Questionable searches: the latest news about the Usoltsevs

On October 12, after two weeks of searching, the active phase of rescue efforts to locate the Usoltsev family ended in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Where and how they will continue to be searched, as well as why the large—scale search for the missing family in the taiga has stopped - in the Izvestia article.

What is known about the search for the Usoltsevs today

On October 12, after two weeks of searching, the active phase of rescue efforts to locate the Usoltsev family ended in the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

Now the Search is switching to a point-to-point task mode: the work will be conducted by professionals and certified rescuers who have the skills to spend the night in the mountains and legal weapons for safety. The coordinators explain that the main task is not to increase the number of victims, but there are already such volunteers.

Now the missing are being searched in Partizansky, Sayansky and Mansky districts, the last time the phone signal of the head of the family, Sergei Usoltsev, was recorded. At that time, the family is believed to have just started the route towards Mount Pinocchio.

The search is hampered by deep snow. According to Grigory Sergeev, chairman of the LizaAlert volunteer search and rescue team, effective search work is possible only after the snow cover has cleared. "In deep snow, you can easily miss something, despite the increased attention," Sergeev told TASS.

Sergeev noted that in total, the volunteers walked over 4,6 thousand kilometers through the snow. Not all the places were visited due to the snow and ice.

It was especially difficult to search on the scree, where many boulders are very unstable. According to the head of the LizaAlert detachment, the speed of movement, taking into account the terrain features and difficult weather, was only 300 meters per hour.

Many sites still remain untested. The volunteers will have to check the scree, which covers an area of more than 2.5 km in one direction and 1.5 km in the other. These stones are arranged vertically, and there are large gaps between them, covered with snow and ice.

The resumption of the search is planned after the snowfall, provided that the situation is favorable and the necessary resources are available, deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnoyarsk Territory Alexey Kulesh confirmed.

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation clarified that experienced climbers and speleologists are involved in the work, who explore difficult rugged terrain, caves and stone placers — kurums.

A test for rescuers

The search operation in the taiga has become a serious challenge for the rescuers themselves. Volunteers came from all over the region: from Khakassia, Altai Krai, Novosibirsk and Kemerovo regions. The LizaAlert Krasnoyarsk team worked to the limit of its capabilities, but the harsh nature also affected the volunteers: there were cases of hypothermia and injuries. One of the volunteers, after long marches through the mountainous terrain, had a chronic joint disease.

The situation is complicated by logistical difficulties. According to Andrei Polyakovsky, commander of the Sibir PSG (call sign "Vulture"), the reserves designed for a year — including batteries, fuel, canned food and disposable tableware — have been completely used up. Frosts up to -13 degrees negatively affect the operation of equipment: equipment fails, and batteries quickly run out.

Versions of the disappearance of the Usoltsev family

During the search, experts and investigators put forward various versions of what could have happened to the 64-year-old head of the family, 48-year-old wife and five-year-old daughter.

According to one version of the investigators, they could have lost their way (for example, having met a bear), found shelter for themselves and waited for help there. On the other — to fall into one of the crevices in the area. According to the third version, the head of the family became ill, and his wife and daughter could not return home on their own.

Experts are putting forward other versions of what happened. So, it is claimed that there are many grottoes in the area where the phone signal was recorded. There is hope that the Usoltsevs could have taken shelter from the weather in one of them.

At the same time, despite the fact that there are often versions in the information space about the criminal nature of the disappearance (from unpaid debts to murder on the way), investigators consider these versions to be untenable.

Information about the disappearance of the Usoltsev family in the forest near the Minsk loop appeared on October 2. It was reported that a man and a woman born in 1961 and 1977, as well as their five-year-old child, were wanted. It is known that they were heading towards Mount Pinocchio, but five days later, without contacting their relatives, their whereabouts remained unknown. Later, their car was found.