This page has been translated from sources not in English and may contain inaccuracies or errors.
Yuri Ozherelyev (Russian: Юрий Ожерельев, Born May 18, 1961) was a Russian truck driver who went missing alongside his vehicle during a job on a section of The Russian route M5. The police initially investigated his disappearance as a murder but have not formally declared his disappearance as a murder. At the time of the incident, he was transporting 20 tons of Vodka. Neither he nor his truck has been recovered and the incident lead to his family petitioning the Russian government to legally secure the movement of long-distance truck drivers in the country.
Case[]
Yuri Ozherelyev, a truck driver with 30 years of experience at the time of the incident, was tasked with transferring 20 tons of vodka from Kabardino-Balkaria to Yekaterinburg on a trip that would take 4600 kilometres in his heavy-duty Volvo Truck with the trailer attached. His last confirmed sighting was on February 29, 2016, when he stopped in the town of Chegem, Russia to load his vehicle with wine and vodka products before driving off. According to some reports, he spent the night at Ufa before continuing his journey. On March 4, the day Yuri was supposed to arrive in Yekaterinburg, his brother called him but Yuri explained he was on a difficult section of road and could speak before hanging up. After Yuri failed to arrive at his destination, his employers contacted the police.
The search effort was extensive as police, rescuer workers and thousands of volunteers searched the section of highway he was last known to be on to try and find him or his truck. Additionally, several advertisements were placed on the internet, but no trace of either Yuri or his vehicle could be located. His truck did not have the GLONASS system installed so his exact whereabouts were unknown, and various gas station workers along the highway questioned did not report seeing him. Investigators also ruled out Yuri being intoxicated while driving or causing an accident on his own, as Yuri was known to be safe and responsible never receiving any complaints.
Months after the disappearance, a broken trucker's gadget was found 20 km from Yekaterinburg and a witness reported seeing his truck near Suksun Village, leading police to revise their original estimate of his last known whereabouts. However, after searching that area, they still were unable to find Yuri or the truck. As a result of this incident, his family set up a petition to pressure the Russian Government into legally securing the movement of long-distance truck drivers.