We aren't quite sure how he died yet. There are many indicators for suicide, but at the same time, there is a possibility for misadventure. Consider that Kevin may have coincidentally formatted his laptop recently for a totally innocuous reason, or to keep his roommates from snooping on it while he was gone. He may have intended to move back home after this trip and was just preparing everything for when he returned to get it. He may have simply wanted to go on a hike to listen to music, or chill under the influence of a 4 - met drug which would wear off by the time he got home - then fell.
One question I never asked but wonder, is why did Kevin say he was coming home? Was it just a spontaneous trip or a planned one?
Consider that Kevin had always mused that if he were to kill himself, he would never be found. This one thing keeps me from believing he chose to hike up Balanced Rock Road, walk a bit off trail and sit down to die, of all the places he could have chose. His teacher saw him on his way up there, so occam's razor tells us he probably went directly to where he was found, versus taking a downhill diversion to ditch the vial and sunglasses before going back up and over the ridge.
Being found at the bottom of any steep terrain is another indication of accidental death, unless he was found below a large boulder/cliff. This would seem surprising, since it was said Kevin would never choose that method due to it's high rate of ineffectiveness. The terrain also does not really look high enough along that road - why wouldn't he have chosen the ice caves or the "peak", for example?
It is a miracle animals left him alone, the only factor that makes me wonder about the Nembutal possibility (I believe a bear or coyote would be able to smell something off if Kevin was poisoned). I am surprised and disappointed the rangers in that area didn't note any buzzard or raven activity either, which there surely has been, especially during wintering season.
This report has some video of the area, plus some clips of the SAR coordinator on previous searches. I do hope this is a lesson to them that if a dog hits and pulls, you must investigate it. At the time that happened, Kevin could have still been alive and injured for all they knew, - very frustrating that it took months and family initiative to do it.
Skeletal remains found in El Paso County
Human remains found on Balanced Rock Rd west of Monument
ETA not gret quality but you can see how the terrain slopes away from the road in many places, steep but not something you'd jump off of. The high spots appear to be rock outcroppings and large boulders - very easy to have a fatal misstep going off trail here
