Yana Balobanova Russian woman killed by bears after walking out forest wedding in wooded area of Sverdlovsk. Left on her own in forest after fight with wedding guest.
A Russian woman who stormed off from a wedding after being involved with an argument with guests is feared to have been eaten alive by a pack of bears, officials said.
Yana Balobanova, 24, made emergency calls stating she was lost in a wooded area of Sverdlovsk. Rescue dogs on her trail found her scent overtaken by the smell of multiple brown bears and footprints from the animals, according to local media.
Balobanova had attended a friend’s wedding at a local forest on July 2nd, when she got into a fight with another guest and stormed off into the wilderness alone, The Sun reported.
Hopes for Yana’s safe return dashed as searches for the missing woman had yet to find any trace of her or her remains, more than a month later.
‘It is no longer possible to hope that the woman will be found alive,’ wildlife inspector Andrei Sakulin told Russian media.
If a person comes between a predator and their cubs they can attack very quickly
‘There were footprints of a mother bear and cubs which meant the spot was “very dangerous for humans,’ he reportedly said.
‘If a person accidentally finds themselves between a bear and her cubs, the predator can attack immediately and harshly, without growls and warnings.’
Adding, ‘these predators tend to dig in the remains of their prey, and then other animals take them away and throw them within a radius of 100-200 meters.’
The girl’s distraught father, Yakov Balobanov told Russia’s E1 that Yana had no experience of surviving alone in the forest.
Natalia Volkova, head of Proryv volunteer search squad, said: ‘We came across an old man who was picking berries in the forest…
‘He remembered her because he was surprised to see a young woman there all alone.
‘Search dogs picked up her smell but it has not led to anything yet..’
