The investigation told about the protracted search for the boy in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha. The disappearance of a boy in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Why are volunteers and not professionals doing searches?

The search for Maksim Markhluk, who disappeared on Saturday, September 16, continues in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. All the days after the disappearance of the boy, volunteers gathered in the village of Novy Dvor in the Grodno region who wanted to help. A week after his disappearance, it was announced general fee all search and rescue teams of Belarus. They launched the largest search operation in the country. But the child has not yet been found.

On Saturday, September 23, more than two thousand people took part in the search for the child. In the small and previously quiet Novy Dvor, headquarters were deployed, aircraft equipment appeared, field kitchens were opened, says TUT.BY.

In the morning, the stadium near the local school is crowded and noisy. It's cold and damp outside - it rained at night. People in brightly colored vests are not yet very organized in ranks. The volunteers were divided into groups. Each has its own section, which today needs to be combed again. By this time, the area around the village had already been surveyed several times.

In addition to volunteers, helicopters of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, which periodically fly around the forest, take part in the search.

Volunteers are patiently waiting. All conversations, here, of course, are about the missing boy and the technological side of the search. Volunteers tell how they walked through the wet forest, how they came out to the swamp and got wet through and through.

Barely warmed up in the evening, - say the girls near the makeshift kitchen.

Despite the fact that the general gathering was scheduled for 9 am, an hour and a half later the stadium was still crowded. The groups are still waiting for the command to enter the forest.

You see, it is very difficult to organize such a number of people. Never before have such a search operation been carried out in Belarus, ”explains the girl who registers the volunteers.

According to her, on Saturday morning, more than 600 people were already on the lists. By lunchtime, this figure had grown to a thousand.

And people keep coming and going, ”she says.

Home at the stadium - Christina Crook... She clearly distributes commands and constantly keeps in touch with the Ministry of Emergencies and the police.

X1, x2, x3. Where did you go? Do you know where to go? Do you have a walkie-talkie? No? Now we will find, - the coordinator is trying to divide the volunteers into groups.

Christina is the Forest Search Coordinator. She underwent special training and knows how to organize everything here and not get confused in all groups, ”says the commander of the Angel search and rescue unit. Sergey Kovgan.

Christina, meanwhile, begins to send groups to the forest. Rescuers, militiamen and foresters leave with volunteers to search.

Representatives of the forestry, the police or the Ministry of Emergencies have been added to these groups for coordination and communication with the headquarters. On this moment they are in the forest. People are arriving, the number of participants is constantly increasing, - says the first deputy head of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Grodno Regional Executive Committee, police colonel Alexander Shastailo.

The military is also involved in the search. In the afternoon, several army buses arrived at Novy Dvor. In general, what is happening in this village is new not only for volunteers, but also for the Ministry of Emergencies and the police: there have never been such search and rescue operations in Belarus.

Of course, things are probably not going quite the way we would like. We arrived last night, at night they didn’t let us look for us, but now we are standing near the forest, and we all cannot go there: we are waiting for instructions from the headquarters, but they are not there. Maybe they would have found him already, - one of the volunteers languishes in anticipation Hope.

The woman came from Pruzhany. She tells how in the evening, in order to do at least something, she could not resist and drove by car through the abandoned farms. But the unauthorized searches ended in vain. She worries that, most likely, she will not take part in a full-scale search.

I need to go home soon. My child is waiting for me, - explains Nadezhda.

The volunteers stretched out for almost three and a half kilometers. The group, which includes the girl, stands on the outskirts of the forest. The people have been placed, but no one is allowed into the Pushcha yet. They get nervous, are silent, then begin to discuss what is happening.

There are kilometers of people here, look. It would be faster to go into the forest, and not to waste time - the daylight hours are short, but without a command we will not go into the massif ourselves, people say.

Many came here, succumbing to the first impulse - to help.

Some simply did not calculate their strength. Yesterday we went out of the forest and just fell at the edge, barely reached the stadium. The search is very difficult, ”says one of the volunteers.

Another group is sent from the stadium to the forest, in which they recorded Innu from Minsk. The girl has been participating in search operations with the Angel squad for a long time. She came in search of Maxim right away.

You know, I was fired from my job because of the search. I did not have time to get to Minsk. She worked in logistics. I spoke with the authorities, warned and asked to understand. She promised to go out in two shifts. At work, they knew about my volunteer activities, treated them with understanding, but in the end it turned out that way, ”says Inna and, as if calming either us or herself, adds that everything will be fine. - Now the main thing is the boy, but new job I will definitely find it.

Among the volunteers there are many representatives of automobile clubs, whose members know how to navigate in the forest.

Dima has been here for the fourth day, and we arrived only yesterday. We spent the night with the locals, - says Alyona.

The girl brought two dogs with her, there was simply no one to leave them at home with. Not only are these dogs not search dogs, at this stage it is already pointless to involve them in the operation. the fact is that during this time a lot of people have visited the forest, and it is unlikely that the animals will take a trace.

Many volunteers came to Novy Dvor a few days ago. Those who wish are accommodated for the night at the school, some are "dismantled" by local residents. The bulk of the volunteers will remain here for some time. They say until the boy is found.

Our hostess fed us breakfast and even heated the bathhouse. Why would she thank you very much... In general, the locals are very friendly and sympathetic to what is happening. They come to the headquarters and ask how to help, but here everything is already organized, - the girls say in the improvised kitchen right in the open air.

