LOUDONVILLE — The Cleo Redd Fisher Museum’s Speaker Series continues this month with a look into one of the outdoors’ greatest cold cases.
In February of 1959, nine hikers died while on an expedition in Siberia. When their bodies were found, investigators were left with more questions than answers.
What became known as the Dyatlov Pass Incident has stumped the world for the past 63 years. Conspiracy theories abound.
The situation was unlike any other; it was -20 degrees F the night of the incident, yet the hikers appeared to have cut their tent open from the inside.
Investigators followed their footprints down the mountain into a forest where they found some of the victims nearly naked with burnt hands and feet.
Three more hikers were discovered as if they had headed back up the mountain, all with injuries suggesting self-defense or a fight.
The rest were found in another location, missing body parts and covered in radiation.
What happened to the group, and what other evidence do their remains provide?
Were they involved in nearby Soviet weapons testing, or perhaps victims of a native hunting party? Others believe some evidence — including photographs found in the expedition’s camera — suggest a Yeti attack.
Some theorize that reported UFO sightings that night are involved in the incident.
Experienced Ashland mountaineer Adam Fox will lay out the timeline and evidence, including his own theories for what truly happened.
Fox has previously written about the incident, and most recently was featured on the History Channel show History’s Greatest Mysteries.
Fox works for Source Media Properties and has been involved in films premiering at Sundance, SXSW, and Tribeca. He is currently on a high pointing quest of the United States, summiting the highest point in each state.
The event will take place on Monday, March 21 at 7 p.m. in the Cleo Redd Fisher Museum. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, with support for the Cleo Redd Fisher Museum provided by Ohio Humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
The museum is located at 203 E. Main Street in Loudonville, Ohio. For more information visit www.crfmuseum.com.
