On the night of February 2, 1959, Igor Dyatlov's tourist group died in full force in the Northern Urals. We once wrote a detailed analysis of the most popular versions about the disappearance of the group (you can read the article here), but just recently new details were revealed. The fact is that for half a century this tragedy has been attracting the attention of serious scientists, more and more new versions have been put forward, one more fantastic than the other. Aliens, foreign residency and even the Soviet Union's nuclear tests were blamed for the death of tourists, but an ordinary hunter from Verkhoturye, whose gun was tracked down by law enforcement agencies, could put an end to the investigation.
Hunter and gun
A seventy-year-old hunter from Verkhoturye, Alexander Stepochkin, turned out to be the owner of the TOP-34 rifle, which appeared in the materials of the case about the death of the Dyatlov group. During the interrogation, other details were revealed: it turns out that Stepochkin exchanged weapons with one of the members of the Khanty tribe, into whose territory the tourists wandered.
Khanty
The Khanty people zealously guarded the territories of their tribe. Moreover, they consider the pass where the tragedy happened a sacred place. Here, in principle, they were unfriendly to strangers. According to the hunter-hunter, Dyatlov's group stumbled upon the priest's cave, where objects for sacrifices were kept.
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Sacred place
Hunt told Stepochkin how the tourists plotted a route that went straight to the forbidden cave. Allegedly, Dyatlov's group could not resist and took gold and furs with them. Khanty hunted down greedy tourists at night. The shamans threw some kind of herbal dope into the tent, waited for the Dyatlovites to run out into the cold, and finished off the whole group.
Death proof
Stepochkin's version looks strange. However, in the Dyatlov case, representatives of one of the small tribes are indeed mentioned who refused to help in the search for the group. Moreover, during interrogation, the shamans of the tribe could not tell where they were on the night of the tragedy.
Honest Soviet tourist
On the other hand, Stepochkin's version has rather large gaps. The investigation did not find out where the allegedly plundered treasures had gone - the Khanty, of course, could have taken them back, but they did not find traces of carrying objects in the snow near the tent. And all the members of the Dyatlov group were known at their own institute as honest people: at that time, high moral principles were generally in vogue among the students.
Ushma riddle
Only one place fits the description of Stepochkin, the Ushminskaya cave. Archaeologists, in fact, have long known that this place is sacred for the Khanty. Here, the appearance of religious objects and religious offerings was often observed (and is still observed). However, the guys from the group simply could not go down without special equipment. We have to admit: either the Dyatlovites knew about the cave in advance and went there purposefully, or they found some other route unknown to geologists.
Ritual execution
The nature of the wounds also speaks in favor of the version of the Khanty attack. Some of the students' bodies were cut out, their faces were mutilated and their tongues were torn out. All the killed were far from the tent and from each other, as if they were running away in panic. True, it is believed that disfigured corpses are the work of the claws and teeth of wild animals, but what animal could dig 6 meters of snow and then gnaw the bodies so selectively?
Hunter hunt
Stepochkin's story again forced the investigators to tackle the long-closed case. The descendants of the very Khanty who refused to look for the missing group will have to pass a thorough check. Now the summary of the Dyatlov case says "death due to elemental force, which people were not able to overcome." Soon, instead of this strange reply, specific names of the killers may appear.