Within a few days, an impressive supply of food was formed here. They say that there is no need to carry food, but there are not enough rubber boots and raincoats.

In fact, there are two field kitchens for volunteers in the town: one was organized by the volunteers of the Angel search and rescue squad, the other by the Red Cross.

Volunteers of the "Red Cross" set up their camp near the building of the village council. Here, too, they will serve hot food, if necessary, they will have the first medical assistance and offer tea or coffee. Rescuers have their own field kitchen. The headquarters of the authorities is located on the outskirts of the village. Large tents are deployed here, there is special equipment, helicopters and drones.

In search, we use two of our drones, and one was provided to us by the Academy of Sciences, - says the deputy head of the Grodno UOMChS Sergey Leonov.- As for the study of the terrain, then we have worked out all possible ways following a child of this age. We are combing (and not for the first time) all settlements, roads and forests, through which a person can pass. We analyze all traces found in the forest together with the police. Today we focused on two settlements, which are located near Novy Dvor.

Now about 140 rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are involved in the search, there are also two mobile groups that work at given coordinates and try to find Maxim with a thermal imager. It helps to find a person where it is difficult to reach.

It looks like this: a mobile group takes off to a certain point, rescuers survey the area, descend, study a certain area and then move on.

At lunchtime, information came that they had found a hut with the child's things. There is animation at the stadium. But it turned out that what was found had nothing to do with the lost boy.

Maxim's father and brother, together with everyone else, have been in the forest for the eighth day. The psychologists of the Ministry of Emergency Situations work with the parents. Local residents also joined the ranks of volunteers.

Igor Sergeevich came from Svisloch with his comrades. He explains that he could not stay on the sidelines, and the forest in the vicinity at one time went up and down.

You know, we are all very worried, all thoughts are only about the boy, - because of the excitement, the man picks up the words for a long time. - We run here every day. Many took time off to participate in the search. We just hope there is a boy.

In the afternoon, the stadium becomes quiet and unusually empty - everyone has gone in search of the child. Groups of volunteers leave the forest, as they say here, "in a checkerboard pattern." In order not to create a crowd, each squad has a certain time for lunch, after which they go back to the forest.

In the evening, everyone returns to the stadium, night searches are prohibited. Untrained people can get lost themselves, although here, as the volunteers assure, there were no such cases. True, there are already enough rumors about those who got lost during this search operation.

Well, one of our groups turned around in the forest. So there were 20 people. They all went out. So far, except for Maxim, they have not been looking for anyone, - the volunteers say.

Both the volunteers and the Ministry of Emergency Situations say that the search and rescue operation will continue until any result.

Let us remind you that the boy disappeared in Belovezhskaya Pushcha last Saturday evening. At about 20.00 the boy rode his bicycle towards the forest near the village of Novy Dvor and disappeared. The police found a child's bike in the forest.

More than two thousand people gathered in Belovezhskaya Pushcha on Saturday, who came with the only hope - to find 10-year-old Maxim Markhalyuk as soon as possible. The boy went into the forest to pick mushrooms on September 16 and has not yet returned. The bulk of the volunteers are ordinary Belarusians, who previously went to the forest only to pick mushrooms.

All volunteers were given bright vests for free

The reporter joined one of the search groups and went into the forest.

We used to walk in droves, today the headquarters sets tasks

At 8 o'clock in the morning, a volunteer camp was set up at the school stadium in the village of Novy Dvor. Dozens of cars and hundreds of people gathered. Through the loudspeaker, everyone is invited to register in a blue tent in the center of the stadium.

Search operations headquarters deployed at local school stadium

“Indicate the name, surname, telephone number, registration number of the car. Write to me if you can read maps, navigate the forest, what equipment they brought. If you have no experience, don't worry, most of them are. We need everything ", - explain the volunteers and show where you can take a bright vest for free.

The lists are increasing by the minute. The geography of visitors is striking - Minsk, Gomel, Brest, Grodno, Mogilev, numerous regional centers. Most admit: “It’s the first time to look for a person”... But people are ready to go both into the forest and into the swamp - just to find the boy alive.

“During the week, while there was no headquarters, people went to the forest in a crowd, sometimes 180 people at a time. We work in smaller groups - from 10 to 30 people. It's more productive, it's better to close the territory. ", - says the head of the search and rescue squad "Center Spas" from Grodno Alexander Kritsky.

According to him, now the tasks are set by the headquarters. Registration is needed so that search managers know how many people they have at their disposal.

SUVs sent off-road

One of the first assignments was given to a group of guys in off-road vehicles. They have six cars and one ATV.

The guys on off-road vehicles were instructed to monitor difficult forest roads

“We represent the off-road jeep trial club“ Citadel ”from Brest. On Friday they threw a cry. Some arrived immediately, some today. Nobody remained indifferent. We took a thermal imager, a power plant, flashlights, searchlights, radio stations, the cars are equipped with navigators ", - says the commander of the mini-squad Pavel Stasyuk.

An experienced driver Evgeniy is at the wheel of the lead car. He is a truck driver, the day before he returned from a business trip abroad and immediately went to Pushcha. The team is studying a map that shows an area of forest with a perimeter of about 40 kilometers. The headquarters ordered to bypass all roads and passages that are difficult to reach for ordinary cars in the indicated square.

“We have never looked for people, but we have a clear task. The experience of passing impassable places on off-road, through swamps on off-road vehicles will help, and this is already a big deal "- says the elder.

