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How to look for a "lost" in the forest and what to do if you meet a bear? Tips from "Angel" and Nikolai Drozdov11 September 1, 2019 at 09:21 AMSince 2012, volunteers have saved over 600 people. For one day we were able, albeit in simplified conditions, but to see how the "angels" work.
Maxim Markhalyuk, who disappeared a year and a half ago, is still being searched for13 February 7, 2019 at 06:36 PMTo date, the main version of the police in the region is an accident. It is assumed that the boy went into the forest and got lost.
"We don’t go to Pushcha once again." How Novy Dvor lives a year after the disappearance of Maxim Markhalyuk48 September 16, 2018 at 12:38 PMExactly a year ago, on September 16, 2017, Maxim Markhalyuk disappeared in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. At first, the police and local residents were looking for him, and then volunteers joined the search. Unfortunately, the boy was never found. A year later, TUT.BY visited Novy Dvor.
More than a thousand people were searched for in the forests in Belarus for five years, 37 could not be found15 July 18, 2018 at 03:39 PMOver the past five years, more than 1,000 people have been searched for in the forests of Belarus over the past five years, said Dmitry Kryukov, head of the search organization department of the main criminal investigation department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, BelTA informs.
TRK Mir explained how the photo of Maksim Markhalyuk got into the fictional story in the program. Editor fired20 June 7, 2018 at 11:16 PMThe photo of the missing Maxim Markhalyuk appeared in the "Family Matters" program on the "Mir" TV channel. It was used to illustrate a fictional story of controversial paternity in the Family Matters program. Now the TV channel is trying to figure out how this could have happened.
The photo of the missing Maxim Markhalyuk was used in a fictional story on the Mir TV channel44 June 7, 2018 at 12:11 PMThe photo of the missing boy appeared in the "Family Affairs" program on the "Mir" TV channel. True, they used it to illustrate a fictional story of controversial paternity.
"I swam badly and did not orientate myself in the forest." Investigator and mother - about the long search for Maxim Markhalyuk88 19 February 2018 at 07:00Maxim Markhalyuk disappeared on September 16, 2017. Now the search for the boy is still ongoing, although not by as many people as in September. Nobody is going to close the criminal case. A special group of 6 investigators and police officers is engaged in it. One of the leaders of the USC in the Grodno region told TUT.BY about how the search for the boy is going now, about working with psychics and volunteers and about the versions that the investigation is considering. And Maxim's mother, five months after the disappearance of the child, is still waiting for her son home.
The police told how the search for Maxim Markhalyuk went and what is being done now37 December 22, 2017 at 01:18 PMThe police held the day of informing in Novy Dvor, where Maxim Markhalyuk disappeared on September 16. Among other topics, the topic of finding a boy was also touched upon.
The term of the investigation into the case of the disappearance of 10-year-old Maxim in Pushcha was extendedNovember 27, 2017 at 01:00 PMInvestigators, together with the police, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Defense, local authorities and volunteers, carried out a huge amount of work aimed at establishing the boy's whereabouts.
"We believe that we just went to travel." Maxim, who disappeared in Pushcha, turns 1127 October 10, 2017 at 08:57 PMNow in Novy Dvor nothing reminds that two weeks ago the largest search and rescue operation in the country took place here.
"Polish trace" by Maxim Markhalyuk. The truck driver said he was giving a ride to another boy32 October 5, 2017 at 02:09 PMThe press service of the police of the city of Radom assured us that they know about the missing in Belarus little Maksim here, and if information about any street children appears, this information will not go unnoticed.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus: there was no official information from Poland useful for finding our boy6 October 4, 2017 at 06:42 PMThe diplomat said that in connection with reports in the Polish regional media, the situation is being monitored by the Embassy of Belarus in Warsaw and the consulates in Bialystok and Biala Podlaska.
"It might have something to do with your missing boy." Polish police are looking for a child hiding in a wagon178 October 4, 2017 at 01:21 PMA Polish regional news website reported that the police in Siedlce were looking for an unknown 10-year-old boy.
The mother of Maxim, who disappeared in the forest, believes that his son is alive. What's new in the search?79 October 3, 2017 at 03:19 PMThe woman said that every day psychologists from the Ministry of Emergencies come to her and help maintain her morale. But, for example, locals and neighbors treat her grief in different ways.
