Cause of Death Revealed for 20-Year-Old Found Inside Her Car 4 Days After She Went Missing

The body of a 20-year-old Colorado woman who vanished after a weekend outing has been found following a multi-day search, and officials have released her cause of death.

Kaylee Russell was last seen on Sunday, Nov. 30, according to an initial bulletin from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Russell was “expected to arrive at a friend’s home” after her father dropped her off at a Park-N-Ride, but she “never showed up,” the agency said.

Before that drop-off, Russell’s father had helped her change a flat tire, CBS affiliate KCNC-TV reported.

Later that same day, Russell’s phone “stopped sharing any data,” and she “failed to show up for work the next day,” according to a GoFundMe organized on behalf of the family, which had raised more than $22,000 as of Monday, Dec. 8.

On Thursday, Dec. 4, authorities said they were called to assist another department with a single-vehicle crash near Timnath when they discovered a body.

A black 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan — later confirmed to be Russell’s vehicle — was found “submerged in water” off the east side of Larimer County Road 1.

Divers searching the SUV discovered a body inside. Although the CBI did not immediately identify the remains, the agency announced on Friday that its missing endangered alert for Russell had been deactivated, noting that she “has been located.”

On Monday, Dec. 8, the Larimer County Coroner’s Office confirmed that the victim was Russell. Officials said she was “found inside her vehicle after crashing into the canal and was pronounced dead at the scene.”

“Based on the circumstances of the scene and our death investigation, it is believed the decedent died on November 30, 2025,” the coroner’s office said.

Her cause of death was determined to be the “combined effects of blunt force injuries and cold exposure,” and her manner of death was classified as accidental.

No additional information is expected to be released by the coroner.

In a tribute shared with Fox station KDVR, Russell’s mother, Rebecca Russell, remembered her daughter as “a beautiful soul and loved hard.”

“She called me daily to tell me even the smallest things or when her bosses praised her,” Rebecca said. “You never had to wonder where you stood with her. She stood up for what she believed.”

Family friend Kristi Dahlstrom also spoke to FOX affiliate KDVR, describing Russell as “such an amazing, resilient girl.”

“Kaylee was absolutely a hard worker,” Dahlstrom said. “Yes, sassy and stubborn at times. But that was what made her so beautiful.”