Dyatlov Pass: USSR, 1959

Summary

Sightings Podcast Summary: Dyatlov Pass – USSR, 1959

Introduction In the December 9, 2024 episode of Sightings, hosted by McLeod Andrews and Brian Sigley, listeners are taken on a chilling journey into one of the most enigmatic and tragic events of the 20th century—the Dyatlov Pass Incident. This episode delves deep into the mysterious deaths of nine experienced mountaineers in the remote Ural Mountains of the former USSR in 1959, exploring the baffling circumstances that continue to provoke speculation and intrigue decades later.

The Dyatlov Pass Incident Explained The episode opens with McLeod Andrews setting the stage: “nine young souls set out to conquer the wilderness... but in place of adventure, they found terror and left behind an enigmatic mystery” (01:47). Brian Sigley echoes the perplexity surrounding the case, stating, “Is it a creature story? An alien story? A conspiracy story? I'm not sure, really” (01:35).

Investigative Findings by Leah Vov A substantial portion of the episode features a dramatized account by Leah Vov, the lead investigator assigned to the case. Vov's detailed narrative provides a first-person perspective on the investigation:

• Discovery of the Abandoned Campsite: Vov describes the grim scene upon reaching the Dyatlov campsite: “The tent... erected in a shallow pit dug in the snow... remarkably undisturbed” (03:15). She notes the eerie absence of blood, struggle, or robbery, heightening the mystery.

• Initial Findings: The discovery of the first five bodies revealed disturbing details. Vov recounts finding two men “stripped to their underwear” with one having bitten off a piece of his knuckle (06:45), while the leader, Igor Dyatlov, was found “lying face down in the snow, hugging a birch branch” (07:30). The most unsettling discoveries were Lyudmila and Simon, who were found without eyes—a detail that remains one of the incident's most haunting aspects (10:15).

• Encounters with the KGB: Vov explains the unexpected presence of the KGB at the autopsy site: “They insisted that the autopsy physician and I strip naked and rub ourselves down with alcohol to protect ourselves from what they called anomalies” (09:00). This encounter adds a layer of governmental secrecy and potential cover-up to the investigation.

• Mysterious Photographs and Missing Evidence: The plot thickens when Vov mentions the discovery of a photograph showing a “shadowy figure” not part of the Dyatlov party (10:55), and the subsequent disappearance of crucial evidence, including this photograph (11:30). These elements suggest potential interference or suppression of information.

• Government Involvement and Cover-Up: Vov’s urgent communication with Secretary Kirienko leads to a direct intervention from Soviet leader Khrushchev, who commands her to “immediately classify all of my evidence” and cease the investigation (16:45). This directive implies a high-level effort to bury the truth behind the Dyatlov Pass Incident.

Theories and Speculations Following Vov’s account, the hosts engage in a speculative discussion, exploring various theories that attempt to explain the Dyatlov Pass mystery:

• Avalanche Hypothesis: One theory suggests that an avalanche forced the hikers to flee their tent in a state of panic. However, the hosts question the plausibility of this explanation given the lack of typical avalanche injury markers and the orderly manner in which the hikers exited the tent.

• Military Involvement: Considering the Cold War context, another theory posits that a military operation or a botched experiment involving radiation could be responsible. The presence of a Geiger counter at the scene and unexplained radiation readings on the bodies lend some credence to this possibility.

• Supernatural Explanations: The podcast does not shy away from more fringe theories, including encounters with UFOs or even demonic forces. The strange, shadowy figure captured in the last photograph and the mutilated bodies without external injuries fuel these supernatural speculations.

• Psychological Factors: The phenomenon of paradoxical undressing, where individuals experiencing hypothermia may strip off their clothes due to a false feeling of warmth, is discussed as a possible psychological trigger that led to the hikers’ chaotic departure from their tent.

Conclusion McLeod Andrews summarizes the episode by highlighting the multitude of unanswered questions that still surround the Dyatlov Pass Incident: “Why did they leave their tent? What killed them? Or really, what in the world actually happened that night?” (23:25). Brian Sigley concurs, emphasizing the enduring fascination and mystery: “It's just question upon question upon question” (23:49).

