January 9, 2026 – CBI – Lakewood, CO –The Colorado Department of Public Safety (CDPS), through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Office of Liaison for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (OMMIR), has accepted a formal request to conduct a statutory case review into the death of 18-year-old Megan Trussell.
The request was submitted by the parents of Ms. Trussell, who identified their daughter as an Indigenous woman. Trussel’s death was officially ruled a suicide/prescription drug misuse by local authorities on May 27, 2025. The review is mandated under Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.) § 24-33.5-2602(2)(c)(II), which requires the Department to conduct an independent review for cases involving Indigenous persons whose deaths were ruled as suicide or overdose under suspicious circumstances.
Ms. Trussell, a student at the University of Colorado Boulder, was last seen leaving the campus on the night of February 9, 2025. She was reported missing three days later, and her body was discovered on February 15, 2025, near the 40-mile marker on Boulder Canyon Drive.
Our deepest sympathies are with the Trussell family. The loss of their loved one is a profound tragedy and we acknowledge their pain following Megan’s death.
CDPS and the CBI are committed to fulfilling their statutory duties under Colorado law. The Division of Criminal Justice, Office of the Liaison of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives, continues to work with all families in need of support and assistance as they navigate through the loss of a family member.
Pursuant to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (OMMIR) statute cited, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will conduct a review, not a re-investigation of the case.
CBI Director Armando Saldate discussed the parameters of the review with Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson, Boulder County Coroner Jeff Martin, University of Colorado Police Chief Ashley Griffin and Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty. None of them object to this review of the investigation’s findings and conclusions.