Searches are also going on in the protected area of the reserve "Belovezhskaya Pushcha"

Experience was needed as soon as we turned onto a wild forest path. There are pits, deep puddles, bumps on it, sometimes fallen young trees or branches block the passage.

"Look carefully around, suddenly something flashes, maybe today we'll be lucky and we'll see a boy.", - advises Paul.

In the square assigned to us, the cars parted to the sides to monitor all the small passages. Communication takes place only by radio, since communication is only in rare villages.

Checking pipes, basements, looking for beds

The team set up to work until dark. Everyone believes that the boy is alive, but he is just hiding somewhere. Yesterday, the guys all day in the same area of the forest examined abandoned houses, farms, basements and sheds.

“Yesterday my shoes got wet, but I didn't take a replacement one. I wrote in the "Angel" group, and completely strangers boots and a raincoat were sent from Pinsk. Who could not come, at least support us this way ", - says the girl Anya from Mogilev.

The team also includes two experienced Mogilev industrial climbers. At first, the headquarters wanted to send them to survey the deep mines that are on the territory of the Pushcha. But on the spot there was no necessary equipment, and the guys did not take their own.

A group of volunteers examines a stack of straw in which a boy could make a bed

"Stop, the pipe is under the road - take a look", - commands Pavel.

Even animal feeders, fallen trees, huts and huts need to be checked. During one of the stops, they found crushed grass under a bush. It turned out that there was a large animal lying here. A little later we saw a woman's jacket rolled up in a roller. An abandoned booth was discovered in the neighborhood, but no one had appeared in it for a long time. “There are hundreds of such shelters in the forest. I think the child knows them well ", - suggests the commander.

The search party needs to look into every abandoned building, barn or basement

After each failure, the guys sigh, someone jokes: “We'll find - the kid should be sent to the special forces. The whole country is looking for him, but he hides so skillfully. ".

They want to take the child into the ring

As we drove through the forest, the team saw a change in how we search. From the very morning, soldiers with dogs and employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations were standing along the main roads.

“We cordoned off the forest around the village. They want to take the guy in the ring. If they manage to organize all the civilians, then maybe they can find them. ", - argue in the team.

The military is on duty on the main roads since the morning

In a few hours there were more people in the forest. The volunteers who stood at the school stadium a few hours ago, now we saw in the woods on the site closer to the Novy Dvor. Some are in chains of groups that comb the forest meter by meter, others are on the roadsides, and still others are checking a large stack of straw in the field. The attendants tiredly trampled, someone burned a fire, someone managed to pick up mushrooms.

As Alexander Kritskiy explained, each search group “closes” the forest square assigned to it, people walk along a certain azimuth and comb the forest.

Simple volunteers under the guidance of experienced coordinators who know how to use navigation, a compass, know cartography, can lead a group of people and make sure that none of the team is left behind or lost. All work according to a specific algorithm approved by the operational headquarters.

Each team receives such maps on which the search area is marked

Maxim was seen, but the headquarters does not believe

Having combed a new section of the forest, the team in off-road vehicles stopped in one of the villages. The guys immediately looked into the old basement. Many of the team do not really understand why they were sent to travel on the roads. After all, if the boy is hiding, then he is unlikely to come out, having heard the hum of cars. But that hope appeared.

“Some of the volunteers saw a boy cross the road near the village of Teraspol, four kilometers from his home. A soldier slipped through the cordon ", - share latest news guys from one of the cars. This means that the child did not go into the thicket, but keeps to the road, you can see him by chance.

A little later, the headquarters assured that these were only rumors. But the volunteers in the camp kept repeating: “The child was seen both on Saturday and during the week, he picked mushrooms in the meadow”.

“Hold on muesli, Snickers, we need to eat more sweets. We have coffee and energy drinks with us. We are in the forest, spending a lot of energy ", - Anya advises.

The girl was on her feet for the second day, very tired, did not get enough sleep. She had to spend the night in the school building in sleeping bag... She says that the school gave shelter to all comers, many were taken for the night by local residents.

During the day - people, at night - drones with thermal imagers

In total, more than two thousand people received the task from the headquarters. Most left for the forest in the morning, but during the day new groups of new arrivals formed.

“Three helicopters from the Ministry of Emergency Situations and autogyros were involved. During the day, divers worked and surveyed the water bodies and marshlands closest to the village. The headquarters works around the clock, but people go to the forest only during daylight hours. ", - says the representative of the operational headquarters from the Grodno Department of Internal Affairs Alexander Shastailo.

Alexander Shastailo, representative of the operational headquarters from the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Grodno Regional Executive Committee

Drones with thermal imagers fly over the area every night. So far, the search has not returned any results.

According to the Angel search and rescue squad, volunteers are still needed in Novy Dvor, as well as help. ordinary people who can donate money to a charity account, donate things, water or food.

What the volunteer camp needs can be found at official page"Angela" in social networks.

Volunteers and those who are just getting ready to come are advised to have a reflective vest, a whistle and a flashlight, if possible, a spare set of clothes, several pairs of socks, rubber boots or other suitable footwear for wet forests and swamps. Gathering - at the school stadium. Departure of groups for searches is scheduled at 9.00, 12.00 and 15.00. It is advised to arrive one hour before departure. A field kitchen works at the gathering place of the search teams.