The episode closes by inviting listeners to share their theories and encouraging ongoing dialogue, reflecting the unresolved nature of the Dyatlov Pass mystery. The combination of meticulous investigative storytelling and engaging speculative analysis makes this episode of Sightings a compelling deep dive into one of history’s most perplexing supernatural mysteries.

Notable Quotes:

• McLeod Andrews: “What happens when intrepid explorers discover more than they bargained for? ... See what's real and what's impossible.” (01:07)
• Leah Vov: “But all that changed as soon as shouts echoed across the barren snow.” (07:50)
• Khrushchev: “Sometimes, we will never know the truth of things and must make peace with that.” (16:30)
• Brian Sigley: “It’s probably why this is still one of the biggest unexplained mysteries in modern history.” (23:25)

Final Thoughts The Dyatlov Pass: USSR, 1959 episode of Sightings masterfully combines narrative intrigue with analytical discourse, presenting a comprehensive exploration of a historical mystery that continues to captivate and confound. Whether through government conspiracy, supernatural intervention, or extreme environmental factors, the episode leaves listeners both informed and unsettled, perfectly embodying the essence of Sightings.

For more information and to explore additional theories, visit sightingspodcast.com.

Transcript

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[McLeod Andrews]

It's in our nature to conquer the wilderness. To stand atop an untamed peak and claim victory over the unknown. But what happens when intrepid explorers discover more than they bargained for? What happens when they learn the terrifying truth that some secrets are meant to stay hidden? Welcome to Sightings, the series that takes you inside the world's most mysterious supernatural events. I'm McLeod.

[Brian Sigley]

And I'm Brian. And I have to say, straight up, this is one of the most mystifying stories I've ever heard. Is it a creature story? An alien story? A conspiracy story? I'm not sure, really.

[McLeod Andrews]

So gear up for a trip to the remote mountains of the former USSR, where in 1959, nine young souls set out to conquer the Wildern. But in place of adventure, they found terror and left behind an enigmatic mystery that has baffled the world for decades. What forced them from the safety of their tent in the freezing night and led them to a horrifying demise? Find out on this episode of Sightings.

[Leah Vov]

Okay. My name is Leah Vov. Today is June. What is June? Today is June 14, 1959. And I am recording this message not because I want to, but because I fear I have no other choice. I should begin by saying I have put country and party above all else at all times. As senior criminal prosecutor from Sverdlovsk, I have acted as lead investigator for many of our region's most complex and challenging cases. For the Service, no privilege. I've been rewarded with a large family, ample prosperity, and the admiration of my esteemed comrades. And now I risk all of it with that which I am about to say. The Dyatlov case, as I've come to call it, began as many do, with a midnight phone call. In the dead of winter, a party of nine university students, seven men, two women, all but one in their 20s, and all seasoned mountaineers, had failed to report back from a ski venture in the wilderness north of Evedale. Their abandoned campsite had just been discovered, and I was tasked with ascertaining what unfortunate fate, if any, had befallen them. At first, I suspected this would prove nothing more than a simple missing person situation, a mix up that would rectify itself within days, if not hours. But I'd soon learned there was nothing simple about this incident. In fact, I am now certain it shall forever stand as the most frightening case that I, or anyone else in Russia, will ever encounter. What have I written?

[Narrator]

Apologies?

[Leah Vov]