There are fewer volunteers, the Ministry of Emergencies works. A report from Novy Dvor, where they are looking for a child in Pushcha for 13 days78 September 29, 2017 at 08:10 PMAt the moment, searches in Belovezhskaya Pushcha continue, but on a smaller scale. The large camp of the Angel search and rescue unit moved to the square near the village council.
Two days after the disappearance of the child, the whole country learned that on September 16, the ten-year Maxim Markhalyuk from the village of Novy Dvor, Svisloch region, presumably got lost in the forest. The message about the lost boy was published in the media and broadcast on radio and television. Then the rescuers and neighbors were looking for the child, but their strength was not enough. Therefore, they began to invite volunteers for a search operation on social networks.
It was known that on the evening of September 16, Maxim, while playing with friends, said that he would go to the forest to pick mushrooms. This is a favorite pastime of the locals: the forest is located not far from the agro-town. When the boy did not return for dinner, his parents became worried. And 800 meters from the house, in the forest next to the hut, which the children had built for games, they found a bicycle and a basket of mushrooms.
September 20th. Volunteers travel from all over the country
Caring people cooperate and travel from different cities of Belarus. Those with tents and other travel gear are offering their belongings to the volunteers.On that day, three volunteers left Baranovichi in search of Maxim. After returning, one of them Intex-press, how the search operation is organized.
September 22nd. Volunteers set up camp
And on the Youtube portal about the largest search operation in the country. At that time, they had been looking for Maxim Markhalyuk for the tenth day, but still to no avail. Law enforcement agencies did not consider the criminal version.
September 26. Criminal case
On the eleventh day of the search for Maksim on the fact of his disappearance in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Belarus. If, within ten days after the report on the disappearance, the whereabouts of the missing person have not been established, then this article allows to initiate a criminal case on the fact of an unknown disappearance.
The Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus stated that no criminal trace was found in the missing boy.
- Today there is no information that the child who disappeared in the Svisloch region became a victim of a crime, - the chairman of the Investigative Committee told reporters Ivan Noskevich.
September 27. The search continues
In the morning at 9.00 in the group of the search and rescue squad "Angel" information appeared that the lost boy had not yet been found. Also, administrators asked users not to spread rumors.
The main version of law enforcement agencies is that the boy got lost in the forest. Although after the initiation of a criminal case, other versions are also being worked out. For example, a boy could leave the house of his own free will.
The search teams went around the entire territory where ten-year-old Maxim could get lost. However, some places in the forest and abandoned farms are being reworked.
They have been looking for a child for a week and a half, but the largest search operation in the country yields no results. How does it go? Komsomolskaya Pravda reports. [photo, video]
On the 10th day after the boy's disappearance, a criminal case was opened. The search continues.
Photo: Sergey GAPON
1. How did the boy disappear?
It is known that on September 16, in the late afternoon, Maxim left home in the agricultural town of Novy Dvor, Svisloch District, Grodno Region. He went to the forest for mushrooms. Since then, nothing has been known about him.
- 150 meters from the stadium there is a so-called base - a hut, which was built by the boys. In this hut, his bicycle and a basket of mushrooms were found. He and his friends gathered mushrooms, sold them and bought building materials for their hut with this money - slate, nails. On the evening before his disappearance, the boy called his friends to go mushrooming. Two refused and he went on his own, - says one of the coordinators of the search and rescue unit "Angel" Dmitry.
True, later it turned out that the basket with mushrooms did not belong to Maxim, but the bicycle was really his.
The search for Maksim Markhalyuk has become the most resonant event of recent times in Belarus.
Photo: Sergey GAPON
2. When did they start looking for him?
On the same evening, when Maxim did not return home, relatives and neighbors went to the forest. Then the militia, rapid response units of the Belarusian Red Cross Society and the search and rescue unit "Angel" joined in. After information about the disappearance of the boy appeared on social networks and in the news, first trained volunteer search engines from all over the country began to come to Novy Dvor, and then ordinary civilian volunteers.
The Red Cross is also actively involved in search activities.
Photo: Sergey GAPON
3. How many people are involved in the search?
At the moment, the detachments of "Angel" and the search and rescue squad "CenterSpas", volunteers of the Red Cross, the military, the police, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, foresters are involved ... Plus, every day groups of ordinary caring Belarusians come who want to help in the search.
- More than 1000 volunteers signed up over the weekend, - says the coordinator Dmitry.
