"Concern rises over missing American who aimed to climb Peak of Love"
Source:
http://siberiantimes.com/other/othe...ing-american-who-aimed-to-climb-peak-of-love/
(Thank you, JerseyGirl, for pointing me in the right direction
!)
This is the first time I am reading that:
"The case has been put under the 'special control' of the Moscow department of the Russian Invesigative Committee, sometimes called the Russian FBI, and the Russian Foreign Ministry."
"Madsen, a postgraduate student,
had come to the thermal tourist resort in Buryatia with friends, including another American, from the Irkutsk State Linguistic University." (BBM)
"
The group had agreed to rise at 5am to climb the 2412-metre high Peak of Love (7,913 feet), a mysterious mountain in the Eastern Sayan range. But he left two hours earlier ...," (BBM)
and, as reported earlier,
"not suitably dressed for night time subzero temperatures." (BBM)
Again, this is new to me, too: "
His cellphone remained at the guest house. Madsen is described by the source as leading a 'healthy lifestyle' and
did not drink alcohol.
'He liked to walk at night in Irkutsk, often talked about it -
all the students knew about this hobby,' he ("a source at the institute") said."
If the source is correct, and Colin indeed does not drink, then my first theory that perhaps he had a little too much to drink and wandered outside, at least for me, becomes less likely.
What bothers me the most is that he apparently was not dressed for the weather (I'm assuming that his coat is still at the guesthouse), and though to a lesser degree, that he did not take his phone with him.
I can imagine a person not taking his/her phone along on a nighttime walk, especially if he/she is feeling safe enough, to enjoy the peace and quiet. But why not the coat? This, I'm afraid, leads me to suspect foul play
, and maybe that is why the so-called "Russian FBI" is now involved. Colin and his family are in my thoughts and prayers.