Typo. My journey into the wilderness was long and arduous, but this part of the Urals is nearly impenetrable, and it took 20 hours, two aircraft, a helicopter and finally a snowmobile to deliver me to my destination, a remote pass high on the slopes of a mountain called Kolotsiaku. There I was met by a young man named Boris, the head of the search team that discovered the abandoned campsite. He also happened to be a friend and classmate of the missing party's leader, Igor Dyatlov. He explained that the Dyatlov party was supposed to go to a place called Mount Atorten, some 10 kilometers north of here. Naturally, I wondered how Dyatlov, an experienced mountaineer, could have led his party so far off course before seemingly vanishing into thin air. In response, Boris pointed to a splash of fabric peeking through the snow and said, you're the investigator, you tell me. The tent, or what was left of it, had been erected in a shallow pit dug in the snow. Though partly collapsed after days of abandonment, its content seemed remarkably undisturbed. Inside, I found blankets, rucksacks, waterproof jackets and boots stacked in neat piles against one wall. A stove in the center was surrounded by official papers, a route map, money, flashlights, cameras and knives. Nothing seemed even a hair out of place. Then I noticed the slash across one of the tent walls. Nearly a meter long, it appeared to have been cut. From inside the tent, and outside, I found frozen footprints, nine sets in all. Venturing out in a single file line, I counted only one boot mark among the prints. The rest must have worn socks or nothing. At All I asked Boris how far temperatures dipped up here. At least negative 20, he said, on a good night, then further increasing my worry that something terrible had happened here. He explained that this place had a disturbing name. In the local tongue, they called it Mountain of Death. When investigating cases, I like to think that no detail is too small. But there on that mountain, it was the lack of detail that was most arresting. There wasn't a single drop of blood in or near the camp. No sign of struggle, no sign of robbery, and of course, no sign of the nine missing mountaineers. But all that changed as soon as shouts echoed across the barren snow. The first bodies had been discovered. Yurap and Yuri, both 21, sat huddled beneath a cedar tree a kilometer and a half from the tent. Both men were stripped to their underwear and wore nothing on their feet. Yuri, it seemed, had bitten off a piece of his own knuckle. Within an hour, three more bodies were discovered. The first was found about 30 meters from the cedar tree, and the moment Boris saw it, he knew that this was Igor Dyatlov, the leader of the expedition. He was clothed but shoeless, lying face down in the snow, hugging a birch branch. Zinaida, who apparently had been having something of a fling with Igor, was found nearby. Her body position suggested she'd been attempting to climb the hill back toward the tent when she succumbed to the elements. And a fifth body, Rustem, was found nearly buried in the snow further down the mountain. Though more clothed than the others, he had only one boot on his feet. The same boot, I presumed, that made the long print exiting the tent. As if the entire situation weren't perplexing enough, I soon noticed a stranger walking among the side with a Geiger counter, a device designed to measure radiation. I tried to question the man, but he sped away on a snowmobile before I could stop him. I thought I caught a glimpse of a military uniform beneath his parka. But why would the military be here? And why would anyone need to check radiation levels on an isolated mountain pass in the middle of nowhere? That night, I escorted the five discovered bodies to Yvdel, where they were set to be examined. But I was surprised to find the autopsy site guarded not by police, but by the kgb. They tried at first to deny me entry, but my call to Secretary Kirienko of the Regional Party Committee remedied that dilemma quickly. Even so, the KGB members insisted that the autopsy physician and I strip naked and rub ourselves down with alcohol to protect ourselves from what they called anomalies. The autopsy physician was a quirky fellow named Vozrozhdini. He mumbled to himself throughout the procedure. But I was able to glean the following. All five bodies had severe frostbite. Rostem had a skull fracture, and Zinaida had a long red bruise on her torso. Of note, no mention was made of any signs of radioactivity in the bodies, nor did I see any actual measurements taken, which only added to the mystery of this case. And as that night went on, things got only stranger. After returning to my room, I received a delivery of the photographs developed from the cameras found in the tent. Most of the images were benign. A mandolin, a landscape, an overexposed blur. But one photo in particular stood out to me. It was the last photo taken on one of the cameras, and they captured a wide portrait of deep, fresh snow. But just off center of the image stood a shadowy figure. One whose looming appearance didn't match the stature of anyone in the party. In fact, with its odd, twisted pose, it was hard to tell if the figure was even human at all. Questions? So many questions.

[Brian Sigley]

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[Leah Vov]

I did.

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[Leah Vov]