On different days, from a few dozen people to several hundred volunteers go out in search. Plus rescuers, soldiers, police and people who go AWOL into the forest - without coordinators and coordination with the headquarters.
The outskirts of Novy Dvor within a radius of 10-12 km have been combed several times - no traces.
Photo: Sergey GAPON
4. Who is directing the search?
Until now, the search and rescue activities were directed by a special headquarters set up in Novy Dvor. It includes employees of the ATC, the Ministry of Emergencies and other specialists responsible for the search. Volunteers check the maps with the headquarters several times a day to note which areas have already been examined and where else people or special equipment should be sent.
— The headquarters gives us squares. There are places where only narrow specialists, trained people are sent. The same swamps: volunteers will not pass there, - Dmitry explains.
Caring people from all over the country come to search. Photo: Sergey GAPON
In addition, the headquarters decides when to raise the helicopters of the Ministry of Emergency Situations into the sky (from above they adjust a chain of people who comb fields and forests, inspect the territory within the search radius). It also receives reports on the work of drones with thermal imagers that operate at night.
On the 10th day after the disappearance of the boy, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case. Now the search work and all other procedural actions will be coordinated by the investigators. The case was taken under personal control by the chairman of the IC, Ivan Noskevich.
Seasoned volunteers know that it is better to go to the forest in rubber boots.
Photo: Sergey GAPON
5. What is the search work of volunteers?
Volunteers are combing the area meter by meter where Maxim is supposedly lost. Representatives of search groups are specially trained people who know how to navigate the area, know how to organize volunteers and build the logic of searching in the area. They act as coordinators in groups - Unfortunately, there are often not enough coordinators for everyone. And this greatly complicates the work. Urban people come, who have been in the forest a couple of times, picked mushrooms, but now they really want to help, for which thanks to them. The coordinator needs to instruct them, but then make sure that they do not get lost, - says the volunteers.
Each search group receives its own task from the headquarters and works in a certain square.
Photo: Sergey GAPON
They go on searches in groups of five to several hundred. Volunteers are combing the forest, the surrounding fields: they walk in a chain at arm's length and carefully look under their feet and around. All abandoned buildings, silos, cellars, animal feeders in the forest are being investigated ...
The volunteers are dressed in brightly colored vests and instructed. The basic rule is to obey the coordinator and not leave the side without asking.
Photo: Sergey GAPON
- We pay special attention to traces of life activity. Bits, sunflowers and corn cobs, for example. Everything that we find is traces, things, places of overnight stay, we transfer all this information to the headquarters, and, if necessary, the special forces of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, cynologists, leave for the place. Investigating traces is not our business, we are only looking - adds Dmitry.
Life in Novy Dvor goes on as usual, but the villagers are actively helping the volunteers - they invite them for the night and bring them lunches.
Photo: Sergey GAPON
6. Which area has already been visited?
- You can endlessly walk in the forest, but we tried to work out the version that the boy got lost in his native forest. We have combed all the roads, directions are hanging everywhere ... Impenetrable swamps begin at a distance of 8 - 10 kilometers from here, even an adult man cannot walk there. We climbed everything up to them, went around everything. There is also the Novodvorskoye reservoir nearby - divers worked there. We have been within a radius of the next 10 kilometers several times. Volunteers are constantly marking time there. There are no traces - search engines cross out the surveyed places on the map several times a day.
The geography of the search is constantly expanding - the detachments combed the forest, farms and fields 15 - 20 km from Novy Dvor.
The building is checked even if the doors are closed, but a child could have crawled through the crack.
Photo: Sergey GAPON
7. What traces were found?
Until now, only Maxim's bicycle has been found - it was thrown near a hut in the forest, where the village boys had their own base. Volunteers also found footprints in the swamp, clothes in the forest, but all this has nothing to do with the missing. There are no more leads.
Immediately after the disappearance, a search dog was launched on the trail, but it went out onto the road and lost its smell. But this does not necessarily mean that the boy was taken away by car or something similar.
From time to time, information appears that a similar boy was seen somewhere in the surrounding villages. This information is being checked, but so far it has never been confirmed.
Volunteers ask the residents of the farmsteads and Pushcha villages if they have seen a boy who looks like Maxim.
Photo: Sergey GAPON
8. What versions of the boy's disappearance are being considered?
Until now, the main version was this: he is alive, but lost in the forest. Although the locals immediately said that Maxim knew the Pushcha very well in the vicinity of the village - he even led the lost ones out of the forest.
