The Official Story of the Cedar and Slope Groups
In late May of 1959, Sverdlosk prosecutor Lev Ivanov closed the criminal case on the Dyatlov tragedy. The Russian investigation found that an “unknown compelling force which the hikers were unable to overcome” made them cut the tent open to flee as fast as they could. They ran into the nearby forest in below-freezing temperatures. At a cedar tree, some of the hikers, probably Doroshenko and Krivonischenko, started a small fire, but it wasn’t enough to keep the group alive for the night. They fled the tent too fast to grab their winter weather gear, so Kolmogorova, Slobodin, and Dyatlov, attempted to get back to the tent, but froze to death on the slope, exposed to the elements and possibly unable to see the tent in the dark. Doroshenko and Krivonischenko died next to the fire at the cedar tree (WARNING: Link contains images of human remains).