Drink some water. The next morning, I faced a progress report with Secretary Kirienko. I called it. I dreaded because five people were dead, four were still missing, and I had no leads to speak of. Nevertheless, I reported the befuddling pattern of facts with as much clarity and efficiency as I could muster, and Kirienko listened with an uncomfortable silence. Then, after I'd finally finished, he suggested my time might be better spent investigating the area's native Mantsi people. Of course, it wasn't a suggestion. It was in order. But before I could inquire further, Kirienko hung up. So that afternoon, I found myself traveling to the remote mantsi village some 20 km from Kolat. During my trip, I learned that they were a quiet people, known for hunting, fishing, and herding reindeer. The problem was, I was not the only outsider to arrive in the village that day. Apparently, three members of the secret police were arresting and torturing the Mansi men. I naturally tried to intervene, but the officers seemed intent on pinning the Dyatlov deaths on the Mantsi. It was only when I threatened to report their behavior to Geryenko and, by extension, Khrushchev that they relented and finally left the village. In the aftermath, I tended to the tortured man and tried to convince the other villagers that this had all been a tragic misunderstanding. But it was too late. Their trust had already been betrayed. But a weathered looking elder quietly pulled me aside. It took him a moment to master the words, but he told me that he and others witnessed something on the night the Dyatlov party allegedly fled their tent. A burning object had lit up the sky near Kolatsyaku for nearly an hour. An object that was wide at the front and narrow at the back, with a tail of bright sparks. The men also described a spate of dead animals discovered in recent days throughout the region. Dead, apparently from no clear cause. Before he walked away, he shook his head in disbelief. These are bad omens, he said. Very bad. As I began my return to Evdale, I racked my brain to find an explanation for the strange phenomenon in the sky that the Mansi men spoke of. But before I could ponder things further, my transport was stopped by a local officer with news that the final four bodies of the Dyatlov party had been recovered. And though I immediately asked for details, all the officer could bring himself to say was, it's best you just see them for yourself. The bodies of Nikolai, Alexander, Neil, Dmila, and Simon had been mutilated, ravaged by some unknown but undoubtedly sinister force. Nikolai was least damaged of the group, but had extensive head injuries that looked consistent with their fall. Alexander had a bizarre, inexplicable wound behind his ear and an oddly twisted neck. But Lyudmila and Simon were terrifyingly worse. Both looked crumpled, and as I stepped closer, I realized that both were missing their eyes. Not as though they had been pecked out by buzzards, mind you, but the eyes were simply gone, as if cleanly removed. It was, for lack of better word, bewildering. So I followed the bodies back to Yvdel, where Vozrozhny again performed thorough autopsies. All of the bodies, of course, exhibited signs of severe trauma, and they surmised that Nikolai and Alexander's injuries might have resulted from a fall into the ravine. But Lyudmila and Simon's injuries had left him utterly perplexed. In addition to the missing eyes, both had multiple broken ribs on both sides of their bodies. It was, he said, as if the bodies had been subjected to some kind of explosive force. But defying all explanation, there were no external markings, not even scratches on either body, indicative of such an event. So if he had to reach a conclusion, Bozrozhdene said, he concluded that what had happened to these people was deeply unnatural, and it terrified him to his core. Later that night, I returned to my room to that someone had been there since my last visit. My files sat slightly out of place, my evidence boxes were ajar, and I found that two Dyatlov photographs, the one with the shadowy figure and another I could not easily identify, were suddenly missing. Hoping for any insights, I consulted my notes and discovered that the second missing photograph was the one whose importance I had clearly overlooked. Photo number 24. Image overexposed. Bright lights against dark background, possibly sky. Further investigation revealed that the photograph was almost certainly taken on the night the mountaineers fled their tent and met their fates. Could they have seen some kind of bright light in the sky that night that sent them running for their lives? A missile? An explosion? Or could it have been something else entirely? Whatever it was, my government was clearly taking pains to keep it hidden. So I immediately called Secretary Kirienko and methodically laid out the additional evidence I had uncovered. I told him about the photograph of the light in the sky, the monthly report of aerial phenomena, the inexplicable injuries among the mountaineers, and the mysterious interference by the kgb. All I said pointed to one dangerous conclusion. That the Dyatlov party had witnessed something likely in the sky that forced them from their tent and cost them their lives. After a period of silence, I expected Kirienko to reply, but a new voice spoke up and made me nearly drop the phone handset. It was Khrushchev, the head of the Soviet Union, who thanked me for my efforts and instructed me to immediately classify all of my evidence and then give everything to a special unit that reports directly to him. Then I was to forget everything about the case. Sometimes, he said, we will never know the truth of things and must make peace with that. He then hung up and I have not spoken with him since. It has now been a month exactly since that fateful call. As an obedient party member, I of course did as I was told and watched all of my evidence from the case kick carted away by men I did not know. Later, the nine mountaineers of the Dyatlov party were buried in closed coffins and their families were told they died from hypothermia after fleeing their tent due to quote, an elemental force which the tourists were unable to overcome. The newspapers reported this to mean that the mountaineers encountered an avalanche and called the entire affair an unfortunate tragedy. Lies all of it still. I am an investigator, if nothing else, so I am compelled to investigate. I've already found more reports of strange lights in the skies and mysterious animal deaths in the mountains. Who knows what I will discover next? My journey, wherever it may take me, will undoubtedly be fraught. So I record this now in case something should happen to me. Because one way or another, this story must be told and this mystery must be solved. Not for me or my party or country, but for the nine mountaineers who met an inexplicable and tragic fate when they called. February night.