10-year-old who disappeared in Belovezhskaya Pushcha Maxim Markhalyuk are looking for the ninth day. The boy went into the forest to pick mushrooms on the evening of September 16 and has not yet returned. In addition to the police, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, soldiers, volunteers of search and rescue teams, and the local population joined the search for the child.

Photos in the article: Onliner.by

So. Before digging into such a furious topic, I simply have to make a number of explanations. The next paragraph is devoted to just that. You can sleep for now.

I did not want to write about this topic, but you cannot order your heart. The last two days, like many other Belarusians, I was captured by one huge detective. The whole country is sincerely worried about the boy, although the mind has already understood everything a long time ago (I would like him to be wrong). This is not an attempt to poke fun on a hot topic. But when a text has been written in my head for the last 48 hours, willy-nilly, you must not let it out. Anticipating a lot of questions: yes, I helped the search, transferred money to the PSO "Angel".

I tried to abstract as much as possible from conclusions and value judgments. I will not blame anyone. All the coincidences that happened in the past, happen now and will happen in the future, are accidental. I have no inside information. None of the versions (other than the official one) from this text should be taken into account by law enforcement and other related bodies. I, like all of you, hope for a successful outcome of the case. All my work on this topic consisted in the fact that, armed with a tablet and a spare time, I collected information on the Internet, paying special attention to comments, reading even the most wild ones. As a result, I got a list of versions, each of which I will try to cover in various ways. Go!

Version aboutofficial: the boy is lost

In favor of the version:

Look, after all, where it all happened! On the edge of Belovezhskaya Pushcha! I repeat: BELOVEZHSKAYA PUSHCHA! For a second, one of the largest (if not the largest) relict forests in Europe! All the nonsense that the boy “could not get lost”, “knew the forest like the back of his hand,” “took out mushroom pickers” (I can just imagine how the boy, instead of rescuers, runs into the forest to take out mushroom pickers). One who cannot swim never drowns. For he does not climb into the water, but sits on the shore, dangling his leg. And only good, experienced swimmers drown. Because they are self-confident. Even adults are lost in three pines, and this is a child! The video from the scene clearly shows how overgrown in those places the forest is. And the wording “We searched everything within the reach of the child's walking distance” does not stand up to criticism at all. Who measured it, that reach. If he wants, he will pass 100 kilometers. Adrenaline and stress are doing their job. Several traces were found, although it is difficult to say that they definitely belong to Maxim. But on the spot there were many traces of bison, which could frighten the boy and he rushed from them into the thicket.

Versus version:

You don't even need to say anything here. Just look at the map.

Despite the fact that the village is surrounded on all sides by forest, it is not that big. Even YandexMaps show that there are enough blank spots in the forest. Add to this a huge number of paths, clearings, wandering gamekeepers and foresters, camera traps and so on. Even if a boy just starts walking in one direction, in less than a day he will come out into the light of God. They almost started looking for him, they shouted, signaled, but there were no answers. According to the volunteers, the forest was eventually taken into a ring and it was combed completely. That is, a boy simply cannot be in the forest, both alive and dead. The only exception is that the child could have drowned in a swamp - although in this case there must be at least some traces! And why should a child go to the forest at dusk? We add here the testimony of the brother: "He did not go anywhere far alone." How this fits in with "Knew the forest as a pocket" is not yet clear. The purple line on the map from one point to another is only 16 km long. Regarding the bison: why did you run not towards the village, along the road on which you arrived, but into the Pushcha? Bison learned tactics and took the child in the ring, cutting off the escape route?

2. The version is semi-official: the boy is hiding

In favor of the version:

Several witnesses were found who clearly showed that they had seen the boy. Alive and healthy. Once he was seen by a mushroom picker literally right after the boy disappeared. He allegedly asked him why the boy was walking in the forest alone at such a time, to which the boy, without saying anything, rushed to run away. Then two more times the volunteers said that they saw a boy running in the distance. Each of us knows stories about how children, fearing what they have done, do not go home. The boy could simply be afraid of the punishment, seeing the scale of the search. Again, remember the footprints. Also, in the forest, they found places where the boy, presumably, could spend the night. Maxim's friends recalled some secret dugout in the depths of the thicket. The boy can be there. As an offshoot of this version, I put forward the theory that the boy could have embarked on a journey. In theory, even cross the border with Poland.

Versus version:

Still, 10 days have passed. You can hide for a day or two or three, but not for a week and a half. And who saw those witnesses who noticed him? Either a fiction, or they didn't see it. Moreover, in one of the cases of "testimony" the boy ran across the road and slipped through the soldiers in chains. I know the opinion of the people about the army, but there are not total (and at the same time deaf-blind) idiots serving there. Have you not seen and heard? Unlikely. The child has absolutely nothing to eat or drink. He has nowhere (most likely) to sleep, and the nights are cold. All buildings where the child could spend the night have been checked - he is not there. The border is not very realistic to cross - it is guarded on both sides.

3. The criminal version: a crime has been committed

In favor of the version:

Here, in general, there are only solid guesses. Why did the child throw the bike to the ground without even leaning it against the hut (according to fellow villagers and parents, he loved the bike very much). What strange, broken basket stands next to the hut, where, as if to divert one's eyes, they threw the first mushrooms that came along with the garbage? According to the dog handlers, the boy's trail is confidently traced by the dogs to the track, where it evaporates in an unknown direction. If a child went out on the track, then there is absolutely nothing to say that he was lost. Do you think there are many asphalt roads in those parts and the boy did not know where he was? Nothing at all was found in the forest, that is, literally. None of those crumbs that were found can relate exactly to the boy. They say that in those parts of the country, half of the population earns by poaching, and half by moonshine. The boy could just see something wrong. Or become a victim of an accident: at dusk to be hit by a car or shot by mistake from a gun. God forbid, of course. Or be taken out all to the same Poland.