However, volunteers simulate different scenarios.
— The fourth day was the most critical. Before that, it rained, and the boy was dressed lightly enough - this is instant hypothermia. If you have eaten something wrong, it is diarrhea, vomiting and, as a result, dehydration. I think if he did move, he walked no more than 1.5 - 2 or 3 kilometers, - suggests the volunteer. - To the north, to the west, to the east of the village, there are roads everywhere, everything is in glades - it's very easy to get out! But we did not find a single trace.
In abandoned buildings, attention is paid to traces of a recent overnight stay.
Photo: Sergey GAPON
Abandoned buildings are scrutinized as part of the scenario that the child is purposefully hiding for some reason. At the same time, there is no information that the boy could have problems at school or at home.
Rescue team coordinators communicate with each other by radio.
Photo: Sergey GAPON
9. How long will the search continue?
In the situational headquarters, which coordinates the search work on the spot, this question is answered shortly and dryly:
- Until any result.
What is hidden behind this veiled formulation is not clear. The volunteers plan to work as long as there are people willing to regularly participate in the search.
- Our job, the search and rescue squad, is to rule out the version that the boy got lost, - Dmitry notes.
They noticed a booth in the middle of a cornfield - they checked it too.
Photo: Sergey GAPON
10. Are the predictions of clairvoyants taken into account?
Recently, people who pretend to be psychics have often called the headquarters and volunteers. In the search camp, they are skeptical about them - they need real help, not instructions that search engines are working in the wrong direction. Nevertheless, some information is discussed and, if justified, verified. However, the boy has still not been found.
On the abandoned farm, except for volunteers, it seems that there was no one for a long time.
Photo: Sergey GAPON
Search work takes a lot of effort.
Photo: Sergey GAPON
Lunches and dinners for search engines are prepared by Red Cross volunteers.
Photo: Sergey GAPON
There is no shortage of food: the Belarusians have supplied the search camp with provisions, and the villagers are also helping with food.
Photo: Sergey GAPON
Sometimes the squad is divided into mini-groups and works out its direction.
Photo: Sergey GAPON
In places the forest is very dense, there are many fallen trees, but literally every meter needs to be checked.
Photo: Sergey GAPON
The forest is combed every day - and until now the boy has not been found.
Photo: Sergey GAPON
The volunteers stopped searching for 10-year-old Maxim Markhalyuk in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Volunteers are no longer allowed into the forest. More often than not, the boy is still wanted by militiamen and rescuers.
Sank into a quagmire
Let us remind you that a 10-year-old teenager rode a bicycle from his courtyard in the evening of September 16, on Saturday, and never returned. The incident took place in the village of Novy Dvor, Svisloch district. Almost the entire country follows the fate of the child. This search set a record for the number of volunteers: over two thousand people were looking for a boy in the forest.
- The volunteers "took off" from the New Courtyard. Volunteers were no longer allowed into the forest on weekends, but our group of nine was still working. There is nothing to do there, the territory within a radius of 20 kilometers has been examined: from abandoned houses and bunkers to impassable swamps, - explained Alexander Kritsky, commander of the TsentrSpas search and rescue team. - The whole area is trampled, it was passed three times. The chances of missing something important are minimal.
As the interlocutor said, for two weeks no traces of the child's presence in the array were found. They even explored the swamps:
- The terrain in the search radius is swampy. Basically, it can be passed without getting bogged down in a quagmire. The swamps are found in the depths of the forest, they were examined by professionals and trained people of the "CenterSpas" detachment. They passed similar places, plunging into swamps "up to their chests." However, it is even difficult to get to such places: a rural child will not go into the quagmire itself. An athletic boy like Maxim can get out of a swampy place. Of course, provided that he is not exhausted.
By the way, the first steps in the search activity of Alexander Kritsky took place along a similar plot:
- Four years ago, I saw a message on the Internet about the missing girl. It happened in a dacha association not far from Grodno. Participated in the night search, there were three of us and two of my flashlights in all. Then we found the girl with the help of headlights, she was standing "up to her waist" in the bog.
Anatomy of wanderings
The maximum period of searching for children, which Alexander encountered, is ten days:
“I don’t remember more cases of missing children in the forest. Yes, teenagers disappeared. Some quarreled with their parents, others wanted to travel. All of them could be found within the country. I know that for several years now the "Angel" PSO, located in the capital, has been looking for a girl.