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[Narrator]

Welcome back to Sightings, where we're going to dig into that bizarre and exceedingly violent story. Wow. I don't even know where to begin. Brian, help me out.

[Brian Sigley]

Don't look to me for answers.

[Ad Voice]

All I can say is that the story that was told is basically what happened in those mountains.

[Brian Sigley]

All I did was compress the timeline.

[Ad Voice]

And kind of dramatize the phone conversations.

[Narrator]

That were had, which is wild because there's simply so many huge neon question marks floating around in this snowy wilderness. Like, why did they leave their tent? What killed them? Or really, what in the world actually happened that night?

[Ad Voice]

That's probably why this is still one.

[Brian Sigley]

Of the biggest unexplained mysteries in modern history. It's just fascinating to me. It's just question upon question upon question.

[Narrator]

Yeah. So let's unpack this. Starting with these mountaineers. They were young and active and capable, yet they seem to have made some really horrible decisions.

[Brian Sigley]

Right. This was supposed to be a pretty routine trip, even if it was crazy.

[Ad Voice]

Intense by, I guess, American vacation standards. They were venturing out into the middle of nowhere. But the leader, Igor Dyatlov, had done.

[Brian Sigley]

And led trips like this into the mountains, into these mountains three times before.

[Narrator]

So I would think rule one is don't leave your tent in a snowstorm without choosing clothes at the very least.

[Brian Sigley]

Yeah, that's the big question. And seems to have been their downfall.

[Ad Voice]

And there's a lot of theories as.

[Brian Sigley]

To what could have happened here.

[Narrator]

Right, right. But I want to save the theories for later and just stick to the facts here just to give us a solid grounding. So tell me about this mountain, the Mountain of Death. That's the name of it, right? Big red flag right there.

[Ad Voice]

Yeah. I can say with confidence that these.

[Brian Sigley]

People and I have very different ideas.

[Ad Voice]

Of what makes for a nice time in the mountains. But yeah, that's what these locals called it, Mountain of Death. And this is the place that they.

[Brian Sigley]

Decided of all the mountains to camp.

[Ad Voice]

On, this is the one that we're going to pitch our tent.

[Narrator]

And it was off course from where they were supposed to be. Right. Like they weren't Planning to, because they were heading to another mountain.

[Brian Sigley]

I have no idea what they were doing there.

[Ad Voice]

No one seems to have any idea what they were doing there.

[Brian Sigley]

It seems to have been 10 miles away from where they were supposed to be.

[Narrator]

No, I've done a lot of hiking when I was younger, and 10 miles on a mountain is a. That's your day.

[Ad Voice]

Yeah. All we know is they pitched a.

[Brian Sigley]

Tent, they slash it open from the inside and left in a single file line before dying horrible, horrible deaths.

[Narrator]

That's what gets me. I mean, if you're that panicked that you're going to slash your tent open to escape with no clothes, why would you leave the tent in an orderly line? Right. Because the footprints were in a straight line. It makes no sense.

[Brian Sigley]

It makes zero sense. Plus the fact that they left their.

[Ad Voice]

Flashlights, their knives, everything needed to survive was left behind.

[Narrator]

And then even though they leave together, they seem to be found all over this mountain.

[Brian Sigley]

Yes.

[Ad Voice]

So they must have dispersed at some point. And like I said earlier, the only thing I did in this story was condense the timeline. And I only did that because these.

[Brian Sigley]

People were so scattered that it took literally months for the authorities to actually find the bodies, not just days like.

[Ad Voice]

It was in the story.

[Leah Vov]

Oh, wow. Yeah.

