Nineteen-year-old Lucas Mattson, an engineering sophomore at the University of Michigan from Juneau, Alaska, left a fraternity party in the early hours of Jan. 23. By the next day, he had been found dead near campus. An autopsy released March 17 concludes he died of exposure and had a blood-alcohol concentration of .156. His body was discovered in the 1900 block of Cambridge Road after an extensive overnight search in bitter cold.
The Washtenaw County Medical Examiner reported that Mattson died from exposure and that toxicology showed a blood-alcohol level of .156, roughly twice the legal driving limit, according to the Detroit Free Press. The report states he was wearing a short-sleeve shirt and pants and notes there were no obvious signs of trauma. These are the first public medical details in the case, and they have sharpened questions about what happened in the hours after he left the party.
Missing, search and where he was last seen
University officials say Mattson was reported missing after he was last seen around 1 a.m. on Jan. 23, walking alone in the 1700 block of Hill Street without a coat, according to the U‑M Division of Public Safety & Security. The Ann Arbor Police Department says officers recovered his body around noon on Jan. 24 in the 1900 block of Cambridge Road after a large, coordinated search with university police, and that there were no obvious signs of trauma. Both agencies said crisis support was made available to students during and after the search, as classmates and neighbors grappled with the news.
Family lawyer presses university and fraternity
An attorney for Mattson's family has sent preservation letters to the university and to the fraternity and says he believes Mattson was served alcohol as a minor, a claim the family is continuing to investigate. The lawyer told reporters that Mattson left a Delta Chi party at about 1 a.m. and that the chapter did not appear to have sober monitors on duty. Delta Chi's national organization placed the campus chapter on interim suspension on Jan. 25, and local coverage of the preservation letters and the potential case has appeared on CBS Detroit.
Brutal cold that night
The search unfolded during a deep regional cold snap. National Weather Service climate reports show that Jan. 23 and 24 brought overnight lows near or below 0°F across southeast Michigan. University and police bulletins described "extreme cold" throughout the nearly 20-hour search, a factor that made the effort more difficult and raised the stakes for finding Mattson quickly. Students and other community members bundled up and joined the search in those conditions before officers ultimately located his body.
Legal implications
Under Michigan law, it is a misdemeanor to sell or furnish alcohol to anyone under 21, and the state liquor code includes provisions that can support civil claims when an underage guest is harmed, according to MCL 436.1701. The family's attorney has signaled that a lawsuit is likely and has demanded records, CBS Detroit reports, and civil lawyers say statutes like MCL 436.1701 could be central to any claim if investigators determine alcohol was furnished on the premises. Police and university officials say their inquiries are ongoing and that the medical examiner's final findings will help determine what comes next.
The university has said it will cooperate fully with investigators and has urged the campus community not to speculate while officials work to piece together the night's events, University of Michigan President Domenico Grasso wrote in a campus message. Mattson's family has retained counsel and pushed for preservation of surveillance, phone and other records as investigators review video and witness accounts. Anyone with information has been asked to contact the Ann Arbor Police Department as the probe continues.
