20-Year-Old Colorado Woman Kaylee Russell Found Dead Days After Her Disappearance — What We Know

She was supposed to meet a friend. She never showed up. Her phone went dark. Days later, search crews made a discovery that left her family shattered.

A 20-year-old woman from Evans, Colorado, vanished without a trace after car trouble near Loveland one Sunday evening, triggering a frantic search that gripped the community and left investigators scrambling for answers.

Kaylee Russell was last seen around 6:10 p.m. on November 30, 2025, after her father helped her replace a flat tire near the Loveland/Johnstown Park-and-Ride off Highway 402 and I-25.

She reportedly planned to visit a friend in Pierce, then head to La Salle to see her cousins. But she never arrived. By 9 p.m., calls from her mother were going straight to voicemail.

"They never heard anything from her. Her phone has been off. There's been no use on her debit card. No money's been taken out, no charges," Kaylee's mom, Rebecca Russell, said. "We just have no idea. It's like she disappeared. We haven't found her car. We haven't found her phone. We haven't found her. We haven’t found her, so we’re just asking for help."

As the cold and snow got worse, Rebecca said it became even more heartbreaking. Every tip they received led nowhere, and none of them were about Kaylee. She feared someone might have taken her, but if that were true, she couldn’t understand where the car had gone.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation issued an endangered missing alert on Wednesday, December 3. Authorities described Kaylee as 5 feet 6 inches tall, 125 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a black hoodie, tan pants, and brown slippers.

She was believed to be driving a black 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan with temporary Colorado plates and a "greeleynissan.com" sticker on the rear windshield.

On Thursday, December 4, that search came to a devastating end when crews located her vehicle in the Larimer and Weld Canal, overturned and partially submerged. Divers found a body inside.

The Colorado State Patrol confirmed the car belonged to Kaylee. Her family later confirmed her death, calling the news "devastating." Authorities are investigating how the vehicle ended up in the water. No further details have been released.