[Narrator]

So little. Like corpse sickles. Wow. And we haven't even started talking about the injuries yet. You know, we've got some with no clothes, dying of hypothermia. We've got others who were missing their, gosh, their tongue and eyes. I mean, what?

[Ad Voice]

I'm right there with you.

[Brian Sigley]

It makes zero sense, especially since they had no scratches or marks that would.

[Ad Voice]

Be indicative of what actually happened to them. You know, if they fell into a ravine, for instance, they weren't all scuffed.

[Brian Sigley]

Up as though they'd fallen into a ravine. They were traumatized internally, but externally looked relatively normal.

[Ad Voice]

Minus the missing eyes, of course.

[Narrator]

Yeah. You know, but the people who were most injured were the ones found at the bottom of a ravine.

[Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Narrator]

And maybe they fell and landed on snow so they wouldn't be all scuffed up.

[Ad Voice]

I guess that sounds like a good idea. But the ones who were the most.

[Brian Sigley]

Badly injured had symmetrical internal injuries, like.

[Ad Voice]

Their ribs were broken in the same places on each side, which, I'm no doctor, but does not strike me as.

[Brian Sigley]

The kind of injury you would get when you fall into a ravine.

[Narrator]

So what did kill these people, then? I mean, that's a silly question. It's the question.

[Brian Sigley]

As we heard in the story, the Russian government initially chalked it all up.

[Ad Voice]

To quote, elemental forces, whatever that means. I guess it could mean wind or snow or avalanche or weather or something.

[Brian Sigley]

They reopened the case in 2019, apparently.

[Ad Voice]

And all the possible causes that they ended up evaluating were connected to extreme.

[Narrator]

Weather, which, again, doesn't explain the injuries. Icicles don't do that.

[Ad Voice]

It doesn't. So what might McLeod solve the Dyadlav.

[Brian Sigley]

Pass mystery for me right now.

[Ad Voice]

I'm putting you on the spot.

[Brian Sigley]

Do it.

[Ad Voice]

Give me some ideas.

[Narrator]

I was waiting for you. Okay, let me go get my pipe. Okay, so they're in the mountains. It could be an avalanche that crushes them, because there's a lot of crushing, and avalanche has enough force. It could rip, you know, rip arms off and that sort of thing.

[Ad Voice]

I don't know that avalanches can necessarily remove eyes and tongues, but. No, yeah, it could be the elemental force that I suppose the Russians were.

[Narrator]

Talking about, but actually, when I think about it, the tent wasn't fully buried, right?

[Ad Voice]

No, no.

[Brian Sigley]

There was snow on it from just snow having fallen since.

[Etsy Ad Voice]

Right.

[Narrator]

And they all walked out. They didn't crawl out or drag themselves out because they would have been crushed while they were in the tent. Okay, so scrap it.

[Ad Voice]

Well, in 2021, a couple physicists built.

[Brian Sigley]

A model showing that a snow slab.

[Ad Voice]

That was falling down the side of this mountain could have caused the injuries. I don't think I'd buy that, though, because again, these were symmetrical injuries, and I don't think that snow slabs have frightening fingers to p. Ice.

[Narrator]

So, you know, it reminds me of Event Horizon. Oh, gosh, that old 90s.

[Ad Voice]

Yep.

[Narrator]

But out in a mountain instead of in space, I think.

[Ad Voice]

I'm glad you brought up Event Horizon.

[Brian Sigley]

Because that's a movie all about fear and kind of the power of fear.

[Ad Voice]

And, like, maybe it was not an avalanche itself, but the fear of an avalanche that forced these people out of this tent.

[Brian Sigley]

So they panicked, they ran, they got.

[Ad Voice]

Lost, and then they died. Horrible deaths.

[Narrator]

But it's interesting, you bring up, like, the people and fear and the emotional element, which is the human element, which, you know, the next logical step is its people that this is like a serial killer or they killed each other.

[Ad Voice]

But I will say people wise, you know, there were a lot of gulag prisoners who were released in this area because there was a lot of prisons in this area, allegedly in these mountains.

[Brian Sigley]

So they were all released and they kind of stuck around because they had.

[Ad Voice]

Nowhere else to go. So could it have been them? Or maybe someone escaped from one of these prisons and decided to slaughter all of these people and.

