A missing family of tourists is being searched in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. What is known

The search for the Usoltsev family, who could have disappeared in the Minsk Loop area, continues for the fifth day in the forests of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Relatives of the tourists reported their disappearance: they were alarmed that the family had not been in touch for a long time, although the walk itself was supposed to take only a few hours. What is known about the disappearance of tourists is in the Izvestia article.

The walk plan

• Sergey and Irina Usoltsev, born in 1961 and 1977, and their five-year-old daughter Arina went on a hiking trip on Sunday, September 28. A few days later, relatives of the Usoltsevs sounded the alarm, saying that the tourists still had not contacted them. It is known that the Usoltsevs were heading towards Mount Pinocchio. Initially, they planned to go along the route as part of an organized group, but due to the unfavorable weather forecast, the group could not be assembled.

Irina Usoltseva's friend Oksana Zhdanyuk, in a conversation with Izvestia, reported that the family did not share the details of the planned walk. According to her, the Usoltsevs spent the night before starting the route at the Geosphere base, located near the village of Kuturchin, and from there they headed towards Pinocchio. Zhdanyuk said that the family was going to return home on the same day, but probably changed the route.

Searches

• The search for tourists was organized on October 1 in the forests near the Minsk Loop, the name of a wide road surrounded by forest that leads to a site overlooking the bends of the Mina River. At that time, the search group consisted of 70 people. At the same time, the Usoltsevs' car was found locked, which they left in the village of Kuturchin. On the highway between the villages of Kuturchin and Mina is the beginning of the Minsk Loop hiking trail — this route is considered quite easy, but there are several forks on the main route.

On October 6, the police received confirmation that the Usoltsevs were indeed moving towards Pinocchio — other tourists noticed them on their way to the mountain. The search team was expanded to 356 people and 47 pieces of equipment, and in addition to rescuers, police and local residents, it included volunteers from several cities and the Lisa Alert squad. UAVs, off-road vehicles, light-engine aircraft and motorized gliders are used for searches. During the search, 30 square kilometers of taiga were surveyed.

Versions

• The Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case into the disappearance of the Usoltsev family. The search area is home to bears, roe deer and wild goats, so investigators assumed that tourists could head into the taiga, stumble upon a bear and get lost, fleeing from it.

• According to another version, the man could have become ill on the route, but his wife and daughter could not get out. The possibility is also being considered that the family could have lost their way due to the thick fog on September 28. Investigators suggest that the man, who had extensive hiking experience, could have made a shelter to protect the family, and now they are waiting for rescuers.

• The UK assumes that the tourists did not have a tent, and the Usoltsevs' mobile phones remain unavailable. The information that mobile phone signals were last recorded near the mountain was not confirmed by the press service of the Investigative Committee. Earlier, information about the child's footprints found in the snow was refuted — it turned out that these were the footprints of one of the volunteers.

• The security forces have no information on how the tourists were dressed — it is assumed that the man was in a camouflage suit, and his wife and daughter could have been dressed "not according to the weather." On the day of the family's disappearance, the daytime temperature in this area rose to +16 °C, but in early October snow fell there, complicating the work of search teams, and the air temperature drops to - 7 °C. At the same time, snow can become a source of water for lost tourists, and wild berries, which can still be found in the taiga, are suitable for food.