Versus version:

The police worked on the spot from the first hours. I believe that all the necessary measures of a criminological nature were carried out at that time. I once saw how they were looking for a missing person. They turn the house and buildings upside down, shake all witnesses and neighbors, restore the path of the missing. Do not think that this time the police blundered. And any crime leaves traces. Explicit or implicit. Blood, signs of a struggle, pieces of clothing, some other evidence. This time nothing was found at all.

4. The conspiracy version: something doesn't fit here

In favor of the version:

The inconsistencies start from the very beginning. When did the boy go missing? Someone says that he warned about mushrooms (older brother), someone says that they did not know anything about mushrooms (mother). Friends also differ in their testimonies: either the boy called them and they refused, or they went together and he went on. And the story about mushrooms itself looks very strange. The boy allegedly went to pick mushrooms at the edge of the forest around 19.00 in the evening. For the sake of experiment, gentlemen, go outside today at 19.00 pm and look at the level of illumination. Next: mushrooms at the edge. While the hut where the bicycle was found is either five hundred or eight hundred meters from the edge of the forest. That is, the child went at night looking into the forest at a kilometer distance (within the forest it is a lot) in order to groping for mushrooms? Some of the witnesses say: the boy was shy, he even stuttered, he could get scared of animals and rush into the thicket. Gentlemen, who is not one of the shy ones: would you risk entering a thicket at dusk for a kilometer inland? I'll tell you right away - I couldn't. Scary. This is followed by completely ambiguous versions. Allegedly, a local village madman approached the members of the search party and muttered softly: "Search, search, you still won't find." Someone talks about Maxim's friends who faint when they are being questioned by the police and the fact that one teenager is simply not allowed to be interrogated by the parents, insisting that there is no criminal case. Allegedly, someone saw a teenager, one of the friends of the missing boy, who was returning from the forest at night. What he could see there is unclear. There is even talk of some mysterious house, which volunteers tried to enter, but it was locked from the inside. When the door was broken down, there was no one in the house. There are so many inconsistencies that the post threatens to turn into a sheet.

Versus version:

It is quite possible that all this is nothing more than the hyperbole of our people. Since childhood, we are all prone to inventions and fantasies. Moreover, in the comments, nothing can be checked at all. People just copy and paste erroneous versions into more and more public pages. I don't think it's all that confusing here. And seemingly unrealistic versions are simply not sufficiently covered in the press, often people are content with such forums and fragmentary tales of volunteers who have visited the site. Stories about crazy houses locked from the inside (well, who in their right mind would break down the door of a house where the curtain on the window just swayed?), The adventures of children at night seem even more surreal than the mysterious disappearance itself.

5. The military version: we have the same exercises

In favor of the version:

All of this can be nothing more than interaction exercises. civil society and various services. According to rumors, no one saw either the boy's parents or his brother. Journalists do not communicate with them, where they are really unclear. It is quite possible that there was simply no disappearance. Rumors of this kind were once confirmed in Russia. And, by the way, remember that same girl from Mexico who allegedly fell under a collapsed building and who was trying to get out from under the rubble for a day. As a result, the girl turned out to be an invention created to distract people from trouble. A completely wild version, also inspired by the exercises: the boy accidentally saw a reconnaissance group of fighters from some foreign country, which was returning after observing the exercises. No one is left alive during such meetings, and the bodies are carefully hidden. Moreover, near the border with Poland, through which the fighters could pass.

Versus version:

I do not believe that the state would agree to such a thing. This is too much. You could have come up with some other way to get your search experience. Thermal imagers, helicopters, the army, equipment - all this is money. It's hard to believe that enemy saboteurs killed him either. All this is very incredible. The option that all this is invented to distract people from something important also does not work. Nothing important has happened in the country yet.

Perhaps this is where it ends. I tried to process all the possible versions that I found in the vastness of the bynet and set out accessible language... I hope I succeeded. The picture, of course, is incomplete, but it gives a general idea.

Maxim Markhalyuk disappeared on September 16, 2017. Now the search for the boy is still continuing, although not so. big amount people like in September. Nobody is going to close the criminal case. A special group is engaged in it, which includes 6 investigators and police officers. One of the heads 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 Maksim's mother, five months after the disappearance of the child, is still expecting her son to go home.

The day of Maxim before his disappearance, as investigators say, passed "more than usual." The boy walked on the street, several times met with his peers, called them into the forest to pick mushrooms, together with a friend went to the "base", where he nailed some boards in the hut. The last time his mother saw him was at about 18.15 - the boy was riding a bicycle down the street near the house.

Everything was as usual. And then the child disappeared.

The search for him began immediately, the same evening, as soon as my mother called the police. Law enforcement officers came to the scene - the police and the investigation, a little later the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the military began to comb the forest. Then volunteers joined.

"The version with the accident was checked immediately"

Two main versions were immediately put forward: an accident happened to the child (he got lost and is in the forest) and a criminal one, - says the deputy head of the Investigative Committee for the Grodno Region, Colonel of Justice Victor Legan.

