Terrified girl, 10, found minutes from death clinging to body of grief-stricken mum who froze in bear-infested forest
A 10-YEAR-OLD girl was found MINUTES from death in a Russian forest beside her lifeless mum – who had died of hypothermia.
Polina had gone on a daytime walk with her mum through the bear-infested woodland area but the pair had discarded their clothes suitable for subzero night-time temperatures.
A search party involving 80 volunteers, police sniffer dogs, drones and a helicopter eventually found shivering Polina inside the forest – five miles from where they were last seen in Vladimir region.
She was given first aid and warm clothes and taken to hospital.
“The life and health of the child is not currently in danger,” said the Russian Investigative Committee.
According to Russian newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets, Polina had sat all night beside her dead mother, Olga Davydova.
The 36-year-old from Gus-Khrustalny town was reportedly distraught over the recent death of her mother Svetlana Pankova, 58, who had died after contracting Covid-19.
Local officials have said that before her death, the grandmother was Polina’s primary carer.
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Following the death of her mother, questions now follow as to who will raise the youngster.
Senior local official Alexei Sokolov said: “We will decide later on the issue of establishing guardianship for the girl.”
He told reporters: “The search was serious, we had just a few hours.
“Everyone understood that they needed to search faster.
“There was frost, freezing temperatures.
“We feared for the child’s life.”