[Narrator]

Right, but then, like, do they not have feet? There were no other footprints.

[Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Narrator]

You know, which leads me to cross my next idea off the list, which is that it's some kind of creature, but creatures have feet as well.

[Ad Voice]

Well, it could have been a flying creature. This could have been the Russian Mothman or something like that. I don't know.

[Narrator]

Oh, yeah, no, but that's like a hawk or an eagle with the eyes being cleanly eaten out. I can see a hawk or an eagle digging people's eyes out. Maybe the tongue.

[Leah Vov]

I don't know.

[Ad Voice]

It's a really.

[Brian Sigley]

It's a really motivated hawk or eagle.

[Ad Voice]

Then to have killed all nine of them.

[Narrator]

Things are hard up in Siberia.

[Leah Vov]

Hungry hawk.

[Brian Sigley]

In this serious defense, it wasn't a.

[Ad Voice]

Hawk or an eagle. But, you know, as happened in the.

[Brian Sigley]

Story, there was that blurry photo that.

[Ad Voice]

Was taken by the hikers during their trip, you know, of a shadowy figure who was not one of the people who was with them. Who this or who or what this thing was is still unknown. Right, but then there's the question, you know, they also found radiation on these bodies.

[Narrator]

Exactly. I'm so glad you went there, because that's where I was going to go, to the radiation, which we haven't covered. What does that do to the body?

[Ad Voice]

I don't know if it actually did anything to the body.

[Brian Sigley]

I think it's just trace radiation more than background radiation.

[McLeod Andrews]

Okay.

[Ad Voice]

So. But then again, like, if this were.

[Brian Sigley]

Some kind of yeti or hawk or.

[Ad Voice]

Something like that, I don't think there's radioactive yetis rolling around in Russia.

[Narrator]

That's the only kind of yetis that are running around.

[Ad Voice]

So I don't know if that works. But as we're talking about radiation, that leads me to think, could this have been some kind of other supernatural thing like a UFO kind of situation or something like that?

[Narrator]

How dare you bring us back to aliens. I mean, we'll continue. Why do you think it could be aliens?

[Ad Voice]

Well, Lev himself, the investigator who you.

[Brian Sigley]

Read in the story, he seems to.

[Ad Voice]

Believe now that it was some kind of UFO incident or something like that.

[Brian Sigley]

Because he simply could not find any.

[Ad Voice]

Other explanation 20, 30 years later. Also, remember in the story, the local tribe saw fireballs in the sky. Basically, there were hikers who were also in those mountains who claim they saw something on the night that this all went down. Theoretically.

[Narrator]

Right.

[Ad Voice]

But again, I hate slapping the label, oh, it's aliens on this. You know, I mean, what would the aliens motive be?

[Narrator]

Exactly? And to Kill everyone in different ways, and some in, like, really horrific ways. The thing that kind of comes to mind for me is just some sort of hysteria, either due to the cold and hypothermia, because I do know that when you're experiencing hypothermia, you actually start to feel warm and strip all your clothes off.

[Ad Voice]

Paradoxical undressing, I think, is what it's called.

[Narrator]

Yeah, yeah. And then, like, radiation, if there's strong enough radiation.

[Ad Voice]

I mean, I don't know.

[Narrator]

I've seen Chernobyl. That's some pretty messed up stuff. Like, that'll melt your brain and cause you to feel hot and like you're burning from the inside out. And take all your clothes off. Doesn't explain the eyes and tongue. Unless they did it to themselves, just trying to, because they were in such horrible pain.

[Brian Sigley]

Then the question I have is, where does the radiation come from?

[Ad Voice]

You know?

[Narrator]

Well, like some sort of military thing. It's like a military operation, you know, experiments with nukes or other weaponizing radiation maybe. I don't know.

[Brian Sigley]

And that makes total sense. I mean, this was the golden age.

[Ad Voice]

Of Soviet science, and Sputnik was launched.

[Brian Sigley]

Two years earlier in 1957.

[Ad Voice]

And this idea of some kind of military operation or botched experiment seems to.

[Brian Sigley]

Be what the families of the deceased believe.

[Ad Voice]

But I guess I'll say it's worth.

