Michigan student who left frat party in just T-shirt and jeans found dead in ‘extreme cold’

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A missing University of Michigan student has been found dead more than a day after he was last seen leaving a fraternity party in just a T-shirt and jeans in bone-chilling storm temperatures, according to police.

Engineering student Lucas Mattson, 19, was last seen walking without a jacket at around 1 a.m. Friday, as temperatures plummeted as low as 0 degrees, WILX reported.

His body was found Saturday night following a 20-hour search in “extreme cold conditions,” police said.
Mattson is one of at least 34 to die from Winter Storm Fern, which impacted more than two-thirds of all Americans.

19-year-old Lucas Mattson was reported missing on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. Ann Arbor Police Department

“At this time, we can share that prior to disappearing, Lucas was attending a party at a fraternity house as a guest; he was neither a member nor a pledge,” University of Michigan interim president Domenico Grasso said in a statement, warning against “misinformation” spreading about his death around the school community.

“We must let the investigators complete their work and refrain from speculation until the facts are known.”
Mattson was reported missing at 4:30 p.m. Friday, according to the Ann Arbor Police Department. Officers spent the whole night searching but were unable to find him.

His body was later located Saturday night on Cambridge Road, cops said.

Lucas Mattson’s missing persons poster. Ann Arbor Police Department

“The nearly 20-hour search effort to locate him took place in extreme cold conditions and included officers from AAPD and University of Michigan Division of Public Safety and Security, as well as the University of Michigan Police Department Drone Unit,” police said in a press release.

There were no signs of trauma and foul play is not suspected at this time, cops said.

The Washtenaw County Medical Examiner’s office will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death, police said.

The Law Quad on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Jan. 14, 2026. ZUMAPRESS.com

Grasso said he’s asked school officials to retrace the events of the night Mattson disappeared “to better understand what transpired and identify possible steps to help prevent similar tragedies in the future.”

“I am grateful for the outpouring of support from so many people worried about Lucas’s welfare, including those who searched for him in extremely difficult weather conditions,” the university president said.