The interlocutor recalled a case when a grandmother was found alive and unharmed in Belovezhskaya Pushcha five days later:
- An elderly woman went on a bicycle to pick mushrooms. Lost, unable to get out on the road. It's good that I drove into the store before, she had groceries. The plus is that it was summer then and the weather was warm. Grandmother settled down next to the reservoir and waited until she was discovered.
In the base of Grodno search engines there are several adults who disappeared without a trace:
“Of the recent cases, an elderly resident of Skidel,” says the commander of TsentrSpas. - She came from Grodno to her bus station and did not get home. Its whereabouts have not been established, although three months have passed. By the way, our group again went to find her when they learned about the disappearance of Maxim. It happened on Sunday, September 17, and, of course, immediately went to look for the child. For a long time, let's say, a man from the Lakes has been wanted. Often, representatives of the strong half of humanity, presumably, leave for Russia, and their trail is cut off.
Alexander Kritsky explained that the detachment will return to the search for the boy when the security forces give an orientation.
Hazy picture
Ten days after the disappearance of Maxim Markhalyuk, a criminal case was opened into the disappearance of a person. This is the order. The investigation of the incident was taken under personal control by the Chairman of the Investigative Committee.
- Today, the police and the Ministry of Emergency Situations continue to comb the thicket. A criminal version of what happened is also being worked out. All materials on the case have been transferred to the Investigative Committee for the Grodno Region, - explained the head of the press service of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Grodno Regional Executive Committee Yevgeny Dudko.
The interlocutor noted that a total of 42 adults and one child are on the wanted list in the Grodno region, Maxim Markhalyuk:
- Roughly speaking, all the disappeared are mushroom pickers. As a rule, these are people of retirement age. The search for some has been going on for years. There are cases when the place of loss is re-examined by militiamen and soldiers even after eight years.
- No news yet. An investigation is underway. The management instructed to involve any forces and experts, if necessary. The Investigative Committee has the resources to analyze the case to the smallest detail. As soon as the results appear, the public will know about it. We are not talking about the timing of the investigation. The work will not stop until a clear picture is established, regardless of the time it takes, - commented Sergey Shershenevich, the official representative of the Investigative Committee for the Grodno region.
The correspondent of "Perspektiva" contacted the veteran of the search service Leonid Voinilovich. Here is his opinion:
- It is difficult to judge what happened without having materials at hand. Conflicting information is announced in the media. The details are important here: the boy's bike was found next to the hut, or was the vehicle left under the shed itself? Who owns the found basket? Who collected mushrooms and when? What was the child's relationship with others? I, like all ordinary people, learn about the news on the case only from the press. I read that a neighbor told reporters in an interview that the child had threatened to leave home several years ago. But this is absurd. In their hearts, you can say this, but children are not able to hatch plans to escape for a long time.
Of course, the question arises, why did the child go to the thicket in the evening? But according to the picture I learned from the media, I am inclined to believe that the boy voluntarily ended up in the forest, for some reason he started to panic and got lost. Further versions are different, but they are associated with the danger that the forest conceals: from predatory animals to swamps. From my practice, it is almost impossible to find a person a year after his disappearance. At least alive.
The director of the Novodvorsk school, Alla Goncharevich, explained the child's presence in the forest in the evening:
- Presumably, the boy was in the woods after six in the evening. Of course, no one expected this from him. But adults go to pick mushrooms with us at eight and nine in the evening. I myself asked the children why you need to pick these mushrooms? They explained that they wanted to buy nails and materials to repair their hut.
10-year-old Maxim Markhalyuk disappeared last Saturday. From the moment he left for the forest, it was already the eighth day. Throughout the week, volunteers, rescuers, police officers and military officers combed Belovezhskaya Pushcha, near which the Novy Dvor agro-town is located. The volunteers, the Emergencies Ministry and the police unanimously say: no old-timer remembers such a large-scale search. However, there is still no news yet.
Eight in the morning. Not far from the mechdvor of the local SPK there are tents for military and rescuers. There is smoke from the field kitchen. There are also two large helicopters and one drone from the Academy of Sciences, which was supposed to fly out yesterday in search of Maxim. Also, as reported in the ATC, at night the boy was to be searched with a thermal imager.
The results of these searches are still unknown. The headquarters meeting began at 10:00. By 11 o'clock the head of staff, deputy chief of the Internal Affairs Directorate Alexander Shastailo will announce the action plan and details of the operation that took place last night.
