The hikers arrive in the town of Serov after an overnight train journey. Tired, they find an elementary school, where they receive permission to rest for a few hours on the condition that they talk to the students about hiking. The students adore the Dyatlov group, growing especially fond of Sasha and Zina. The children try to persuade Zina to stay with them and lead some of their activities. They follow the hikers back to the train station when they leave. Later, when the elementary school students learn that the hikers have gone missing, they write letters to the Ural Polytechnic Institute, hoping for news of Zina and the others. They never receive a reply, as nobody has the heart to tell the children that the hikers have died.

As the search for the missing hikers begins, so does a criminal investigation into the incident. Researchers reconstruct the hikers’ intended route, which took them through a small Mansi village. Confusing the Dyatlov group with another set of hikers, the Mansi people tell investigators that the Dyatlov group passed through their village on February 4, when in fact they visited several days earlier. Several Mansi individuals agree to join the search party, as they have excellent knowledge of the area.