Dyatlov Pass Hikers Have a Living Relative - DNA Just Found Them

In 1959, nine experienced hikers entered Russia’s Ural Mountains and died in one of the twentieth century’s most enduring mysteries. The Dyatlov Pass incident has inspired decades of theories surrounding the torn tent, severe injuries, unexplained circumstances, and the official avalanche explanation. But one victim may contain a mystery of his own. Semyon Zolotaryov, the oldest member of the expedition, was exhumed in 2018 so researchers could determine whether the man buried under his name was truly Zolotaryov. The results became deeply controversial when two DNA tests appeared to reach completely different conclusions.

This investigation examines the disputed DNA evidence, forensic identification, unexplained tattoos, missing Soviet-era records, Zolotaryov’s wartime history, and the identity theories surrounding his grave. From the original 1959 investigation to the 2018 exhumation and the later avalanche explanation, the evidence reveals why questions about Semyon Zolotaryov’s identity remain part of the wider Dyatlov Pass mystery. What happened on Kholat Syakhl may never be fully known, but the unanswered questions surrounding one of the nine graves suggest that the story is more complicated than a simple mountain tragedy.