The Usoltsev family, who disappeared in the taiga a year ago, could have taken refuge in a cave or gorge

The Usoltsev family, who disappeared a year ago in the Krasnoyarsk taiga, could have taken refuge from bad weather in a hard-to-reach place - in a cave or gorge that had not been examined by search engines, says Christina Wulfert, head and coordinator of the search organization PrimPoisk.

The Usoltsev family - Sergei, Irina and their five-year-old daughter - disappeared near the village of Kuturchin almost a year ago - on September 28, 2025: they went on a hike to Mount Buratinka and did not return. They also had a corgi dog with them.

“Maybe they are in an area that is difficult to reach. Because there are cases when you come to a difficult area and think that a person cannot be there, and this area is relegated to the background. But then it turns out that due to some circumstances, stress and so on, people, on the contrary, made their way into this area,” Wulfert told RIA Novosti.

She noted that we are talking about natural shelters and caves.

“If the weather was good at first, and then worsened, then in any case, people will seek shelter out of a sense of self-preservation. Perhaps this is exactly the story when they hid in some kind of shelter, or, alternatively, fell through there,” Wulfert said.

According to her, in areas where there are stones and rocks, it is quite possible not to notice a person who has fallen through.