100 Murder Cases

The Bizarre Deaths at Dyatlov Pass

On the first night of February in 1959, nine hikers died mysteriously in the mountains of what is now Russia. On the night of the incident, the group had set up camp on a slope, enjoyed dinner, and got ready for bed —but never returned home.

On February 26, a search party found the hikers' abandoned tent, which had been ripped open from the inside. Surrounding the area were footprints left by the group, some wearing socks, some wearing a single shoe, some barefoot, all of which followed to the edge of a forest that was nearby. Two bodies were found there, shoeless and wearing only underwear. Initially, it was believed they died by hypothermia but medical examiners took a look at the body as well as the seven others that were discovered over the months that followed and disproved that theory. One body had evidence of a blunt force trauma as the result of a brutal assault, another body had third-degree burns, one had been vomiting blood; and the last one was missing a tongue. Some of their clothing had been found to be radioactive.

The morbid theories that floated included KGB-interference, drug overdose, UFO, gravity anomalies, the Yeti, and a terrifying but real phenomenon called "infrasound" in which the wind interacts with the topography to create a barely audible hum that can induce powerful feelings of nausea, panic, dread, chills, nervousness, raised heartbeat rate, and breathing difficulties. The true cause of death for these adventures still remains unsolved.