In a case that drew wide attention across regional communities, Valery Vorobyov, once the chairman of the Gorky regional court and later the Nizhny Novgorod regional court from 1985 until 2005, and his wife Evgenia vanished while exploring a forested area. A few days after their disappearance, authorities announced that both had been located. The official update came from the press service of the Regional Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, relaying information from the local search efforts reported by the city police and regional investigators.
The discovery occurred in an area where volunteers associated with the Lynx search and rescue center had been coordinating efforts. One member of the couple was found alive, while the other body was recovered in nearby terrain. Details surrounding the circumstances of the find were not immediately disclosed, leaving families and volunteers awaiting fuller information as investigators continued their work.
According to search records, the 86-year-old Valery and Evgenia had left the village of Teryaevo by car with the intention of picking berries in the Pavlovsk region on July 19. From that moment, there were no sightings, and the public was urged to provide any information that might aid in clarifying their movements and the conditions that led to their disappearance.
Volunteer teams noted that heavy rain in the area had complicated the search operation. Wooden and forest roads had degraded into slick, muddy surfaces, making access slow and challenging for ground crews. The weather posed additional risks, and volunteers worked in shifts to cover a broad swath of terrain, including dense woodland, swampy stretches, and old logging routes that could hide signs of movement or distress signals.
Valery Vorobyov spent more than two decades in the judiciary, helping shape regional legal practices during a period of significant change. His tenure in both the Gorky and Nizhny Novgorod courts reflected a career devoted to public service and the administration of justice, while Evgenia remained a steadfast partner who accompanied him through years of public life and community involvement. Their disappearance prompted an outpouring of concern from neighbors, colleagues, and volunteers who recall their continued engagement with local events and charitable activities.
Earlier that season, regional authorities had reported another rescue in a similar context. A 77-year-old woman survived six days in a forested area in the Kaliningrad region after separate search efforts. In another instance during the same period, a 75-year-old man endured four days in a marshy environment before being located. These isolated recoveries underscored the unpredictable nature of forested terrains and the resilience of elderly individuals who navigate challenging environments with limited resources.