According to him, a rescue operation took place in the first two weeks: they were looking for a living child.

The search began from the moment a message was received about his disappearance. At first, the police and the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the military were looking for him. Aviation equipment was also used - an autogyro (gyrocopter), three helicopters, an airplane and three drones with thermal imagers. Volunteers started searching when the topic had already spread through social networks and the media.

In parallel, a criminal version was being worked out. As part of it, they began to establish the whereabouts of people who could be in the area of the theoretical crime scene. Previously convicted, released, mentally ill and those who came to the attention of the police were checked. For example, sex offenders. First, those who could be close to the place of the boy's disappearance were checked, and later all those who live not only in the Grodno region, but throughout the entire territory of Belarus.

"Now more than five thousand people have been tested for involvement in the disappearance of the child."

These are the categories of people that I named earlier, as well as those who could simply be in the area where the boy disappeared. We have not received any information that could help us. But work in this direction is still ongoing. Including using a polygraph. Now, as before, we are considering these two main versions. As part of them, we also check private subversions.

- For example?

For example, Maxim was the victim of an accident. It is this version that is now for some reason on everyone's lips. But we checked it right away. We examined all the roads that pass through the forest, established the owners of all those seen there in different ways Vehicle, both private traders and carrier organizations. We talked with the drivers using a polygraph. Then they examined every car that, according to our information, could be in the area where the boy disappeared. The cars were checked using forensic technology to identify traces of biological origin, as well as signs of damage to the car, typical for road accidents.

Here, too, no important information was received.

- Have you considered the version of the involvement of one of your relatives in the disappearance of Maxim?

Naturally, at the time of the initiation of the criminal case, we checked all versions without exception and did not disregard all the people who communicated with the child and could theoretically be involved in his disappearance. But there was no information that any of the relatives could be involved in the disappearance of Maxim. If we had even the slightest suspicions on this score, then the criminal case would have been initiated on other elements of a crime, and not on the unknown disappearance of a person.

- And why was the case opened only ten days after the disappearance of the boy?

A criminal case on the fact of an unknown disappearance of a person is initiated 10 days after the receipt of the application, if the search measures did not bring any results. This is the law. But in fact, the date of the initiation of the case does not mean anything: the investigators, along with the police officers, began to carry out operational-search measures immediately. It does not matter whether a criminal case is initiated or not, such events are carried out in any case and the investigators are immediately involved in the search.

At what stage is the investigation of the criminal case now? Is the search for the boy still ongoing and does it make sense?

Search activities have not been terminated. Of course, they are not held as actively as before, but this is solely due to the weather conditions. Policemen, military and operational officers of the criminal investigation department of the Internal Affairs Directorate periodically leave for Novy Dvor. There are always employees of the Svisloch District Department of Internal Affairs and an investigator who is included in the investigative group looking for Maxim. Periodically, about once a month, on-site meetings are held, during which we summarize the interim results of what has been done and what still needs to be done. The criminal case is under control in the Central Office of the Investigative Committee, and the progress of the search is under the personal control of the First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs.

SHALASH "BASE" WHERE THE BICYCLE OF THE CHILD was found.

Maxim was afraid of animals, did not swim well and did not orientate himself on the terrain

At the same time, we were working on a non-criminal version, says Colonel Victor Legan.

Considering that the boy got lost in the forest, then first of all we checked the swamps and nearby reservoirs with the help of divers.

Of course, I would very much like to believe that the boy is alive, but all the specialists we talked to say that irreversible processes can occur in the body of a child of his age within seven hours, which in turn can lead to death. That is, theoretically, if in those weather conditions a child lay down under a tree and fell asleep, then there is a high probability that he could develop pneumonia with the corresponding consequences.

BROWN COLORED SQUARES WHERE POLICE, EMERCOM AND MILITARY EMPLOYEES WORKED, YELLOW - VOLUNTEERS.
PHOTO: KATERINA GORDEEVA, TUT.BY

We also considered the version that he could be frightened by some animal. Here on the map is shown the habitat of those animals that are found in the nearby forests. For example, elk, bison, lynx. Despite the fact that Maxim spent all his free time near the forest or in the forest, he had problems with orientation on the terrain. There were cases when he got lost, he was also afraid of animals and did not swim well. The boy almost drowned in 2016 - his friends pulled him out of the reservoir.

It can be assumed that he, in a state of passion after being frightened, could go out to the swamp. In that area, there are swamps and swamp areas with a depth of three or more meters. We checked everything we could. Even hard-to-reach areas were explored - as far as our capabilities were.

- In the swampy area, did only the police, the Investigative Committee and the Ministry of Emergency Situations work, or also volunteers?

Volunteers were not allowed there. In the area of the alleged place of disappearance of the boy, only employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the military, and the police worked. It was important not to miss any details. A professional look is needed here. I can assure you that along the entire distance of its possible route, we have explored every centimeter of the earth.

“We all walked 200 square kilometers with our feet. Probably, only with the exception of the bottom of the swamps "

We even exceeded the scientifically based capabilities of an 11-year-old child: even if he wanted to escape, this long distance that was examined, he is beyond his power.

- Did the volunteers interfere with all this work? How do you rate the interaction with the search teams?