- Today it is planned to participate 40 people from the regional Ministry of Emergency Situations (Grodno), 34 from the Volkovysk Regional Emergency Service, 34 from the Svislochsky and 21 from the special forces, - Natalia Zhivolevskaya, press secretary of the Grodno Emergency Ministry, told Onliner.by. - I want to emphasize that they all take part in the search in their free time. And they volunteered to participate in the search of their own free will.
Another camp, already volunteers, was set up at the local school stadium. There are dozens of cars and hundreds of people here. In the center is the headquarters of the Angel and CentroSpas rescue teams.
There are much more people here than yesterday. By nine in the morning, more than a thousand people from all over the country had already arrived. And they keep coming. Many people take dogs with them.
- We came from Molodechno. There were three cars of five people each. We do not know each other at all, we just decided: "We need to go." And they signed off on VKontakte, - says Svetlana, who participates in the search for the first time. - We left even earlier than at four in the morning to be in time by eight. We are all mothers and fathers, we believe that if something happens to our children, God forbid, people will also come to our aid.
- We are also from Molodechno. We spent the night here and are now ready to search, - says Maxim, Valery, Olga, Igor and Sergey. The guys periodically help "Angel" in his search and are going to stay until tomorrow, if they don't find Maxim today.
- Most likely, he was frightened of wild animals and ran away and is now wandering somewhere in the forest, - young people are optimistic. - In any case, we believe in the best.
The guys from the Brest motorcycle club came by ATVs. They say that it is much easier to search this way: there are many fallen trees in the forest.
- I was released from work yesterday. Reacted with understanding - says strong Sergei. According to him, the passages in the forest are difficult: there are a lot of windbreaks.
- It's easier for a man, guys walk 30 kilometers, women - 15 kilometers. We walked in a chain, there are many windbreaks, there are a lot of blockages, while you look at everything, of course, the girls lagged behind, - says Sergey.
- We hope that searches today will definitely bring results, - adds his friend Victor. - Today there are much more people, we think the search radius will expand.
Yura, Tanya, Oksana, Svetlana also took four hours to get to Novy Dvor from Minsk. They say they could not sit at home, knowing that they needed help.
- I have a brother of the same age at home, we also have a difference of 11 years, like this boy and his older brother. As I think that he could be lost, so already goosebumps, - explains Oksana.
- We simply could not sit at home, knowing that Maxim was alone in the forest, - the guys say. - A lot of people were traveling. Those who could not go, they sent packages. We were carrying medicines, food, stationery. A lot of people transferred money. Trouble leaves no one indifferent.
- On weekdays we could not escape, we worked, - the guys from Baranovichi say. - And at night only specially trained people went to the forest, after all, volunteers were not allowed. So as soon as it became clear that we needed help on the weekend, we immediately arrived.
Local residents, who have been looking for Maxim for a week, cannot talk about what happened without tears.
- Oh, if only he could be found today, I can't speak, I'm sorry, - a tear-stained woman in a red jacket turns away.
- We are all worried about him. We didn't even see him that day, only one of us saw, - Fifth-graders are vying with each other at school.
At headquarters, Angel coordinators are discussing how to assign people. Not without increased tones. Many people worry and try to give each other good advice.
Separately, field kitchen volunteers sort food, prepare tea to feed the children.
On the other side, the Red Cross has pitched its tents. There is also water, food and all the information about the missing Maxim.
Internal Affairs Directorate: "If we do not find the boy in 10 days, we will initiate a criminal case"
After 12:00, we still managed to catch the chief of the search headquarters Maksim Markhalyuk - the deputy chief of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Grodno Regional Executive Committee Alexander Shastailo. He told the details of yesterday's search operation.
- As for the reconnaissance with thermal imagers, experts identified several heat points yesterday night. This morning, these points were checked by forces, including the republican special forces of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. They did not give any information about the missing person, - said Alexander Shastailo.
- At the moment, in the territory where, according to preliminary data, the missing person may be, searches are underway by the forces of law enforcement agencies, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, military, regional authorities, organizations. A sufficient number of volunteers have also arrived today.
At the moment, over two thousand people are taking part in the search for the boy. We divided the volunteers into organized groups in order to use people's opportunities more effectively. Foresters, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the ROVD have been added to these groups, and now search and rescue activities are actively underway.
- Are there any clues and traces?