[Brian Sigley]

Noting that there were no ballistic missiles.

[Ad Voice]

Launched from the nearby cosmodrome at that time.

[Brian Sigley]

There was no sign of, like, a.

[Ad Voice]

Blast or debris or anything like that in the area. There are theories that the hikers could have been kind of abducted by military, you know, no way experimented on in some capacity or exposed to something, and then put back on the mountain to look like whatever. There are reports that some of the people who were involved with this in.

[Brian Sigley]

An investigative capacity had to sign NDAs.

[Ad Voice]

So they can't express what they actually.

[Brian Sigley]

Know about what happened here.

[Narrator]

Then why even have investigators? That's bonkers. But, I mean, unless you're trying to.

[Ad Voice]

Cover things up, something that wasn't in the story, that implies that the government knew a lot more than they were probably letting on.

[Brian Sigley]

So the hikers had a diary with.

[Ad Voice]

Them when they were on the hike.

[Leah Vov]

Right.

[Brian Sigley]

And Lev, the investigator, read this, he.

[Ad Voice]

Took it back to the town, and, you know, people are doing autopsies and things like that. He comes home one night, finds that.

[Brian Sigley]

Someone has gone to the diary, erased.

[Ad Voice]

A bunch of stuff, and rewritten passages.

[Narrator]

Wow, that's spook city.

[Ad Voice]

Yeah, it's pretty strange. And this might be the Big one here.

[Brian Sigley]

Six days before anyone even knew they.

[Ad Voice]

Were missing, an investigation was opened.

[Narrator]

Yeah, that's suspect. That's incredibly suspect.

[Ad Voice]

So I don't know what is your final. What does your gut say about this, McCloud? I think to me it's clear that something happened here. It's just.

[Holiday Gift Voice]

What?

[Narrator]

It's terrifying and horrendous. It strikes me as based on kind, kind of what we know about hypothermia and just kind of the way potentially radiation affects the body, that could have driven some sort of like psychosis and panic, a group psychosis that drove them out of the tent. But just the diversity and violence of the deaths and everything surrounding it bespeaks that the cause of that psychosis, whatever it was, is in somehow involving a government cover up. That or demons. Honestly. Demons in the mountains. Demons. Gonna go with demons.

[Ad Voice]

Go with demons. All right. Yeah, it's just layer upon layer upon layer of insanity.

[Narrator]

And yeah, I see why people still talk about this all these years later.

[Brian Sigley]

Absolutely.

[Narrator]

But listeners, if you're sitting there talking about it and want to talk about it with us and you happen to know the secret of what happened here or have a compelling theory, reach out to us@theories sightingspodcast.com or hit our socials at sightingspod.

[Brian Sigley]

Also, don't forget to hit the subscribe button on your podcast player if you haven't already.

[Ad Voice]

That way you can get us in your ears every single week.

[Narrator]

And I am, as always, excited to hear where we're going next week.

[Brian Sigley]

Well, I am sure all of you listeners have heard us asking for some juicy stories of your encounters with the supernatural.

[Narrator]

Oh, is it here? Is it time?

[Brian Sigley]

Oh, it sure is. Because next week we're going anywhere your listener stories take us.

[Narrator]

I'm so freaking excited. I want a killer snowman story and a Wendigo. And I figure I'm just gonna have.

[Ad Voice]

To wait until next week to find.

[Narrator]

Out, aren't I, Brian?

[Ad Voice]

That's.

[Brian Sigley]

That's right.

[Ad Voice]

So we will see you all next.

[Brian Sigley]

Week for our very first Listener Stories episode.

[Narrator]

This is amazing.

[Ad Voice]

Bye.

[Brian Sigley]

Bye. Sightings is hosted by McLeod Andrews and Brian Sigley. Produced by Brian Sigley, chase Kinzer and McLeod Andrews. Written by Brian Sigley. Music by Mitch Bain. Mixing and mastering by Pat Kickliter of Sundial Media. Artwork by Nuno Sernatus. For a list of this episode's sources, check out our [e-mail] Sightings is presented by Reverb and Q Code. If you like the show, be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so you're first to hear hear new episodes every week. And if you know other Supernatural fans.

[Ad Voice]

Tell them about us.

[Brian Sigley]

We'd really appreciate it.