The Colorado Bureau of Investigation, after an independent review, has affirmed the suicide assessment made by local authorities in the death of University of Colorado, Boulder student Megan Trussell.

Trussell, 18, was found dead near the 40-mile marker on Boulder Canyon Drive on Feb. 15, 2025. She was last seen leaving the CU Boulder campus the night of Feb. 9, 2025 and was reported missing three days later.

CBI said the state-level review provided an objective assessment of the death investigation and missing-person response conducted by local authorities.

Trussell’s family, who requested the independent CBI review, remained unconvinced by the ruling.

The review was requested under Colorado’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives law, which requires the Colorado Department of Public Safety via the CBI to conduct an independent review when an Indigenous person’s death is ruled a suicide or an overdose under suspicious circumstances.

“Today’s meeting with the CBI left us with more questions than answers,” Trussell’s mother, Vanessa Diaz, and Trussell’s father, Joe Trussell, said in a statement released after meeting with CBI on Friday. “They appeared disorganized and unprepared, and their answers were often contradictory and patronizing in nature.”

In the statement, the two said many of the answers they were given by CBI “seemed to contradict the certainty reflected in CBI’s written conclusions” and that CBI “did not know basic facts about the case until today,” including that Trussell’s family located Megan’s phone and “key video evidence” amid the original investigation.

“Today did not bring closure. It reinforced why we are still fighting for real, complete answers about what happened to our daughter,” the statement read.

Trussell’s parents have historically pushed back against authorities who point toward suicide as the 18-year-old’s cause of death, citing pieces of evidence they view as signs of foul play.

The CBI review began in January and spanned seven months.

The complete investigative record was reviewed, including cellular analysis, campus access records, body-worn camera footage, extensive digital evidence, search documentation and forensic files, and all toxicological and autopsy data was reviewed by independent medical specialists who did not have prior involvement in the initial investigation, CBI said.

Medical experts supported the coroner’s findings, affirming that severe hypothermic exposure was consistent with the original cause of death, CBI said.

CBI said search operations in the original investigation were appropriately extensive and expansive, despite roadblocks like snowfall and severe terrain that hindered dog teams, drone capabilities and visibility in Boulder Canyon.

A victim advocate read a letter on behalf of the Trussell family to the CBI Cold Case Review Team on July 21 to ensure the family’s concerns were at the core of the review, according to CBI.

CBI said no evidence was identified supporting homicide or physical assault, and said the ruling made in the initial investigation by the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and partner agencies was “reasonable, substantial, and supported by the available evidence.”

In the statement, Trussell’s parents said they plan to obtain the complete autopsy report and photographs, which the family “has repeatedly been denied.”

“We deserve the opportunity to have that evidence reviewed by an independent expert with no connection to the agencies that have already reached conclusions in Megan’s case,” the statement read.

The Denver Gazette’s news partners 9NEWS contributed to this story.