. They’ve also started a Change.org petition to push for the case to be reopened.

“The goal is, No. 1, to clear Megan of having her name associated with suicide, because I don’t think it’s true,” Joe says. “No. 2, to catch whoever is responsible. Because what’s lost in all this is that somebody played a part in this, and they’re still out there.”

Megan’s friends remember her as funny, creative, and quick-witted. Her dad recalls how she once stayed in character with a Russian accent for an entire school year after a play, fooling classmates at a new school.

“She was so loved,” he says. “If it takes the rest of my life, this is what we’re going to do.”