The key facts

  • The investigation admits a possible bear attack provoked by the family's dog
  • Bear tracks were found during the search in the Kuturchinskoye Belogorye, and one animal was accidentally awakened in its den
  • The family of three went missing in September of last year; their whereabouts are still unknown

Investigation's version: a bear and a dog

The investigation admits that the Usoltsev family, which went missing in the Krasnoyarsk taiga, may have been attacked by a bear. TASS was told this by Yana Syrymbetova, deputy head of the 1st Directorate for Investigating Especially Important Cases of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the Krasnoyarsk Territory and Khakassia; the report was cited by Gazeta.Ru. According to her, there are many bears in the Kuturchinskoye Belogorye, where the search took place: rescuers repeatedly found traces of the predators, and one animal was accidentally awakened right in its den. The investigator suggested that the dog the family had taken with them might have attracted the bear's attention and provoked the attack.

What is known about the disappearance

A family of three went missing in September of last year during a hike to Mount Malvinka. Hundreds of volunteers and rescuers took part in the search, but their whereabouts remain unknown to this day. In the summer, a version appeared among local residents that the Usoltsevs had not ascended the mountain along the route but had taken a secret road where a car was waiting for them — the Investigative Committee refuted this. Earlier, a forensic expert analyzed the findingsdiscovered at the site of the disappearance, as Gazeta.Ru also reported.