Cold Case

A mysterious tragedy that killed nine students in the Urals in 1959 is suddenly making headlines in Russia. For reasons that are unclear, Russia’s Prosecutor General announced a new investigation into the Dyatlov Pass deaths, one of the most puzzling mysteries of the Soviet era, and a source of countless conspiracy theories.

It all began when a group of ski-hikers – all experienced members of a Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) outing club – set out on a trek through the northern Urals. When they did not check in on schedule, an aerial search uncovered a gruesome scene on Otorten Mountain – a place that is sacred to the indigenous Mansi people.

The hikers’ bodies were scattered across the snowy slope in various states of undress, and their tent was sliced open from the inside.