- We are already returning to those places that were surveyed earlier, now the territory is quite well-trodden, there are many traces, - noted the chief of staff. - If traces are of interest, the information goes to headquarters. A mobile group leaves for this place and thoroughly examines the territory where traces were found, and the information is transmitted to the headquarters. At the moment, all the information received has been verified - there is no result. We are working on various versions, but the main working version is the version that the boy got lost in the forest.
- Are there any other options being considered besides the forest?
- The marshland is considered. Literally today, information was received about the wetland area where the abandoned buildings are located. A mobile group left there, we dropped it off from a helicopter, and specialists checked this area.
- Is there any criminal version being worked out? Maybe the boy was stolen, or did he run away?
- These versions are being worked out by law enforcement officers. In accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Belarus, 10 days after filing an application with the internal affairs bodies, all information is transferred to the Investigative Committee. And already he initiates a criminal case.
- Are there any search standards? After how many days does the search stop?
- As such, there is no established standard. The search will continue regardless of the result that is obtained and will be obtained in the future. Maybe not such forces will be involved, but operational-search measures will be carried out. The statute of limitations for such cases is significant.
Ministry of Emergency Situations and volunteers: combing the territory within a radius where a person could reach, even looking at 100 kilometers
In the afternoon, the Emergencies Ministry has a task for aviation - to work out points. The bottom line is simple: the drone flies, and the thermal imager captures “warm objects”. After some time, the drone returns to its place.
And if he fixes the point again, then a special mobile group is already sent there, which searches the area, including hard-to-reach areas such as islands in swamps, and so on.
- This work is going on now, - stressed in the Ministry of Emergencies. - We choose the radius based on how many people can pass during this time. Yes, we also take 100 kilometers for insurance.
The second task is the coordination of volunteers. More than once or twice in the groups of the search and rescue squad they said that there are a lot of people, but there are not enough coordinators.
Today, at about 10 am, the volunteers were divided into small groups of 30-40 people. Together with them, they sent coordinators - foresters, employees of the Ministry of Emergencies. By the way, the latter employs about 140 people, these are rescuers not only from Grodno, but also from Brest regions. The guys lined up in a chain and went to comb the forest.
- Pay attention to any caches, hiding places, burrows, - the curators explain to the volunteers. - If you are lagging behind or are faced with a hard-to-reach place, pass it to the curator, and he stops the whole chain. Clear?
- The girl tried to literally crawl into the house and ask questions to her parents, - said Alla Goncharevich, director of Novodvorsk secondary school. - Now the parents have decided not to talk to the press.
Completed. Law enforcers: "Misinformation was spread more than once"
- At about 3 pm, the volunteers came across some things. They were handed over to Maxim's parents, but the things were not his, - told Onliner.by representatives of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Grodno Regional Executive Committee. Neither volunteers nor aircraft found any more leads.
At 20:00 on September 23, 2017, the boy was not found. Volunteers are currently looking for an overnight stay in an agro-town, many will spend the night in tents. They can continue their search tomorrow.
At 21:24 on the website of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Grodno Regional Executive Committee, the final information on the results of today appeared. Law enforcers summarize: a week of searches did not yield any results.
- For today, the already combed places have been worked out again. Large forces are thrown into checking all the pits that are located near the village - the press service of the ATC reports. - Deputy Head of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Grodno Regional Executive Committee Alexander Shastailo noted that today law enforcement officers once again went around all the houses in the village, checked attics and wells, and housing and communal services employees checked sewer hatches in order to exclude the possibility of a child getting there.
“It's nice to see how such events can bring people together. More than two thousand people came in search of Maxim from neighboring regions, - noted in the ATC. - Volunteers, the Red Cross, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in spite of the weekend, came to help. And some, who could not come, help financially, for the volunteers they brought a lot of food, water and essential goods. All this was received from caring citizens.
According to law enforcement officers, they are working out all possible versions and checking any information that comes to the headquarters.
- Once again I would like to focus on the problem of spreading false information, - warns ATC. - On some resources, they found news where they expressed condolences to the parents, as the boy was found dead in the noose. There was also news that EMERCOM officers saw him while flying in a helicopter, and he disappeared from them.
This information is not true. Each of those people who are there makes every effort to find Maxim. This kind of information can undermine the morale of people who work hard. And it's scary to imagine how parents and relatives will feel after reading this kind of misinformation.
The search for the missing Maxim Markhalyuk continues.
