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BOULDER, Colorado (KCNC) — When Megan Trussell disappeared from the University of Colorado Boulder campus in February 2025, her mother, Vanessa Diaz, expected the university and law enforcement to move quickly. Instead, she says, her family was told not to worry and left frustrated by what she saw as a slow and uncertain response.
“What happened in February 2025 was the absolute unimaginable,” Diaz said, “What we went through, and the fact that the university really didn’t know what they were doing.”
Six days after she was first reported missing, Megan Trussell’s body was found in Boulder Canyon.
For the next year, Diaz and Megan Trussell’s father, Joe Trussell, worked alongside state lawmakers to change how Colorado universities and trade schools respond when a student is reported missing.
The new law creates specific requirements for the institutions, including a six-hour window for schools to take action. That includes checking a student’s phone records and social media posts, going door to door at the student’s dorm and questioning school staff and emergency contacts.
If a student is missing for more than six hours, police must be contacted. The law also requires police training on missing-person alerts.
As students prepare to move into CU Boulder next week, Diaz hopes the new requirements will help prevent another family from experiencing what hers did.
“I think this bill, this law, is gonna bring some relief to families at least initially, when they’re dropping their kids off,” Diaz said.
She says her daughter had a strong sense of justice and that has helped motivate her family’s push for change.
“It’s Megan’s legacy, you know. She had a very strong sense of justice,” Diaz said.
CU Spokesperson Michele Ames wrote in a statement:
“We take seriously the safety of our students. Across each of our four campuses, we are working to make sure we implement the new law and that it helps to enhance student security as the law was intended to do.”
Diaz says that’s exactly what she wants to see.
“If it saves one life, it’s worth it. One life,” Diaz said.
Megan Trussell’s family is not stopping with this law, but Diaz says she is also working with lawmakers to advocate for family members to have greater access to evidence and information about procedures after a case is closed.
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