This is not the first fact that a person has disappeared when volunteers are involved in the search. But more often than not, we find people in the first few days or weeks. Here it turned out differently. The boy was not found, time was passing, people began to come to Pushcha in groups. The volunteers did not interfere and, naturally, could not trample any traces. They did their job well in those areas where the security forces did not work. Indeed, we are very grateful to all those people who responded and came in search of Maxim.

“We considered all versions. Probably, except for aliens "

And psychics? We know that during the search for Maksim Markhalyuk, they offered their help and talked about places where you can look for the boy. Have their versions been taken into account?

We have worked out many private versions. And, of course, they also listened to psychics. We have accumulated three volumes of information, which were shared by caring citizens (one volume - about 250 pages. - TUT.BY note).

"Dozens of people wrote and called, who" consulted with space ", who" knew exactly the whereabouts of the child. "

We reacted to every such message. For example, we receive information that a certain lady persistently calls Maxim's family and says that she received information from a psychic and knows where the boy is. We find a psychic. She says she hasn't told anyone anything. Yes, I talked to the lady, but only invited the parents, if they are interested, to talk to her. We find a lady. We ask where the information comes from. She replies that she was at the psychic's reception on personal matters and at the same time asked about Maxim. “And by the way the psychic rolled her eyes, I decided that she knew something,” the woman says. And there were many such calls. We have worked on each of them and will continue to work if we receive any new information. Psychics definitely do not harm us, but if they helped - and I personally do not know of a single case that a clairvoyant helped solve a crime - then they would have worked for us long ago.

- What are the most exotic versions the investigators had to check?

The most exotic ones have already been covered in the media. Probably with the exception of aliens.

For example, there was a version that the boy was “disassembled for organs” somewhere in Lodz. We interacted with our Polish colleagues on it. An international order was sent to them, and the local police examined the institutions where Maxim could allegedly be. They talked to the doctors. The version was not confirmed. As well as the story about the boy in the wagon of the Polish driver. On it, we also worked closely with Polish law enforcement officers.

“Moreover, initially we interacted with the Polish border guards and we can say with confidence: the boy did not leave the territory of Belarus”

Anyway, technical means control did not record the fact of crossing the border.

We checked two German citizens who were hunting in Belovezhskaya Pushcha on our territory at that time. We sent an international assignment to our German colleagues, and they talked with the hunters.

The Belarusian tactics and methods of conducting operational-search and investigative measures to search for the missing are one of the most advanced in Europe, investigators say. "If someone disappears there, then they are looking for him on the territory of only one country, but we declare our missing persons on the interstate wanted list."

"I don't believe in any of the versions"

Now Novy Dvor, wrapped in fog and snow, lives its own quiet and measured life. The village, which attracted volunteers and search engines from all over Belarus in September, returned to its usual way of life. True, local residents are still discussing what happened and express a variety of versions. But the mother of the missing boy is not inclined to any of them: “I don’t want to believe in any of the versions and I’m expecting my son to go home.”

MOTHER MAXIMA - VALENTINA.
PHOTO: KATERINA GORDEEVA, TUT.BY

Valentina is silent for a long time. We are standing on the porch of the house. The woman is going to work. She, as before, works at the local school as a technician and ran home for lunch.

What can I tell you? the woman finally asks. - That the investigation was badly conducted, so the child has not been found yet? No, I can't say that - the investigators have worked and are working. I am not an expert to evaluate their performance. And the searches were carefully organized. I am very grateful to the volunteers who all that time were not only in the forest, but also came to me, supported me, talked.

- And now you have someone to talk to?

I have almost no friends. Of course, we are discussing the loss of Maxim with his relatives. They sympathize, but they each have their own lives. Therefore, we are often left alone with my husband. It is especially difficult to be at home, where everything reminds of a son, but he is not.

Valentina says that she knows and even read comments in thematic groups looking for a boy on social networks. She says that from some of the remarks it becomes offensive when they, the parents, are accused of the disappearance of the child.

If they knew how we feel ...

- At some point, psychics joined the search. Did they help you?

Yes, many clairvoyants came. But have you heard their versions?

“According to them, Maxim has long been buried, killed, buried in the forest, or he was taken away in a car. I don't even want to hear these versions "

There were a lot of psychics in the first days after Maxim's disappearance, and now none of them comes to us.

- What do you think about the disappearance of your son? Which version is closer to you?

I think nothing. I don't believe in any of the versions. How many there were, and what they just thought of! By the way, Maxim the forest did not know well, as many here said. So, only this edge, - mom points to the side of the forest, which comes close to two-story houses... - I just believe that he will return. Will walk this road out of the forest, as if nothing had happened. You know, it happens that I leave the house, I look at the stadium where he played in the summer, on the street, on the courtyard for a long time, and I miss him very much. I wait for him every day. From all these experiences, my father and I (husband, - approx. TUT.BY) all this time on medications.

Valentina speaks softly, looks tired. Out of some confusion, I ask:

- Maybe you need to go somewhere, change the environment ...

How am I going to leave? And if the child comes back? ..

The search for Maksim Markhluk, who disappeared on Saturday, September 16, continues in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. All the days after the disappearance of the boy, volunteers came to the village of Novy Dvor in the Grodno region who wanted to help. A week after his disappearance, a general gathering of all search and rescue teams of Belarus was announced. They launched the largest search operation in the country. But the child has not yet been found.

On Saturday, September 23, more than two thousand people took part in the search for the child. In the small and hitherto quiet Novy Dvor, headquarters were deployed, aircraft equipment appeared, field kitchens started working.

