The city administration said the burial site was damaged but no remains or coffin fragments were found there; the cause has yet to be established.
In a report on October 7, RIA Novosti said a grave had been found disturbed and its fence broken at a cemetery in Magadan. A family visiting a relative’s grave reported that the body was missing and clothing fragments were scattered nearby. Ren TV had earlier reported that a bear may have dug up the burial site.
Ekaterina Kramnik, head of the city administration’s housing and utilities department, told RIA Novosti that no human remains were visible in the grave during the initial inspection, and no remains or coffin fragments were found nearby. A second inspection was planned for the following day with state wildlife inspectors and police.
Officials had not determined whether a bear or vandalism was responsible, Kramnik said. She added that the city had not previously received reports of bears digging up graves at the cemetery. Other outlets, citing a source quoted by Izvestia, reported that bones may have been found in nearby woodland; that account differs from the city administration’s description of the initial inspection.