In addition to volunteers, helicopters of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, which periodically fly around the forest, take part in the search.

Barely warmed up in the evening, - say the girls near the makeshift kitchen.

Despite the fact that the general gathering was scheduled for 9 am, an hour and a half later the stadium was still crowded. The groups are still waiting for the command to enter the forest.

You see, it is very difficult to organize such a number of people. Never before have such a search operation been carried out in Belarus, ”explains the girl who registers the volunteers.

According to her, on Saturday morning, more than 600 people were already on the lists. By lunchtime, this figure had grown to a thousand.

And people keep coming and going, ”she says.

Home at the stadium - Christina Crook... She clearly distributes commands and constantly keeps in touch with the Ministry of Emergencies and the police.

X1, x2, x3. Where did you go? Do you know where to go? Do you have a walkie-talkie? No? Now we will find, - the coordinator is trying to divide the volunteers into groups.

Christina is the Forest Search Coordinator. She underwent special training and knows how to organize everything here and not get confused in all groups, ”says the commander of the Angel search and rescue unit. Sergey Kovgan.

Christina, meanwhile, begins to send groups to the forest. Rescuers, militiamen and foresters leave with volunteers to search.

Representatives of the forestry, the police or the Ministry of Emergencies have been added to these groups for coordination and communication with the headquarters. At the moment they are in the forest. People are arriving, the number of participants is constantly increasing, - says the first deputy head of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Grodno Regional Executive Committee, police colonel Alexander Shastailo.

Of course, things are probably not going quite the way we would like. We arrived last night, at night they didn’t let us look for us, but now we are standing near the forest, and we all cannot go there: we are waiting for instructions from the headquarters, but they are not there. Maybe they would have found him already, - one of the volunteers languishes in anticipation Hope.

I need to go home soon. My child is waiting for me, - explains Nadezhda.

Nadezhda came in search from Pruzhany

The volunteers stretched out for almost three and a half kilometers. The group, which includes the girl, stands on the outskirts of the forest. The people have been placed, but no one is still allowed into the Pushcha. They get nervous, are silent, then begin to discuss what is happening.

There are kilometers of people here, look. It would be faster to go into the forest, and not to waste time - the daylight hours are short, but without a command we will not go into the massif ourselves, people say.

Many came here, succumbing to the first impulse - to help.

Some simply did not calculate their strength. Yesterday we went out of the forest and just fell at the edge, barely reached the stadium. The search is very difficult, ”says one of the volunteers.

Inna came in search from Minsk

You know, I was fired from my job because of the search. I did not have time to get to Minsk. She worked in logistics. I spoke with the authorities, warned and asked to understand. She promised to go out in two shifts. At work, they knew about my volunteer activities, treated them with understanding, but in the end it turned out that way, ”says Inna and, as if calming either us or herself, adds that everything will be fine. - Now the main thing is a boy, and I will definitely find a new job.

Among the volunteers there are many representatives of automobile clubs, whose members know how to navigate in the forest.

Dima has been here for the fourth day, and we arrived only yesterday. We spent the night with the locals, - says Alyona.

The girl brought two dogs with her, there was simply no one to leave them at home with. Not only are these dogs not search dogs, at this stage it is already pointless to involve them in the operation. The fact is that during this time a lot of people have visited the forest, and the animals are unlikely to take a trace.

Our hostess fed us breakfast and even heated the bathhouse. For which many thanks to her. In general, the locals are very friendly and sympathetic to what is happening. They come to the headquarters and ask how to help, but here everything is already organized, - the girls say in the improvised kitchen right in the open air.

Within a few days, an impressive supply of food was formed here. They say that there is no need to carry food, but there are not enough rubber boots and raincoats.

In fact, there are two field kitchens for volunteers in the town: one was organized by the volunteers of the Angel search and rescue squad, the other by the Red Cross.

Volunteers of the "Red Cross" set up their camp near the building of the village council. Here, too, they will be served hot food, if necessary, they will provide first aid and offer tea or coffee. Rescuers have their own field kitchen. The headquarters of the authorities is located on the outskirts of the village. Large tents are deployed here, there is special equipment, helicopters and drones.

In search, we use two of our drones, and one was provided to us by the Academy of Sciences, - says the deputy head of the Grodno UOMChS Sergey Leonov.- As for the study of the area, we have worked out all possible routes for a child of this age. We are combing (and not for the first time) all settlements, roads and forests, through which a person can pass. We analyze all traces found in the forest together with the police. Today we focused on two settlements located near Novy Dvor.

It looks like this: a mobile group takes off to a certain point, rescuers survey the area, descend, study a certain area and then move on.

At lunchtime, information came that they had found a hut with the child's things. There is animation at the stadium. But it turned out that what was found had nothing to do with the lost boy.

Igor Sergeevich came from Svisloch with his comrades. He explains that he could not stay on the sidelines, and the forest in the vicinity at one time went up and down.

You know, we are all very worried, all thoughts are only about the boy, - because of the excitement, the man picks up the words for a long time. - We run here every day. Many took time off to participate in the search. We just hope there is a boy.

Well, one of our groups turned around in the forest. So there were 20 people. They all went out. So far, except for Maxim, they have not been looking for anyone, - the volunteers say.

Both the volunteers and the Ministry of Emergency Situations say that the search and rescue operation will continue until any result.